Kuda: The Nigerian online bank raises $1.6 million

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The fintech industry has rapidly becoming the rave in Nigeria, taking a place beside mobile and application banking. With other startups competing for the top spot,  Lagos and London based digital bank, Kuda has raised $1.6 million in pre-seed funding.

Formerly known as Kudimoney, the bank started operations in 2018. Kuda bank founder Babs Ogundeyi told TechCrunch “Kuda is the first digital-only bank in Nigeria with a standalone license. We’re not a mobile wallet or simply a mobile app piggybacking on an existing bank”. The platform also carries out direct deposits and enables users to open a bank account in less that 5 minutes.

  The company also recently received its license from the Central Bank of Nigeria, making it stand out amongst fintech startups. The online-only platform plans to provide services such as checking accounts with no monthly-fees, a free debit card, and plans to offer consumer savings and P2Ppayments options.

   According to Ogundeyi, the $1.6 Million fund was raised by investors and Kuda plans to use its seed funds to go from beta to live launch in Nigeria by fourth-quarter 2019. The startup will also build out the tech of its banking platform, including support for its developer team located in Lagos and Cape Town. Kuda also plans to expand and reach other African nations around the world. The startup also hopes to make connections with more banks as partners apart from Access Bank, GTbank and Zenith Bank.