Piggybank.ng, an online and mobile app savings platform targeted at African millennials, this morning announced it has closed a seed funding of $1.1 million from high net worth individuals, led by Olumide Soyombo, founder of LeadPath Nigeria, and with participation from international and pan-African investors, Village Capital and Ventures Platform.
The company will deploy the investment into license acquisition, product development, as well as on additional marketing spend.
Founded in 2016 by Somto Ifezue, Odunayo Eweniyi and Joshua Chibueze, graduates of Covenant University, Nigeria, Piggybank.ng looks to fill a void for as many Nigerians who have no access to credit.
After depositing small amounts of money on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, depending on the saving target, savers can expect to earn on average 6% per annum on automated savings or 10.95% per annum on the fixed deposit product. Piggybank.ng generates its revenue through asset management, which currently stands at 5 - 7%.
In a press release Joshua Chibueze, co-founder and CMO of Piggybank, notes that “Today’s announcement allows us to expand and capitalise on the many opportunities that the market presents us with. With this fundraiser, we can invest significantly in our people and products, as we build a digital financial warehouse accessible to millions of Africans whose savings woes we want to put firmly behind them.”
Piggybank.ng also claims to have recently acquired a micro-financing license from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The license, which provides the relevant regulatory cover, will allow them independence from partnering with banks.
As of June 2018, the company will also be expanding its product range to include Smart Target, a group savings tool, that can be scaled from family-size to large corporations, based on the age-long West African tradition of ajo or esusu to leverage the power of communal savings and harness the network effect of accountability.
Image Credit: Seun Sanni.
