Djamo, an Ivorien-based Y Combinator-backed fintech startup, that provides digital banking services to the underbanked, has announced the raise of $17 million in an equity round.
The round was led by Janngo Capital, a pan-African gender-focused VC. Additional investors include Y Combinator, SANAD Fund for MSMEs, Oikocredit, Partech, and Enza Capital.
Speaking on the round, Janngo’s founder Fatoumata Bâ said,
Register for Tekedia Mini-MBA edition 17 (June 9 – Sept 6, 2025) today for early bird discounts. Do annual for access to Blucera.com.
Tekedia AI in Business Masterclass opens registrations.
Join Tekedia Capital Syndicate and co-invest in great global startups.
Register to become a better CEO or Director with Tekedia CEO & Director Program.
“We are thrilled to lead Ivory Coast’s largest VC round and back Djamo’s transformative work in Francophone West Africa, where under 25% of adults have formal financial access, and women are twice as excluded. With a third of its users women, Djamo is closing gaps and driving economic opportunity.”
Djamo plans to use the funds to scale its services across Francophone Africa, betting on its unique positioning to capture a growing market. It further added that the funds will be used to enhance its offerings for over one million retail customers and thousands of small businesses in Ivory Coast and Senegal.
With its recent expansion into Senegal, the fintech startup has entered a market dominated by Wave, one of Africa’s fintech unicorn, known for low-cost mobile money transfers, but Djamo differentiates itself with a broader digital banking suite of savings, investments, and credit rather than competing solely on transfers.
Notably, unlike several African fintechs that are focusing on various markets across the African continent, Djamo has carved a niche in Francophone West Africa, where it aims to cater to the underbanked population.
Founded in 2020 by Bourgi and Chief Product and Technical Officer Régis Bamba, Djamo aims to bridge the financial access gap in French-speaking Africa, where traditional banks often serve only the wealthy, leaving most reliant on mobile money.
The fintech positions itself as a hybrid, blending mobile money’s accessibility with banking depth, targeting a younger demographic outgrowing mobile money but is wary of costly, outdated banks.
Its objective is to give hundreds of millions of people access to simple, inexpensive, mobile-first banking. To achieve this goal, Djamo has teamed up with local banks to provide frictionless mobile-first services.
The startup serves both banked users who use it as a secondary account for seamless payments and the unbanked, who form over 55% of its base and often treat it as their primary financial tool. Nine in ten users relying on Djamo as their main account are from this group. To reach them, Djamo employs a hybrid model, pairing its app with offline agents for in-person transactions, a tactic echoing mobile money’s success.
Only 5–10% of users currently receive salaries via Djamo, but the fintech founder Bourgi, aims to raise that to 50%, a key focus for the next phase. For small businesses around 10,000, many evolving from retail users Djamo offers bulk payments, payment links, and QR code tools to streamline transactions.
Revenue and Growth Strategy
In terms of revenue, Djamo earns from merchant fees on card purchases and a premium tier subscribed to by 25% of users. It’s also pursuing lending and interest on deposits, awaiting licenses for interest-bearing savings and credit products. Djamo’s founders say the company has grown revenue 5x since 2022 and processed more than $4.5 billion in transactions since launch.
Looking Ahead