Bankly, a Nigerian fintech company that digitizes cash for the unbanked, has raised $2 million in its seed round from investors.
Vault, VANSO’s holding firm, Plug and Play Ventures, Rising Tide Africa, and Chrysalis Capital are among the investors.
The fintech startup was founded by Tomilola Adejana and Fredrick Adams in 2018 with the aim of digitizing the informal thrift collection system known in Nigeria as esusu or ajo.
Bankly aims to address some of the issues that exist in the cash-based societies and offline world of community savings.
“The first step is about creating agent networks, which is fine, but that isn’t the goal,” says CEO Adejana.
“You must then concentrate on attracting customers who, after moving cash to their mobile accounts, use it to buy airtime or make purchases, just as mobile inclusion did.
This is referred to as the three-phase method. Distribution comes first, followed by an emphasis on the user, and finally, complete digitization.
This is how financial inclusion can be achieved.”
Bankly also offers “data-as-a-service” to other service providers, allowing them to sell customized goods and services to Nigeria’s informal market, thanks to its insights into consumer behavior and transactions.
“We firmly believe that Bankly understands the nuanced needs of this sector, not to mention the team, strategy, and technology to succeed in taking affordable financial services to the unbanked, based on our over 20 years of experience in Nigeria’s fintech industry and previous exits.
We are delighted to participate in this financing round as Bankly moves into its next growth point,” Vault partner Idris Alubankudi Saliu said.
Over the next three years, Bankly plans to increase its customer base to 2 million unbanked Nigerians.
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