Nigerian Fintech Bamboo raises $15m to scale tech infrastructure and expand into other countries

Nigerian Investment Fintech, Bamboo, announced that it has raised $15 million to scale its technology infrastructure for smoother operations and expand into other African countries.

Launched in January 2020 by CEO Richmond Bassey and COO Yanmo Omorogbe, Bamboo is a Fintech startup that offers a digital platform that gives customers unrestricted access to trade in over 3,000 stocks listed on the U.S. stock exchange, right from your mobile phone or computer.

The funding round was co-led by US based Greycroft and Tiger Global. Other participants in the round include Motley Fool Ventures, Saison Capital, Chrysalis Capital and Y-Combinator CEO Michael Seibel.

Bamboo intends to use part of the funds to scale its technology infrastructure for smoother operations and faster withdrawals, introduce new product offerings to allow asset managers and fintech companies integrate Bamboo into their offerings and launch in three new countries – Ghana, Kenya and South Africa. In fact the company says that over 50,000 users have joined its waitlist since it announced its intention to launch in the country.

In April last year, Nigeria’s Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) warned that online investment and trading platforms should stop selling securities of foreign companies listed on Securities Exchanges outside Nigeria.

In August of the same year, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was granted a request to freeze the accounts of Bamboo and five other Fintech companies for 180 days as it was investigating ‘illegal foreign exchange transactions’ carried out by the startups”. They were accused of sourcing foreign currency illegally to buy foreign securities.

However in October 2021, the accounts of Bamboo and the other Fintechs were unfrozen.

It is however still unclear whether these Investment platforms providing customers to chance to buy foreign stocks have a duly recognised license to operate in Nigeria. Both CBN and SEC have been silent on this.

Richmond said that “Stocks and selling stocks is a regulated business and currently, we are only live in Nigeria. Working very closely with regulators in Nigeria, we have to work within the ambit of what they are comfortable with and what they allow.”

“That’s the extent to which we are offering our services. Perhaps if we launched in other markets and regulators there have a different relationship with a certain asset class, we would also work within the ambit of what they are comfortable with,” he added.

He also stated that Bamboo is waiting for approvals from regulators to start offering Nigerian stocks before Q2 this year so Africans and those in the diaspora can tap into investment opportunities on the continent.