There is no disputing the fact that the most prevalent startup businesses in Nigeria are Fintech startups. With the inflow of investment reaching new levels and an influx of innovative product features, Fintechs have contributed a great deal to Nigeria’s economy.
Recently, Nigerian Fintech startup, NowNow Digital systems, a leading African B2B and B2C FinTech company whose mission is to deliver best-in-class financial services to SMEs, Agents, and Consumers alike, has raised $13 million in its seed round to improve financial inclusion in Africa.
The funding round saw participation from Neo Vision Ventures Ltd, DLF family office, and Shadi Abdulhadi. The company via a statement disclosed its intentions to use the funds raised to improve Financial exclusivity across Africa and drive empowerment, as well as introduce new products that will further enhance its already existing services.
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This is coming after a year the company was named the Best Mobile Fintech Solution in the 2021 Leaders in Fintech awards. The fintech startup company is on a mission to create the best technology in the world for digitizing cash payments in Africa and for Africans.
Speaking about the raise, CEO and co-founder of NowNow Digital Systems, Sahir Berry revealed how the company is committed to reaching its goal by including a large percentage of people financially.
He said:
“With the secured funding, we look to not only provide services that include everyone financially but also upscale our agile ecosystem which ensures that our multidimensional offering remains a market leader.
“The credit facility will also support our unique strategy to advance financial inclusion and independence through financial education. The interest and backing of our investors will enable us to grow our world-class team as we would be unveiling innovative products and services”
It is interesting to note that NowNow was the only African startup chosen for the latest Mastercard Start Path Global program cohort. The program was created to assist startups on their global scaling journeys in the financial services industry.
As part of their commitment to enabling seamless financial services in Nigeria, the fintech startup launched a first-of-its-kind fully integrated Near Field Communication (NFC) enabled wallet in 2017, allowing them to offer a complete contactless payment service.
Also commenting on the raise, is Gary Peters, Managing Partner at Capital V Ltd, who disclosed that what propelled them to invest in the startup was due to the the founders’ tenacity to grow the company.
In his words;
“One of the key elements that propelled us to invest in NowNow through one of our funds is based on the founders’ tenacity to grow the company to a viable level, as well as overcoming many challenges and market cycles since its inception in 2018.
“Whenever we meet a company founder like Sahir Berry, whose leadership’s vision aligns with Capital V’s fund of funds strategy to back disruptive and high-potential start-ups, especially in emerging markets like Africa, the decision process becomes easier.”
The team at NowNow disclosed that their mission is to deliver best-in-class financial services to SMEs, agents, and consumers through a digitized ecosystem, providing financial empowerment to Africans while eliminating the traditional banking experience.
The company also recently collaborated with the prestigious Lagos Business School (LBS) and Sustainable Inclusive Digital Financial Services (SIDFS) to launch a financial education and literacy program aimed at driving financial inclusion growth in Nigeria.