Brass, a fintech startup based in Nigeria which provides financial services to small and medium businesses, has raised $1.7 million in a new round of funding to expand its capabilities for “local entrepreneurs, merchants, and fast-growing businesses.”
Ventures Platform, a pan-African VC firm, is among the investors in this round. Flutterwave CEO Olugbenga “GB” Agboola, Paystack co-founder Ezra Olubi, Hustle Fund, Acuity Ventures, and Uncovered Fund are among the other investors. Voltron Capital’s Olumide Soyombo, Leonard Stiegler, and Fola Olatunji-David are also some of the previous investors.
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Brass plans to utilize some of the funds to expand its operations to Kenya and South Africa by next year (it has finalized incorporation in the former). A partnership with Flutterwave is critical to the one-year-old company’s expansion plans across Africa, according to a statement. Brass also intends to broaden its consumer base by introducing new product categories, particularly in its lending markets.
Why The Investors Invested
Investors backed Brass for a variety of reasons, the most important of which being the startup’s significant traction thus far. The company’s comprehensive banking solution for SMEs is used by over 5,000 customers, ranging from schools and malls to eateries and fintechs like Eden and Mono.
Brass Capital, the company’s cash-flow lending business, claims to have disbursed more than $2 million in credit after being used for six months in private beta by two dozen Brass customers.
According to Kola Aina, the founder and general partner of Ventures Platform, the company’s objective to make banking work for small businesses was one of the reasons for its investment.
This is also the case for Elizabeth Yin, the general partner at Hustle Fund who noted that the VC backed the Brass Team “who are providing critical financial technology to Africa’s businesses, starting with Nigeria’s approximately 41.5 million businesses.”
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But then the startup’s biggest pitch in this investment round is its founders’ previous experience and connections. Before joining Brass, CEO Sola Akindolu was the head of product at YC-backed Kudi, while CTO Emmanuel Okeke worked at Stripe subsidiary Paystack as an engineering manager. It’s, therefore, no surprise that Paystack co-founder Ezra Olubi took part in this investment round.
A Look At What Brass Does
Brass, a Nigerian fintech founded by Sola Akindolu and Emmanuel Okeke in July 2020, provides banking services to small and medium enterprises.
Brass provides a package of services, including credit and payment processing, payroll and expenditure management, API support, cash-flow analytics, team and contact management, and other essential business services like POS, debit, and credit cards, all wrapped around a business bank account.
According to Brass, many of its clients use the site as their primary money-transfer service provider. The CEO said the fintech makes money by providing credit and API calls as part of its regular product offering.
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The concept for Brass came from Akindolu’s work at Kudi. He discovered how difficult it was for small enterprises to have flawless financial operations and cash-flow support services, which are critical to managing vendor payments, money movement, and general business health, while at Kudi.
Brass claims to be different from existing products on the Nigerian market such as Sparkle, which provides both personal and business banking services, consumer neobanks Carbon and Kuda, and Prospa, a YC-backed company that provides software and banking services to microbusinesses and freelancers, because while these products have entry points into the SME market, they do not capture the entire banking needs of businesses like Brass.
“There are many ways money can get out of the business, be it payroll, vendor payment, invoicing. We want to support businesses’ cash flow; we want to support them in those areas to make sure that money keeps running and they can keep growing their business,” Akindolu said, of Brass’ application. “So that’s, for the most part, what we’re doing with Brass today: financial operations and cash flow support.”
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Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer