Lulalend, a digital lender based in South Africa, announced that it has raised $35 million in a series B funding round led by international impact investor Lightrock, with participation from new investors, including the German development finance institution DEG, Triodos Investment Management and Women’s World Banking. Old investors like the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Quona Capital also participated in this new round.
The company says that the funds will be used to service the surging demand for the fast access to working capital and also accelerate the roll out of Lula, its new digital banking offering for SMEs.
Founded in 2014 by Trevor Gosling (CEO & Co-Founder) and Neil Welman (CFO & Co-Founder), Lulalend provides funds to empower businesses across South Africa.
Talking about Lula, Lulalend believes that the digital banking offering will be a game changer for South African small business owners, enabling them to manage their entire cash flow from one highly intuitive digital platform.
“Simplifying their life, saving time and allowing them to focus on growing their business. Lula will offer a bank account specifically tailored for SMEs, an AI-driven cash flow management tool and real-time access to funding via our existing funding solutions. Account opening can be done entirely online, meaning no time-consuming branch visits, and our Customer Experience team will deliver the fast, responsive and human service that is lacking from traditional banks, ” adds Trevor Gosling.
The South African based lending Startup raised $6.5 million Series A funding from IFC and Quona Capital.
