Leading developmental investment bank, DLM Capital Group has announced its plans to expand into Nigeria’s million-dollar fintech sector, following its acquisition of Links Microfinance Bank.

The license will give DLM Capital Group the mandate to operate small-scale banking services in Nigeria. This will also allow the launch of its star digital lending brand, Sofri, in the second quarter of this year. The acquisition, combined with the bank’s many fintech efforts already underway, will position it to deliver even more value for corporates and consumers.

DLM Capital Group’s acquisition of Links MFB represents both an entry into new businesses and complementary enhancements to the institution’s existing subsidiaries.

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First, this prospect opens new market opportunities for the bank on the African continent.

Second, the acquisition will enable the institution to exit its ‘legacy bank’ visibility and work more closely with the fintech community to build a ‘challenger bank’ brand that proffers innovative technological solutions for the Nigerian market.

What they are saying

The Corporate Communications Manager at DLM Capital Group, Chinwendu Ohakpougwu stated:

“We are particularly excited about our acquisition of Links MFB and how it enhances the growth trajectory of our business. This highly strategic acquisition represents another significant milestone for us on our journey as a resilient and well-capitalized financial institution with advanced scale and capacity to deliver sustainable and best-in-class financial services within the Nigerian market.

We are confident that this decade will be bullish for Nigeria’s tech space and are ready to work with the fintech community in strengthening the solutions necessary to meet consumer needs.”

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What you should know

DLM Capital Group prides itself as a foremost developmental investment bank in Africa and functions as a sole arranger to more than 80% of structured finance transactions in Nigeria, with 100% of all securitization transactions in the market currently.

Curacel, an AI-powered platform for claims processing and fraud management in Africa, has raised $450,000 pre-seed funding.

The round was led by Atlantica Ventures and Consonance with participation from Kepple Ventures and other African angel investors.

The insurtech startup already works with some of the biggest insurers on the continent, including AXA Mansard, Liberty Health, and Old Mutual, as well as more than 800 hospitals in Nigeria, Ghana, and Uganda. It plans to expand into 10 new African countries by the end of 2021.

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Every year, African insurers lose more than $12 billion to fraudulent, wasteful, and abusive claims. Curacel’s flagship CLAIMS platform acts as a bridge between primary care hospitals and Africa’s insurance companies, using advanced artificial intelligence to ensure that insurance companies only pay claims for the correct treatment, appropriate medications, and recommended patient therapies.

Curacel is also scheduled to launch Curacel Capital, a cash advance product that makes it easier for healthcare providers to access working capital to mitigate financial challenges. Delayed payments and other inefficiencies in the payment process mean many African healthcare providers often have to make the difficult choice between keeping the books balanced or providing healthcare at a loss.

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With Curacel Capital, healthcare providers can access lump sums of up to three times their average monthly billings, based on claims processed on the Curacel portal, ensuring that they can continue to deliver essential services without undue disruption.

With insurance penetration at just 2.8% across the continent, many Africans are one accident or health emergency away from poverty. And in Africa’s communal societies, tragedy impacts entire communities, with people emptying their savings to pay for medical expenses, burials, or other disaster relief for family members and kin. By leveraging Curacel’s products and services, insurers across the continent are better equipped to close the insurance gap and safeguard prosperity.

The new investment will be used to accelerate Curacel’s expansion across Africa and facilitate the goal of becoming Africa’s premier provider of embedded finance technology for insurance.

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What they are saying

According to Curacel Co-founder and CEO, Henry Mascot, “We are excited to have these investors on board and we are looking forward to partnering with them to drive our vision of improving insurance inclusion across Africa. At Curacel, we are uniquely positioned to safeguard livelihoods and increase the quality of life through our unique, market-leading products and services.”

IK Kanu, Partner at Atlantica Ventures noted that “the African insurance market represents a significant growth opportunity and we are delighted to be partnering with Curacel to drive growth in this sector. There is an opportunity to create an entirely new market of products and services here and we look forward to supporting the team to improve health outcomes across the continent.”

“We believe the Curacel team has what it takes to be market leaders and we are excited to support them. They have a great product and we are delighted to be coming on board at this early stage,” Mobolaji Adeoye, Managing Partner at Consonance added.