Blog - Afrikan Heroes

Autochek Launches Online Truck Loans Marketplace in Nigeria, Ghana

March 26, 2021

Autocheck, the innovative automobile startup with operations in Nigeria and Ghana has launched a truck loans marketplace in Nigeria and Ghana that seeks to provide a structured market for truck loans and services. The startup is combining technology and data to enhance the buying and selling experience across African consumers, by creating a single marketplace for all automotive needs.

Launched in September, Autocheck which acquired another automotive startup Cheki Nigeria and Cheki Ghana, as well as raised a US$3.4 million pre-seed funding round expanded its operations to Accra, Ghana.

Presently Autochek app has 20,000 unique vehicles listed on its platform, and more than 12,000 dealers and private sellers as well as a range of corporate partners and customers. It has now announced the launch of its online truck loans marketplace in Nigeria and Ghana, in a bid to migrate the trucking industry to online transactions and increase financing penetration.

With hundreds of truck dealers across Nigeria and Ghana on its platform, the fleet ranges from Flatbeds, Semi-trailers, Tankers as well as Heavy, Garbage and Panel trucks. As part of the rollout, Autochek is partnering with key logistics stakeholders in Nigeria and Ghana, including Kobo360, to finance trucks for African e-logistics transporters and truck owners. This means that customers interested in owning a truck can do that with financing at the best rates.

The new platform is available via the Autochek Android app or website and all trucks undergo a 150-point check inspection process before being listed to guide the customers on the exact state of the trucks. Autochek will also now provide the same services to trucks as it does with the cars already listed on its platform. Its 360-degree solution provides truck financing through finance partners with core expertise in fleet financing such as Baobab Group and FundQuest with spread across Africa and competitive rates. To ensure trucks are kept on the road in good conditions, truck owners also enjoy affordable and expert maintenance services from standardised workshops and technicians in the Autochek partner network.

“Autochek’s focus has always been on transforming automotive trade on the continent. Now it is time for us to extend our services to trucks, as we build out our network and support our partners by providing a structured market for them to purchase and maintain their fleet,” said John Egwu, Autochek’s VP of operations.

“Financing penetration for trucks is lower than one per cent in Africa and our ambition is to migrate what is known to be a core offline market to a digital platform, in order to increase financing penetration and create a one-stop-shop that will not just meet partners’ needs but also ultimately increase earning capabilities and job creation across the value chain.”

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

The Global Extreme Tech Challenge Calls for Applications in Africa

Atlantica Ventures and EchoVC have partnered to launch the first XTC Africa, a new regional competition of Extreme Tech Challenge (XTC), which is the largest global competition for entrepreneurs addressing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through purposeful technology.

The XTC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit devoted to elevating the next generation of entrepreneurs creating new technologies and innovations to benefit humankind. Inspired by the UN’s 17 SDGs, the XTC supports and showcases the innovators harnessing the power of technology to address the greatest challenges facing humanity and the planet.

Through its global startup competition, XTC provides top contenders the potential for global visibility, the ability to raise capital, network with global entities, and gain mentorship opportunities they need to pioneer technological breakthroughs and help power a sustainable future.

The XTC competition is open to all product or service submissions based on a new technology or an innovative application of an existing technology built by the submitting company that has the potential to address one of XTC’s Tech for Good categories.

Competitors will submit their startup in one of 7 categories that bundle the UN SDGs, namely Agri-tech, food and water; Cleantech and Energy; Education; Enabling Technologies; Fintech; Healthcare; and Transportation and smart cities. There is also a Female Founder Award, and a COVID-19 Innovation Award.

Applications are open until April 2. Finalists will be announced by the beginning of May, and invited to participate in the XTC virtual bootcamp and final judging for the category winners. Category winners will be invited to pitch at the 2021 Global Finals at VivaTech in Paris in June, where the winners will be announced.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Rwanda’s Startup Plans to Bring Smart City Solutions to Kigali

Albert Niyibizi, head of sales and marketing at Inuma

The need to bring smart city solutions to residents of Kigali has driven the Rwandan startup Inuma Technology to build a portfolio of solutions designed to bring the concept of the smart city to Kigali’s residents. Inuma which was founded in 2017 has eschewed the usual startup practice of focusing on, and becoming a leader in, one vertical, and instead developed a host of products with a common goal – of providing smart and “radically helpful” solutions to Rwandans.

