Brass is a Nigerian business-banking startup offering banking services to business customers. The company faced withdrawal-processing delays beginning in October 2023 after a major liquidity partner pulled out, leaving it under significant strain. That strain led Brass to furlough employees on March 4 and to seek support from larger startups; approaches to Flutterwave (for acquisition) and Moniepoint (for capital) did not materialize. Last week Brass closed a capital injection — an undisclosed mix of debt and equity — from a group of investors, with several Nigerian fintech leaders reportedly working behind the scenes. Investors said the ultimate goal of the investment is service delivery. The new funding is intended to provide working capital to resolve operational issues and restore customer-facing services such as withdrawals. Brass offers a business bank account wrapped with credit and payment services, payroll and expense management, API support, cash-flow analytics, team and contact management, POS, and debit and credit cards. The company is betting heavily on its credit product, Brass Capital, which has disbursed more than $2 million in working-capital financing after six months in private beta with roughly two dozen customers. Brass serves over 5,000 customers, including schools, malls, restaurants and fintechs, and generates revenue from providing credit and API calls. Founded in July 2020 by Sola Akindolu (ex-Kudi) and Emmanuel Okeke (ex-Paystack), the team emphasizes supporting varied SME cash-flow and financial-operations needs. Brass plans to expand across Africa, with incorporation finalized in Kenya and intentions to enter Kenya and South Africa next year, and it has a partnership with Flutterwave to aid that expansion.

Total raised

$2M

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Equity

Latest activity

Oct 2021