TeamApt raises an undisclosed Series B to expand its financial services beyond Nigeria
TeamApt raises an undisclosed Series B to expand its financial services beyond Nigeria
TeamApt, a Nigerian fintech startup, has raised an undisclosed sum in its Series B funding round.
While the precise amount raised was not disclosed, sources close to the organization claim it is significantly more than $20 million but less than $100 million.
Novastar Ventures led the funding round, which also included participation from FMO, Global Ventures, CDC, Oui Capital, Kepple Africa Ventures, and Soma Capital, as well as a syndicate of local angel investors led by Gbenga Oyebode.
Previously, the company raised $5.5 million in a Series A round led by Quantum Capital Partners in 2019.
According to the fintech, this new round of funding will be used to expand its offerings directly to customers and micro-SMEs, providing them with the financial lifelines necessary for success. Additionally, it intends to expand its solutions outside of Nigeria.
Noor Sweid, Founder and General Partner of Global Ventures, expressed excitement about the investment, noting that it would support the company's ambitious expansion plans focused on driving value across the financial services chain. “It is with great enthusiasm that we join TeamApt in their mission to bank Africa's unbanked and underbanked. Tosin and his team's mission-driven and product-focused approach resulted in the rapid development of an optimized point of sale system and one of the largest agent networks in Nigeria in a relatively short period of time. We are pleased to join this consortium of investors in backing TeamApt and assisting the company with its ambitious expansion plans focused on driving value across the financial services chain.”
Banking the unbanked in Africa
TeamApt was founded in 2015 by several former Interswitch employees. The company initially focused on developing digital banking solutions for banks. In 2019, the company shifted its focus to financial services for Africa's underserved mass market.
According to the company, more than half of Nigeria's 99 million adult population is financially underserved, with 36 million unbanked and 14.5 million underbanked individuals.
TeamApt's hybrid solution addresses this exclusion profitably by making its financial product available in all 36 states of Nigeria.
TeamApt is bridging the divide by leveraging its existing distribution network of over 100,000 agents and dependable technology-enabled payment solutions.
In less than two years, TeamApt expanded the reach of its agent banking product, Moniepoint, to approximately 29 million previously underserved individuals with limited access to financial services.
TeamApt revealed that in the last 12 months, it processed a total of $17.5 billion in transactions via its flagship products, Moniepoint and payment gateway Monnify.
Likewise, it reported an increase of 1,081 percent year over year, with an average of 68 million transactions per month on its platform.
The company intends to use the additional funds to expand its agent network and provide financial services to underserved consumers and businesses in Nigeria.
Expanding beyond Nigeria
Following its massive success in Nigeria, TeamApt is now focusing its efforts on other African markets.
According to Tosin Eniolorunda, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of TeamApt, the funding will enable the company to expand its solutions throughout Africa.
“This fundraising effort comes at a critical point in our company's growth. We have exceeded several strategic milestones in recent years without external funding, assisting the Central Bank of Nigeria in meeting its target of 95% financial inclusion by 2024, but because the barriers to financial inclusion are not unique to Nigeria, this funding enables us to expand our solutions to other parts of Africa”.
Eniolorunda revealed during the company's June media session that TeamApt has already established similar operations in the third largest francophone African economy.
Also, he stated that they are considering countries such as Cameroon, Uganda, Congo, Guinea, Ivory Coast, South Africa, Kenya, and Ghana.
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