Nigerian neobank Sparkle has reportedly raised $3.1m in a seed funding round to scale up its operations in the country.
Led by Leadway Assurance, the financing round was joined by Trium Network as well as several unnamed angel investors.
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The latest fundraise follows its $2m pre-seed funding round last year.
Sparkle was launched last year following the receipt of a banking licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
It was founded by former Diamond Bank chief executive Uzoma Dozie with the goal of offering financial, lifestyle and business support services to Nigerians around the world.
Sparkle offers digital banking services including savings, bill payments, top-ups, requesting or sending fund as well as features such as bill splitting and reviewing spending breakdowns.
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By GlobalDataThis year, the firm launched a platform called Sparkle Business to cater to the needs of small and medium businesses (SMEs).
The platform provides tax remittance and inventory management assistance to SMEs.
According to the firm, the platform doesn’t require any documentation for opening an account. Instead, it allows businesses to sign up using a Tax Identification Number (TIN).
Dozie noted: “As a small business, I’m not carrying my bank account on my mobile. I’m carrying my business. So we are bringing everything about your business into one place so that you can do business wherever you are. For individuals, we’re bringing everything into one place so that you can do what you want to do quite easily wherever you are.”
Sparkle plans to utilise the new capital to develop a robotic process automation that will eliminate repetitive and mundane processes from the banking cycle.
It also aims to hire new resources to its engineering, finance risk, and marketing teams.
Sparkle, which has a microfinance bank license, recently joined forces with payment giant Visa to allow its users to carry out digital payments via Visa card.
It has also existing alliance with companies including PwC Nigeria and Network International.
Recently, Nigerian open banking fintech Mono raised $15m in a Series A funding round to expand its product offering to other countries.