Its portfolio focuses on smart city solutions, and includes Inumastore, a drop-shipping service linking Amazon.com with Kigali; Inuma Smart House, which is creating Connected Homes with a smart assistant; Inuma GPS, fleet services, asset management, and wildlife tracking solution; and Inuma Cybersecurity, an offensive cybersecurity programme. It is even developing self-driving cars, which it will begin piloting in Kigali this year.

Albert Niyibizi, head of sales and marketing at Inuma said that “all of these are built from the ground-up without any third-party inputs,” Initial uptake of some of these solutions has been quite impressive. Inumastore, for example, has already made around 300 deliveries, with a customer satisfaction of 4.7 out of five on Google, and Niyibizi said other products are also seeing strong growth.

“The first and only gap we saw was just the inability to build our own systems. Many systems used by hospitals or financial institutions are built by foreign engineers at a pharaonic price, and their daily maintenance is another story,” Niyibizi said. By developing solutions locally, Inuma is looking to overcome this challenge. Self-funded thus far, the startup plans to take on venture capital this year in order to grow.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Startups Are Invited To Apply For The Africa Startup Initiative Program

The Africa Startup Initiative Program (ASIP) is a new accelerator set up by Startupbootcamp AfriTech and Telecel Group. The two organizations seek to support the next generation of African tech startups in the early stages and disrupting a wide range of sectors.

These startups must promote innovative ideas and concepts, able to create a difference within the communities where they are established. Via the ASIP they will receive, in three months, the help to reach a growth of 18 to 24 months. 10 of them will have access to masterclasses led by experts. The lessons will cover the fundamentals of scaling, from the business model canvas, to the lean methodology, including fundraising. Mentors, venture capitalists and bunisess angels will also be on hand.

In the framework of pilot projects, the different startups will collaborate with well-established companies in their respective sectors. They will receive $18,000 in cash and can expect to access $590,000 through partnership agreements with companies like Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, HubSpot and SendGrid.

Registrations are possible here. They are open until May 14.

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

Africa Startup Initiative Program

Ingressive Capital Invests In Ghana’s Complete Farmer

Nigerian venture capital fund Ingressive Capital has invested an undisclosed amount in Accra-based digital farming platform Complete Farmer.

“Complete Farmer started as an effort to honor my father’s legacy after inheriting his farm when he passed away. I wanted to apply my production engineering skills to revive the farm. This moment sparked the current Complete Farmer journey as I realized challenges that were prevalent in the agriculture value chain,” Desmond Koney the Founder of Complete Farmer said.

*Desmond Koney the Founder of Complete Farmer*

Founded in 2017, Complete Farmer aims to ensure food security in Ghana while enabling users to earn money by operating remotely. Users sponsor farms and in return earn income after harvest, when Complete Farmer sells its products to buyers.

Over the past three years, the startup has successfully implemented a crowd farmer model with a total of 7,200 acres of total production serving commodities to Asia, Europe and the rest of the world, however they are not to be misconstrued as a crowdfunding platform rather Africa’s first end-to-end digital agriculture value chain platform. This platform has been built as a three-sided marketplace where Buyers, Growers and Digifarmers.

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

Complete farmer Ghana

Facebook To Implement 16% Tax Regime On Businesses In Kenya From April 1, 2021

In Kenya, Facebook has implemented taxes that will take effect on April 1, 2021. Under the new tax regime, if an advertising company targets Kenya as its “Sold To” country and has not verified that it is advertising for business purposes, the company will be subject to an additional 16% VAT on their advertising services purchased after April 1, 2021.

“Due to implementation of a value-added tax (VAT) in Kenya, Facebook is required to charge VAT on the sale of ads to advertisers that are not advertising for business purposes in Kenya,” it explained in a statement.

