TeamApt, a Nigerian fintech that provides business payments and banking platforms, has raised over $50 million in pre-series C funding. The company said the fund would allow it to expand its credit services, move into new markets, and spread financial happiness by digitising Africa’s economy.
QED Investors, a U.S. fintech-focused venture capital firm led the new investment. Novastar Ventures (co-lead), Lightrock and BII — also participated in this round.
TeamApt operates one of Nigeria’s largest business payments and banking platforms and processes a $100 billion annualized run-rate transaction value via its products Moniepoint and Monnify. Moniepoint now serves 400,000 small and medium-sized businesses across Nigeria, allowing them to access various features to manage operations: working capital, business expansion loans and business management tools such as expense management (business payments cards), accounting and bookkeeping solutions and insurance.
What they are saying
- Speaking on the fundraising, founder and Chief Executive Officer of TeamApt, Tosin Eniolorunda said: “We always approach our fundraising effort opportunistically and want to make sure the market context, cash needs of the business and investor profile match our strategic growth views. Given the overarching cautious market environment, we were not in active fundraising mode. As a profitable company, we did not need the cash, but we were happy to take an opportunity to add a new high-profile investor.”
- “From our bootstrapping days, we built products where we can see positive unit economics from day one, which has continued to be reflected in our profitability. This has put us in the realm of the few attractive cash-flow-positive hyper-growth companies — even as we continue growing at triple digits year-on-year, while at the same time expanding our margins,” he added.
- Eniolorunda said this new financing round would help TeamApt widen its credit offerings. The company’s lending portfolio is still small as it continues to lend from the balance sheet of its microfinance bank subsidiary. But as its portfolio expands, the company plans to leverage multiple lending partnerships, including banks, development finance institutions and securitization structures, to access debt facilities.
- QED Investors partner and head of Africa, Gbenga Ajayi said: “I am proud to bring Africa to QED and QED to Africa. I could not think of a better way to enter the continent than with our investment in TeamApt. Tosin and his team have steadily built an impressive payment and distribution network across Nigeria over the past five years. Their strong and positive unit economics, coupled with a deep customer focus, will enable them to continue to build out an even more expansive network.”
With almost $5 billion in assets under management (AUM) and a recently closed $1.05 billion seventh fund, QED has backed more than 180 companies (of which 27 are unicorns). In a move rarely made by Western VCs, QED announced the hiring of Gbenga Ajayi and Chidinma “Chid” Iwueke to lead its investments in Africa this January. Nigel Morris, the firm’s co-founder and managing partner, in an interview with TechCrunch, said Africa was the final piece of the puzzle for transforming QED into a global fintech-specialist VC firm.