Nigerian financial super app, Yep! completes $1.5m pre-seed funding

Yep!, a Nigerian financial super app, has raised US$1.5 million in pre-seed funding as it prepares to launch its solution in five African countries.

Yep!, founded last year by Olaoluwa Awojoodu, Airende Ojeomogha, and Garry Ottosen, is a financial super app focused on leveraging technology to deliver seamless financial services and solutions to Africans.

Yep! Consumers, which will be available to retail customers, and Yep! Business, which will be available to MSMEs, merchants, and enterprises, are among its core offerings. Greenhouse Capital led a US$1.5 million pre-seed funding round for the startup, which is launching its app on iOS and Android in five African countries: Nigeria, Niger, Togo, Ivory Coast, and Burkina Faso.

Yep! has ambitious growth plans to more than double its current network of approximately 100,000 merchants to over 200,000 by the end of 2022. As the company scales its lending operations, the founders are also in talks with international credit providers to increase the super-debt app’s facility to US$10 million by the end of this year.

“As we expand across the continent, we have secured a US$500,000 credit facility that will allow us to begin providing working capital loans to our existing merchants.” As we work to fulfill our promise of providing financial access to all Africans and connecting Africans to the rest of the world, expanding Yeplending !’s capacity will be a key driver in attracting more customers and merchants to our ecosystem. “Access to finance can be transformative – it opens doors for those who need it the most and has a significant impact on the overall economy,” Awojoodu said.

As part of its mission to increase financial inclusion, Yep! will use its existing merchant network, PayCentre Africa, to make it easier for rural communities that would otherwise be financially excluded to enter the formal economy. Entrepreneurs, small business owners, students, MSMEs, and merchants can use the company’s services to gain safe and easy digital access to financial solutions.

Over five million customers transacted more than US$2 billion through the company’s expanding network of merchants in 2021 alone. In order to close the loop and bank these customers, Yep! obtained a microfinance bank license in Nigeria, allowing the company to set up accounts for customers, businesses, and merchants in seconds.

Building on remittance flows to Africa from the diaspora and migrants from the region, the company is exploring partnerships with leading US banks and service providers to expand its products to customers in the US.

“We are delighted to assist Olaoluwa, Airende, and Garry in making financial services available to consumers and businesses on the continent and in the diaspora.” “The founders are experienced operators, and we were impressed by the vision, the team, and the speed with which they executed,” said Ruby Nimkar, partner at Greenhouse Capital.