“All advertisers with a business country of Kenya who have not confirmed they are advertising for business purposes will be charged an additional 16% VAT on advertising services purchased after 1 April 2021.”

Here Is What You Need To Know

Facebook stated that not everyone who has a Facebook account will be eligible for a tax deduction, but only those who meet the requirements will be.

Facebook said in the Ad Accounts Settings of Ads Manager, “You can check the box to confirm whether or not you’re advertising for business purposes and responsible for self-assessing and paying VAT in compliance with the Tax Code of Kenya,”

Facebook says it “doesn’t apply VAT to your purchase of Facebook ads” if you confirm you’re advertising for business purposes.

If you are not buying Facebook ads for business purposes, Facebook has added the VAT will be added whenever you are paying for your ads.

“Because VAT is added on top of charges, you won’t reach your billing threshold faster, but you may be charged more than your billing threshold amount. If you pay for Facebook ads with a manual payment method, VAT is accounted for and applied at the applicable local rate when your ad account is funded to determine the total balance available,” Facebook said.

The New Era Of Digital Service Tax In Kenya

With effect from January 1, 2021, all digital marketplaces operating in Kenya are now be required to pay a 1.5% digital service tax after the Finance Act 2020 amendment of the Income Tax Act of Kenya was passed into law.

The new 1.5% ‘Digital Service Tax’ (DST) imposed on the gross transaction value of services is due at the time of payment.

Additionally, under Kenya’s new 2020 Value Added Tax (Digital Market Supply) Regulations, digital marketplaces (ecommerce websites) that fail to pay Value Added Tax (at 14%) pursuant Section 5(8) of the country’s Value Added Tax Act, 2013 shall, in addition to the penalties prescribed under the law, be liable to restriction of access to their websites in Kenya until such tax is paid.

With these regulations, Kenyan Revenue Authority (KRA) is targeting ecommerce platforms with taxes to fund the Sh3 trillion ($28 billion) 2020/2021 budget.

“A digital marketplace supplier from an export country who is required to register under the simplified VAT registration framework shall apply to the Commissioner for registration within thirty days from the publication of these regulations,” the regulation reads in part.

Under the regulation, any person offering taxable services through a digital marketplace (ecommerce) shall be required to register for tax in Kenya.

The new tax now means that if, for instance, you are are taking an Uber and the cost of the trip is KES 100, the digital service tax is KES 1.5. If the fee is KES 200, the tax is KES 3.

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), in charge of implementing and enforcing taxes in Kenya, has said it has created a special unit to track transactions and tax multi-nationsl using data-driven detection.

One will be subject to DST if one provides or facilitates provision of a service to a user who is located in Kenya.

Facebook has joined YouTube in deducting taxes for the US government from all outlets, including those run by producers who do not live in the US.

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

Covid-19 Induced Loss Hits Harder on Kenya Airways

March 25, 2021

Kenya Airways has announced what market watchers described as its worst results in memorable history as the airline continues to take stock of the full impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on its operations and businesses. This has triggered new talks of nationalization as the management rues the historic loss of over $330 million for the fiscal year of 2020 due to passenger numbers dropping by close to two-thirds, and the share loss jumped by as much. Meanwhile, a secret $91 million government bailout is waiting in the wings.

Apart from the rare exception, air operator financial results coming in for the full fiscal year of 2020 are severely in the red. Many account for historical losses. Forty-four-year-old Kenya Airways announced today that its pretax losses for 2020 amounted to 36.57 billion shillings ($333.2 million) – close to triple the sum from the previous year.

According to The Star Kenya, the airline’s Chief Executive Officer Allan Kilavuka said that passenger numbers dropped from 5.2 million in 2019 to 1.8 million during the year currently under review. Kenya Airways’ Chairman, Michael Joseph, was quoted as saying that things are bound to remain dire for the near future. “The COVID-19 global outbreak in 2020 was beyond anyone’s prediction, and its impact on the industry is expected to continue affecting air travel demand for the next two to three years,” Mr Joseph said.

