Nigerian fintech startup Bankly has announced that it has raised $2 million investment led by Vault
Other investors that participated in the round included Plug and Play Ventures, Rising Tide Africa and Chrysalis Capital.
Bankly digitizes financial services for people in the informal sector, usually small-scale traders who save through rotating savings and credit associations known as “ajo” or “esusu” in Nigeria.
The startup was founded in 2018 by Tomilola Adejana and Fredrick Adams.
Bankly is mostly used in cash-based communities. The startup aims to solve some challenges associated with the offline world of group savings.
The startup reports having 15,000 agents currently and plans to build a customer base to 2 million in three years. That mission will be helped by the investment it has now received from companies also in the fintech space in Nigeria.
Idris Saliu, partner at Vault, said that he invested in Bankly’s pre-seed round when the startup first entered the market.”I’ve seen their growth and how hungry they are and it made sense to double down in their new funding round.”
“There are still many unbanked Nigerians looking for access to financial services. This lack of access is still a problem that needs to be solved. Bankly is one of the few companies who are going into these communities and tough places to solve this difficult problem.
“Vault is invested in Bankly because they’re doing a difficult job and I like difficult things.”
