Ghanaian fintech startup Oze raised undisclosed funding to scale lending solution

In order to expand its lending management solution, the Ghanaian fintech startup Oze, which offers MSMEs digital recordkeeping tools with integrated finance products, has raised an undisclosed sum of money from investors like Visa and DEG.

Oze is a mobile application that was released in beta in 2018 and assists small businesses in keeping track of their sales, expenses, payables, and receivables. After that, the platform compiles the data to produce reports and recommendations tailored to the context. The startup uses this data and machine learning to forecast a company’s credit risk and offers its banking partners reasonably priced capital.

Following a US$3 million pre-Series A round of funding in 2022, the startup has now raised an undisclosed round of funding with participation from German development finance organization DEG and global payment leader Visa. Current investors made additional investments through its Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund, including Speedinvest and Africinvest.

Oze intends to use this funding to expand its Lending Management System (LMS), a tool that enables banks, microfinance organizations, and fintechs to provide merchants and small businesses with unsecured, no-collateral digital loans. Oze’s proprietary machine-learning credit risk algorithm powers the LMS, ensuring more intelligent and effective lending decisions.

“This funding will accelerate our mission to empower small businesses across Africa. By scaling our Lending Management System, we can help more financial institutions unlock the potential of SMEs and drive financial inclusion at an unprecedented scale,” said Meghan McCormick, Oze’s co-founder and CEO.

Oze operates in Ghana, Nigeria, Guinea, Benin, Rwanda, Madagascar, Zimbabwe, and Lesotho in collaboration with commercial banks like Ecobank, and it intends to grow even more throughout the continent. While MSMEs gain access to user-friendly business management software to monitor sales, expenses, and customer data, banks and lenders can use the platform’s tools to automate digital lending. Oze uses this data to provide access to capital, business education, and practical recommendations.

“Visa is committed to fostering innovation and financial inclusion across Africa, and Oze’s vision aligns perfectly with that mission. Their approach to enabling digital lending for underserved small businesses is transformative, and we are excited to partner with them to drive this change,” said Fabrice Konan, Ghana country manager at Visa.

Through its Up-Scaling Program, DEG invests in high-impact, cutting-edge business models in emerging and developing markets.

“Oze’s technology has the potential to unlock financial opportunities for millions of small businesses in Africa, creating sustainable development and fostering inclusive growth. We are proud to support their expansion.” said Dr Tobias Bidlingmaier, head of Up-Scaling at DEG.