Sparkle, a Nigerian digital bank, has raised $3.1 million in a seed funding round

Sparkle, a Nigerian startup that provides financial, and business support services to Nigerians all over the world, has raised US$3.1 million in seed funding to help it invest in infrastructure and scale across the diaspora.

An all-Nigerian group of investors, including Leadway Assurance, Trium Networks, and a number of Nigerian HNIs, has invested US$3.1 million in the firm.

This follows a prior pre-seed round of US$2 million from friends and family, bringing Sparkle’s total funding to US$5.1 million.

Sparkle, founded by former Diamond Bank CEO and internet entrepreneur Uzoma Dozie in mid-2020, provides consumers with comprehensive support, including flexible payments, savings, and analytics, to give them more freedom, flexibility, and control over their finances and lifestyle. Its mobile app provides clients with full and unrestricted access to a single account that includes several services and wallets.

Between 2020 and 2021, Sparkle experienced triple-digit growth, and it will now focus on connecting Nigerians and the global Nigerian diaspora by developing a new type of financial services platform that is more than just banking, but also a means of improving its users’ financial lifestyles by allowing for borderless transactions.

“I’m excited to be working with a group of highly respected Nigerian businesses, investment firms, and industry captains – all of whom recognize the critical need for a digital-first platform like Sparkle to provide better access to financial services and, more importantly, financial inclusion to millions of more people – whether for business, personal reasons, or both,” Dozie said.

The new funds will be utilized to expand the platform’s talent teams in engineering, financial risk, and marketing, as well as invest in the platform’s automated back-end processes and digital infrastructure.

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