Led · Safe · Feb 2024

Founded in 2016, PiggyVest began as a deposit-holding savings app that invested customer funds in government assets and has since evolved into a holding company operating multiple services including PiggyVest (wealth management), Pocket (payments), and Patronize (POS). The app enforces scheduled access to funds (four free withdrawals per year) and has paid out over ₦1.1 trillion to customers through fixed withdrawal timelines, disbursing ₦400 billion in 2022. PiggyVest reports roughly $25 million in revenue in 2021 and about $27 million in 2022, and the company says it has been profitable. By the end of 2022 the platform claimed over 4.5 million registered users on its wealth-management service. The holding company, PiggyTech Global Holdings Limited, is incorporated in the UK and Nigeria and, since mid-2023, shows a fund manager license through an affiliate, PV Capital. The firm has been pursuing external funding for more than two years amid valuation disagreements and a challenging fundraising environment. Piggybank.ng provides online savings plans that let low- and middle-income Nigerians deposit small amounts daily, weekly, monthly, or annually, with no upfront fees. Savers earn interest rates between 6% and 10% depending on product and duration, and the company invests client funds primarily in Nigerian government securities such as bonds and treasury bills. The startup recently launched Smart Target, a group investment product aimed at informal savings clubs (Esusu/Ajo) that automates goal selection and disbursement across member bank accounts. Piggybank.ng generates revenue through asset management fees and from the float its balances create at partner banks; users must hold accounts with those partner banks. The company reports 53,000 registered users (60% millennials) who have saved over $5M since 2016. Piggybank.ng says it will use new capital for license acquisition and product development, and it is pursuing a micro‑finance banking license with Nigeria’s Central Bank. Management has taken preliminary steps to launch in other African markets, notably Kenya, and plans to explore an agent network to enable cash funding of accounts.

Led · Equity · Mar 2022

Dapio provides a 'Tap to Pay' mobile app that turns the back of any Android smartphone into a direct card-reading terminal for businesses. Founded in 2019 by Kosta Du and Grigory Gurbanov, the company targets micro-businesses and solopreneurs who face barriers buying point-of-sale hardware. Its app, due to launch this spring, aims to let merchants accept contactless payments by tapping a card or phone to an Android device. Dapio says up to 20 merchants are currently testing the product and that more than 3,500 merchants will be onboarded once it goes live with secured partnerships. Current partners include ZmBIZI and Payment Plus, and the company has worked with financial institutions to obtain licenses to operate the mobile payment app. Dapio plans to embed its payment-acceptance feature into existing fintech, POS vendor, bank and telco applications to reach a broader business customer base.

Led · Seed · Dec 2021

CinetPay provides an online and point-of-sale payment gateway that aggregates more than 130 payment operators across nine French-speaking African countries, allowing merchants to accept mobile money, bank cards and wallets via API integration and KYC onboarding. The platform charges merchants a $20 annual subscription and collects a 1–1.5% commission on each transaction. Since founding in 2016 by Idriss Monthe and Daniel Dindji, the company has registered over 12,000 merchants, of which roughly 400 are active, and has processed more than 30 million transactions, handling about $12.5 million in transactions monthly. CinetPay competes with larger regional players such as MFS Africa and PawaPay but cites its geographic focus, technology and mission to simplify payments as differentiators. The company plans to use new funding to boost sales and marketing across West and Central Africa and aims to be the leading payment aggregator in Francophone Africa by 2025, expanding its presence to 15 countries.