Bankly: Nigerian Founders Raise $2million from Seven Investors for Their Startup
- Bankly raises $2 million from six investors to cater to market women, artisans in Nigeria
- Flutterwave and Vault invested in the startup which was established three years ago
- The fintech company co-founder, Tomilola Adejana, says the fundraising is a milestone
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Flutterwave has made its first public investment after joining fundraising organised for Bankly, a Nigerian startup that services the underbanked population within the country.
Bankly, founded in 2018 by Tomilola Adejana and Fredrick Adams, raised $2 million from several investors, which includes Vault, Plug and Play Ventures, Rising Tide Africa, and Chrysalis Capital.
The startup focuses on individuals patronising the thrift banking system, which is popularly known as 'Ajoo' (local savings). It uses technology to assist market women and artisans secure their money by digitising it.
The thrift system has been trailed by several controversies from collectors stealing funds from participants or savers losing their money due to the sudden death of thrift handler. Funds are often unsecured with offline savings.
Source: UGC
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Explaining why it participated in the fundraising, Vault's Idris Saliu, said the strategy of Bankly encouraged its participation:
"Given our over twenty years experience in Nigeria’s fintech industry and previous exits, we strongly believe that Bankly understands the nuanced needs of this market — not to mention the team, strategy, and technology — to succeed in bringing affordable financial services to the unbanked. We are delighted to participate in this financing round as Bankly moves into its next growth stage.”
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Commenting on the capital raised, Adelana said:
“We’re thrilled to have closed this milestone fundraise and to have such seasoned fintech investors who understand the market join us on this journey to banking Nigeria’s unbanked.
"Now we have built the agent network and are poised to serve customers directly via offline and online channels. Partnerships, collaboration, and a deep understanding of the needs of the unbanked will be vital to our success."
Meanwhile, Legit.ng had earlier reported that the Central Bank of Nigeria blamed bandits and herdsmen for the rising inflation in the country. The apex bank said the constant attack push inflation up.
The bank said due to the attack in areas farm produce are dominated, its intervention in the agricultural sector hasn't reflected the necessary outcome.
Fakoyejo Olalekan is a Business and Financial Journalist with over three years of experience in covering finance and business activities within Nigeria and offshore. Prior to joining Legit.ng, he worked at Nairametrics where he wrote financial and investment analysis articles. Olalekan is a resourceful and result-driven journalist with a track record for conducting extensive research and interviews to produce articles that provide different perspectives to market activities.
Source: Legit.ng
