Aella Raises $10m in a Debt Funding Round for Financial Inclusion in West Africa

Aella, a Nigerian fintech startup, has closed a $10 million debt funding round. It raised the sum from HQ Financial Group (HQF) based in Singapore for its financial inclusion drive in West Africa.

Aella is a micro-lending fintech company that provides savings, insurance, payments and credit services to low-income earners and business enterprises in Nigeria and the Philippines. It previously raised $2 million seed funding at the Y Combinator startup program which enabled it to invest in digital technology.

Akin Jones founded Aella in 2015 to build a credit system for emerging markets in West Africa, focusing on Nigeria. It has offered credit facilities to more than 300000 burrowers across its Employer Backed and Direct to Consumer scheme.

“Lack of access to credit and financial services has been the main impediment to MSME growth and poverty reduction in several emerging economies. Aella’s commitment to providing trustworthy credit to millions of people in the world’s emerging markets is improving financial inclusion, enabling MSME expansion and accelerating economic growth. This raise will allow us to scale our expansion across Africa quickly”, said Akin Jones.

To ensure financial inclusion, Aella will use the funding to scale its lending operations and expand its business. It will also invest in Creditcoin, a blockchain-based lending product to build borrower’s creditworthiness.

Aella plans to acquire one million additional users by the end of 2020, making it the largest blockchain-backed financial service provider. It will focus on enabling users to access a wide range of financial services across Africa and South-East Asia.