Kenya Airways’ passenger numbers dropped from 5.2 to 1.8 million year-on-year. In December, KQ and Air France-KLM announced that they would be terminating their joint venture. Already suspended due to the ongoing crisis, the agreement will now officially end on September 1st this year. The Group still owns 7.8% of Kenya Airways. The remainder of the airline is divided, with 48.9% belonging to the Kenyan government, 38.1% to the KQ Lenders Company, and the rest to private shareholders.

Several voices have long called for the airline’s privatization, which the country’s Treasurer has also said it would favor as a long-term plan. However, in February, it was revealed that Kenya’s Treasury had approved a further Sh10 billion (approx. $91 million) in what Business Daily referred to as a ‘secret bailout’. The airline first sought state-aid (as a result of the COVID-19 crisis) in March last year, having halted all flights on March 22nd after orders from the government.

Even before COVID, the airline was struggling severely. With a loss of $258 million in 2106, the carrier came to the brink of bankruptcy due to a tremendous amount of debt, and lessors were threatening to repossess their aircraft. According to data from Planespotters.net, KQ only owns a few of its 39 aircraft outright – four Boeing 737s and seven of its nine 787 Dreamliners.

The SkyTeam alliance member also saw cargo volumes drop due to canceled flights leading to reduced belly space. Hoping to profit more from the airfreight demand growing due to such conditions, the airline, a little late on the ball compared to other ‘preighter’ operators, has converted one of its Boeing 787 Dreamliners to a temporary cargo-carrier.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Light at the end of the tunnel for Africa’s economic recovery

By Chuku, Adamon Mukasa and Yaye Betty Camara

Africa is set to recover from its worst recession in half a century. Real GDP is projected to grow by 3.4% in 2021 after contracting by an estimated 2.1% in 2020, mainly due to COVID-19 related disruptions, according to the African Development Bank’s (www.AfDB.org) recently released African Economic Outlook (AEO) (https://bit.ly/3lMe67I). The pandemic also caused deep scars in the financing and debt landscape of the continent that may linger on if not quickly addressed.

At the launch of the AEO, Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz rightly explained how the COVID-19 pandemic caused both demand- and supply-side shocks in the continent. “It affected the demand for exports of African countries…but it also affected the willingness of people to work in some of the more exposed sectors and its effects were very disparate across different sectors.”

Following Stiglitz’s train of thought, Africa’s projected recovery will be subject to an unusually high level of uncertainty and risks, as is also pointed out in the analyses of the AEO.

Recovery prospects and risks

The most obvious risk to the recovery is the disease itself. The emergence of more contagious strains of the COVID-19 virus could derail the recovery process. Furthermore, if progress in deploying safe and effective treatment is slower than expected, governments would have to reinstate restrictions. On the upside, if COVID-19 therapeutics and vaccines become accessible in the continent earlier than anticipated, the growth projection for 2021 could be exceeded, leading to a more robust recovery.

Another risk factor relates to the financial inflows to the continent. Although commodity prices have recovered somewhat from the low levels seen in mid-2020, they remain subdued compared to their pre-pandemic levels. Remittances are estimated to have dropped by nearly 10% in 2020, while tourism, foreign direct investments, and portfolio investments were halted in many countries. If these sources of inflows do not rebound, public finances in many African economies will remain suppressed, jeopardizing the projected recovery.

Social and geopolitical tensions in the region are also a major source of risk. The number of conflict-related events in the continent, including political violence, rose in 43 countries in 2020. If these tensions are not properly defused, they could result in policy uncertainty, dampening investor confidence, and could ultimately derail growth prospects.

Policies to sustain the recovery

In the end, government policies could make or break the recovery. For example, governments’ containment measures have helped accelerate digitalization in Africa, with more people adopting digital transactions, virtual meetings, e-medicine, e-commerce and other electronic platforms. If digitalization is sustained in the post-pandemic era, it would accelerate productivity and foster rapid and quality growth.

