Home Entrepreneurship Nigerian fintech startup Sparkle raises $3.1m seed round for expansion

Nigerian fintech startup Sparkle raises $3.1m seed round for expansion

by Radarr Africa
Nigerian fintech startup Sparkle raises $3.1m seed round for expansion

Sparkle, a Nigerian startup that provides financial, lifestyle, and business support services to Nigerians all over the world, has secured US$3.1 million in seed funding to help it invest in infrastructure and scale across the diaspora.

Sparkle, founded by former Diamond Bank CEO and tech entrepreneur Uzoma Dozie in mid-2020, provides consumers with comprehensive support, including flexible payments, savings, and analytics, to provide them more freedom, flexibility, and control over their finances and lifestyle. Its mobile app provides clients with full and unrestricted access to a single account that includes several services and wallets.

The startup has just raised a US$3.1 million funding round from an all-Nigerian group of investors including Leadway Assurance, Trium Networks and a number of Nigerian HNIs. This follows a previous pre-seed round of US$2 million from friends and family, bringing Sparkle’s total funding to US$5.1 million.

The new investment will be utilized to expand the platform’s talent teams in engineering, financial risk, and marketing, as well as invest in the platform’s automated back end processes and digital infrastructure.

Between 2020 and 2021, Sparkle experienced triple-digit growth, and it will now focus on connecting Nigerians and the global Nigerian diaspora by developing a new type of financial services platform that is more than just banking, but also a means of improving its users’ financial lifestyles by allowing for borderless transactions.

Sparkle launched its business platform, Sparkle Business, in April 2021, with features such as inventory and invoice management, a payment gateway service, tax advisory, and employee management, aimed at the next generation of digital-first MSMEs and SMEs in Nigeria.

“I’m delighted to be collaborating with a group of highly respected Nigerian businesses, investment firms and captains of industry – all of whom understand the real need for a digital-first platform such as Sparkle, to bring better access to financial services and, importantly, financial inclusion, to millions of more people – for business, for personal means or both,” said Dozie.

“Collectively, as a group of investors and business builders, we are Nigerians who are bullish about Nigeria and the opportunity the country presents in terms of building global networks and communities, all via one app. I am excited to welcome our new investors into the Sparkle tribe and will be leaning on their sector expertise and insight to build long-lasting partnerships as we scale.”

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