SmallSmall, a Nigerian real estate startup, has raised $3 million in seed funding, with $2 million coming from equity and $1 million coming from debt.
Among the investors are Techstars, Oyster Ventures, Asymmetry Ventures, Vivaz, and Niche Capital. Individual angels who took part were Chartboost’s Sean Fannan, Universe’s Adam Meghji, Flutterwave’s Jimmy Ku, Esusu’s Samir Goel, Wemimo Abbey, Iroko’s Jason Njoku, and Vendease’s Tunde Kara.
Currently based in Lagos, the company intends to use the cash to expand into other Nigerian cities by the end of the first quarter of 2023, including Port Harcourt, Enugu, and Jos.
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Why The Investors Invested
Since its inception, the firm has gained significant traction. The startup claims that over 476,000 people have registered on its platform since 2018. Despite the fact that there are 80,000 people on the waiting list, the firm has only served about 1,500 people.
SmallSmall also claims to have processed over 25,000 monthly stays in Lagos and Abuja, meaning that the average SmallSmall user spends 17 months on the platform.
The company also claims to have a rent default rate of less than 7%, saving property owners more than $1.5 million in damages and tenants more than $1.2 million in broker costs.
A Look At What The Startup Does
Tunde Balogun (CEO) previously co-founded RentSmallSmall in 2018 with Naomi Olaghere and Pidah Tnadah.
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Renters, according to the business, would have access to monthly rent payments, while landlords will be able to vet tenants, enhance income, and manage properties.
“That illustrates how high demand is, relative to supply, which is really slim,” says Balogun.
RentSmallSmall relaunched to SmallSmall in July 2022 to expand the supply pool and provide clients with more possibilities.
As a result, RentSmallSmall is now one of the company’s products. BuySmallSmall and StaySmallSmall are the other products.
RentSmallSmall allows users to rent and pay for apartments on a monthly basis. It discovers and packages freshly built properties by developers — studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom apartments — that match the company’s market need.
It also promotes them as real estate investment options for young people looking to get into the market.
After purchasing these properties, the owners contact landlords and offer them on RentSmallSmall in order to make passive income when other users pay rent.
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“Homeownership can improve the economic status in one way or another because it generates passive income for people to meet other needs. So we want to play a part in that and help young people in their journey from renting to investing to eventually buying real estate,” the CEO said.
StaySmallSmall allows users to rent furnished bed quarters for as little as $4 per night.
SmallSmall real estate SmallSmall real estate
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexperts.com/view_expert/charles-rapulu-udoh