Last updated on August 6th, 2023 at 07:26 am
Nigeria’s digital-only financial institution Kuda Bank has raised 10 million US dollars to further expand its digital baking across Nigeria, Africa and around the World.
Kuda is the first digital-only bank in Nigeria licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The $10 million funds is the biggest seed round ever to be raised in Africa as the bank plans to become the go-to bank “not just for those living on the continent, but for the African diaspora,” CEO Babs Ogundeyi said in a statement.
“We want to bank every African on the planet, wherever you are in the world,” he said.
Started in 2016 as a lending platform Kudimoney, it rebranded in June 2019 and got an operating banking licence from Nigeria’s apex bank to launch a full-service digital bank, the first-ever in Nigeria and Africa.
Ogundeyi and CTO Musty Mustapha in September 2019 raised a US$1.6 million funding to complete its launch
A Force in The Banking Industry
The entry of the kuda into the financial space has shown that Financial Technology is the way to go.
According to the report, kuda has garnered around 300,000 customers on its platform.
It’s also reported that it processes over $500 million of transactions each month, a report by TechCrunch reported
This explains why Nigeria is one of the biggest markets in terms of mobile growth.
Major Players In The Kuda’s $10M Fund
Business growth needs a core partnership with companies and individuals who share the objectives of a company.
As such, Kuda couldn’t have done it alone. The $10 million is being led by Target Global, the giant VC out of Europe, with Entrée Capital and SBI Investment with a number of other FinTech persons around the World.
They include:
- Raffael Johnen (Founder of Auxmoney)
- Johan Lorenzen (founder of Holvi),
- Brandon Krieg/Ed Robinson (founders of Stash),
- Oliver and Lish Jung (angel investors in Nubank, Revolut, and Chime).
The essence of the fund
The fund will be used to help accelerate its growth plans and keep up with customer demand.
Specifically, funds will be used for key hires, product development, and to expand operations across Africa.
“We are very excited about Kuda’s next phase. It is a great validation of our business model and rapid growth to date – to have the support of both Europe’s leading fintech investors and founders of successful global technology businesses. Their financial backing and support will only benefit Kuda and our customers,” Babs Ogundeyi said.
Excited about his company’s partnership with kuda, partner at Target Global, Dr Ricardo Schäfer, also a member of Kuda’s board said the emergence of digital challenger banks, would provide customers with a free, digital and significantly better banking experience compared to services offered by traditional banks, has seen huge success across the globe.
Kuda bank offers checking accounts with no monthly fees, a free debit card if you a minimum of N1,000 in your balance.
Kuda App
Within the kuda app, you are able to send, buy airtime, pay bill (TV), internet, electricity, betting, and transport and toll.
Not just that, you can also get paid by businesses and marketplaces worldwide through Payoneer when you confirm your BVN, upload ID image and ID card.
From the way kuda is designed, it’s the future of banking in Nigeria and across Africa. Sometimes ago, another payment startup in Nigeria PayStack, which has now been acquired by Stripe, added kuda on PayStack payment platform.
