Embedded finance fintech startup, Anchor, has secured $2.4 million in a recent seed funding round, with Goat Capital leading the investment. The round also saw participation from prominent backers like FoundersX, Rebel Fund, Pioneer Fund, Y Combinator, Byld Ventures, and Future Africa, among others. Anchor’s innovative approach to finance has garnered attention and investments, propelling it into a position to revolutionize financial services for fintechs, SMEs, and beyond.
Anchor made its public debut in August 2022, following a successful $1 million pre-seed funding round and its participation in Y Combinator’s summer cohort. The company’s remarkable growth journey is evidenced by its impressive achievement of surpassing $550 million in annualized total transaction volume (TTV) and maintaining a consistent 30% month-on-month revenue growth rate.
Segun Adeyemi, CEO and co-founder of Anchor, expressed the company’s dedication to addressing a genuine need in the market. He emphasized their intent to double down on their mission with this new funding.
Anchor’s key proposition lies in its strategic partnerships with regulated financial institutions, enabling fintechs and small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to seamlessly integrate financial services into their core products. Leveraging Anchor’s robust APIs, fintechs and businesses alike can effortlessly create bank accounts, issue payment cards, facilitate smooth transactions, and offer savings and investment products, all without the cumbersome process of acquiring expensive licenses.
The fintech startup stated that it has entered into a promising partnership with the fintech arm of MTN MoMo PSB. This strategic collaboration holds substantial potential to outshine Anchor’s previous growth milestones, marking a pivotal moment in their journey.
While fintechs have been Anchor’s primary clientele among, the company is looking to broaden its horizons by extending its services to other businesses. It currently has around 270 customers, with approximately 63 of these firms online and actively transacting on the platform. It serves notable companies like SeamlessHR, LifeBank, Penne, Zit, among others. This expansion strategy aligns with the growing trend of embedding financial services into diverse sectors.
Embedded finance represents a significant paradigm shift in the fintech landscape. This movement enables non-financial entities to seamlessly offer financial services like payments, savings, and insurance to their customers. By integrating financial services into their core offerings, companies provide a familiar user experience while opening up new revenue streams. Some of the competing firms in the Nigerian financial ecosystem include JUMO, Maplerad, OnePipe and Bloc.
In an increasingly digitized business environment, fintechs are racing to tap into the expanding market of digitizing sectors, which Anchor believes presents a $7 billion opportunity locally, with global projections surpassing $622 billion in the next decade.