Furthermore, policymakers must not prematurely withdraw the current fiscal and monetary stimulus packages that have supported recovery. Support for the health sector should continue to consolidate gains in the fight against the virus. Effective policies to retool Africa’s labour force for the future of work must also be aggressively pursued. The African Continental Free Trade Area agreement should be used to strengthen regional and multinational trade and cooperation to stimulate shared prosperity. New public investment projects should focus on pandemic- and climate-proof infrastructure to help build economic resilience.

The impact of school closures on human capital development and the inequalities it creates between the rich and the poor, and between girls and boys, must be mitigated through targeted policies. Whenever in-person learning is possible, schools should open with the appropriate safety protocols in place. Otherwise, learning should continue using traditional media – print, radio, TV – and digital technologies such as smartphones and computers. Social safety nets, including cash transfers and in-kind support, should be expanded to include previously neglected groups in slums and informal businesses, taking advantage of the accelerated digital penetration.

Policies to strengthen good governance and structural reforms should be aggressively implemented as part of efforts to mitigate the COVID-19 crisis and avoid a looming debt crisis. African countries must eradicate all forms of “leakages” in public finances and pursue an all-out effort to harness digital technologies to propel the continent into the fourth industrial revolution and into a future that is far more resilient to economic shocks.

By Chuku, Adamon Mukasa and Yaye Betty Camara are of the Debt Sustainability and Forecasting Division, African Development Bank.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Kaspersky Warns of Cyberattack Dangers in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa

Denis Parinov, a cybersecurity expert at Kaspersky.

Global cybersecurity firm Kaskersky has warned that there is looming cybersecurity danger as a quarter of users in South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria are attacked by malware hiding within their devices. According to Kaspersky, in 2020, 25% of Kaspersky private users in South Africa, 40% in Kenya and 38% in Nigeria were attacked by such threats.

Kaspersky notes that there is a common misconception that the most dangerous threats to encounter on modern users’ digital journeys are likely to appear during Internet surfing. The reality however, based on the most recent analysis of cyberattacks in South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria within 2020 by Kaspersky experts demonstrates that users are in fact more likely to face malware related attacks hidden within their devices.

Such threats are classified as ‘local’, which means they are detected either on user’s devices or on portable data storage devices, such as flash drives. In 2020, 25% of Kaspersky private users in South Africa, 40% in Kenya and 38% in Nigeria were attacked by such threats. To provide a comparison, web attacks only affected 9% of users in South Africa, 11% in Kenya and 8% in Nigeria.

When looking at corporate users in these regions, the numbers are similar: 23% of corporate users in South Africa, 29% in Kenya and 35% in Nigeria encountered such local threats within 2020. Unfortunately, there has been an increase in the sophistication of such threats – which may be hiding on the user’s device within a seemingly legitimate file for a while, to fly under the radar, and only strike later.

“The cyber threat landscape across Africa is constantly evolving,” says Denis Parinov, a cybersecurity expert at Kaspersky. “A few years ago, there were much more drive-by attacks – cases when different malicious software is downloaded and being run while the user simply browses the Internet. Nowadays, most of the web-threats “stays in browser”: they specialise in content replacement, browser locking or clickjacking, online-skimming, cookie stuffing, etc.

Now the situation when a user could download a malicious file directly is not too often. It’s more common for a malware to be disguised as something else to hide from the security solutions, remaining an unseen threat to users. The good news however is that modern security solutions are too advanced for such malware to fly under radars – it is more likely to be blocked either during the initial scan of the file by a security solution that happens by default, or within the very moment such programs attempt to launch.”

To protect against cyber threats including malware, Kaspersky recommends keeping to the following guidelines:

Do not follow dubious links from letters, messages in instant messengers or SMS

Regularly install updates for the operating system and applications

Install applications only from official stores

Use complex and different passwords for accounts

Regularly copy important data from your device to the cloud, to a USB flash drive or hard drive

Do not give applications access to those functions that they do not need and always install a reliable security solution such as Kaspersky Internet Security

In addition, companies are encouraged to provide training to improve cyber literacy among their employees. For example, the automated platform Kaspersky ASAP helps to develop safe behaviour skills and form sustainable cybersecurity habits. The solution allows the company to assess the current knowledge of an employee in the field of cybersecurity, and in accordance with this, determine the set of skills that the employee needs, depending on job duties and risk profile, and build a timetable for the program.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Local Investors Lead $2m Investment In Nigerian Fintech Bankly

Bankly, a Nigerian fintech company that is digitising the informal thrift collection system known in Nigeria as esusu or ajo, has raised $2 million in its seed round.

