SA fintech startup Lula raises $21 M funding from FMO to support more MSMEs

The Dutch entrepreneurial development bank FMO has announced a ZAR340 million (US$21 million) investment in Lula, a fintech startup based in South Africa, to expand its lending-as-a-service platform and reach more MSMEs.

Lula, an online automated business funding provider founded in 2014 by Trevor Gosling and Neil Welman under the name Lulalend before a 2023 rebrand, uses proprietary AI technology to make cash flow management easier for business owners.

With its all-in-one business bank accounts, advanced financial analysis tools, and immediate access to funding, Lulalend gives SMEs in South Africa the tools they need to thrive.

To help scale its business, the startup raised a US$35 million Series B funding round in 2023. After that, it changed its name and entered the neobanking space. A further US$21 million has now been deposited by it from FMO, and the entire investment is set up in local currency.

“Over the next three years, this capital will allow us to scale our impact exponentially, reaching thousands of additional entrepreneurs and helping them transition from survival to long-term resilience,” said Gosling.

“Receiving this capital in local currency is a critical enabler. It eliminates the volatility of exchange rate fluctuations, allowing us to provide stable, predictable, and sustainable lending rates to our customers.”