In a bid to continue to expand its services into the international market, Nigerian Fintech firm, Lidya has launched in Poland and Czech Republic.
The fintech company said that it plans to disburse €1 billion ($1.1 billion) in the next five years to small businesses unable to get bank loans.
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Speaking about the launch, Lidya’s co-founder, Ercin Eksin reiterated the company’s objective to support the SMEs through the provision of loans in order to solve their funding challenges.
“We have built a world-class business that is helping SMEs to access the credit they need to grow, often for the first time. Our technology is proven in Nigeria where we have helped thousands of businesses to create wealth and employment. Improving access to credit for SMEs is a global problem and we have ambitious international expansion plans to meet this challenge.
“Through Lidya, we have the opportunity to empower the growth of SMEs in Africa, Europe and around the world. SMEs create the most number of jobs and significantly contribute to GDP. We are on a mission to support the creation of 100 million jobs in fast-growing economies,” Eksin said.
The company further announced that Tomasz Sekalski would be leading the Lidya team in Poland while Libor Vanicek would lead the team in the Czech Republic. Lidya made it known that it had disbursed more than 10,000 loans in Nigeria as it aimed to become the biggest SME digital lender in the market by the end of the year.
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Why this matters: The role of SMEs in enhancing economic growth and development has, over time, been widely acknowledged globally. Economic wealth all over the world is created through enterprises and the expansion of their output. This is why it is important to give SMEs the much-needed support as they create value and enhances the gross domestic product.
What you should know: Lidya was founded in 2016 by Tunde Kehinde, who also co-founded Jumia Nigeria. Since its establishment, Lidya has raised up to $10 million in funding. This current expansion adds to Lidya’s operations in New York, Lagos, Nigeria Porto, Portugal and Warsaw, Indiana, USA.