“We’re thrilled to have closed this milestone fundraise and to have such seasoned fintech investors who understand the market join us on this journey to bank Nigeria’s unbanked. Now we have built the agent network and are poised to serve customers directly via offline and online channels. Partnerships, collaboration, and a deep understanding of the needs of the unbanked will be vital to our success,” said CEO Tomilola Adejana.

*L-R: Fredrick Adams (Chief Product Officer) and Tomilola Adejana (Chief Executive Officer)*

Here Is What You Need Need To Know

Vault, the holding company of VANSO (a fintech that was sold to Interswitch in 2016), Plug and Play Ventures, Rising Tide Africa, and Chrysalis Capital are among the investors in the latest round.

With the latest funding, the startup expects to recruit more agents. Bankly, assisted by the funding, will also sell direct-to-consumer goods in the coming months to broaden its 35,000 customer base in cash-dependent communities.

Why The Investors Invested

Investment in Bankly keeps up with the growing interests of investors in the Nigerian fintech industry, especially with the recent acquisition of Paystack and the unicorn status achieved by Flutterwave.

What is however interesting about investors in this round is that a majority of them are locally based. VANSO, Rising Tide Africa and Chrysalis Capital all have their main locations in Lagos, Nigeria.

Some investors, such as Rising Tide Africa and Chrysalis Capital, are also gender-specific, investing mostly in female-led startups. Chrysalis Capital had previously invested in Helium Health, while Rising Tide Africa recently made investment in Ghanaian fintech startup OZÉ.

The main reason for investing in Bankly is, however, the fact that the startup is helping to solve financial inclusion problems in the West African country.

Many Nigerians, for numerous reasons are currently unbanked and lack access to formal financial services. The results of the EFInA Access to Financial Services in Nigeria 2012 survey, for instance, showed that 34.9 million adults representing 39.7% of the adult population were financially excluded. Only 28.6 million adults were banked, representing 32.5% of the adult population. Billions of Naira circulate through the informal sector and this has a negative impact on the country’s economic growth and development. The EFInA Access to Financial Services in Nigeria 2012 survey revealed that 23.0 million adults save at home. If 50.0% of these people were to save N1,000 per month with a bank, then up to N138 billion could be incorporated into the formal financial sector every year.

In 2019, the Central Bank of Nigeria issued a policy targeted at phasing out all transactions involving the movement of cash within the country. According to the policy aimed at discouraging cash transactions, cash withdrawal by an individual from N500, 000 and above attracts 3% of the amount withdrawn while cash deposit of N500, 000 and above attracts 2% of the amount to be deposited.

“Given our over 20 years of experience in Nigeria’s fintech industry and previous exits, we strongly believe that Bankly understands the nuanced needs of this market — not to mention the team, strategy, and technology — to succeed in bringing affordable financial services to the unbanked. We are delighted to participate in this financing round as Bankly moves into its next growth stage,” Idris Alubankudi Saliu, partner at Vault said.

A Look At What Bankly Does

Founded in 2018 by Tomilola Adejana and Fredrick Adams, Bankly collates money through its 15,000 agents from unbanked people, allowing them to save using online and offline methods. Customers can deposit and withdraw cash at any time from a Bankly agent. Since there are thousands of agents in these cash-dependent societies, this addresses the problem of access.

“The first phase is building agent networks which is good, but that’s not the goal,” CEO Adejana said. “Just in the same way mobile inclusion happened, you need to then focus on acquiring customers who, after transferring cash to their mobile accounts, use it to buy airtime or make payments. We call that the three-phase process. The distribution first, then focusing on the consumer, after that full digitization. This is how we reach financial inclusion.”

Learn more about how Esusu.Africa, co-founded by a Nigerian, is doing exactly what Bankly is doing here.

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