Sycamore, a Nigerian peer-to-peer (P2P) lending firm, has raised an undisclosed seed round to extend its operations.
Sycamore, which was founded in 2019 by Babatunde Akin-Moses, Onyinye Okonji, and Mayowa Adeosun, employs unique risk assessment methods to award company loans the same day via its website and freshly announced mobile app.
The company has already distributed millions of dollars to thousands of small companies in Nigeria, and it has also included a function that allows users to control loans issued to family members. The “Loan Friends” function of the Sycamore app allows users to seek a loan from a friend or family member, which then sends scheduled reminders and automatically collects the loan on the due date.
“We’ve always been paranoid about giving our customers unique experiences. We didn’t want to just push out another “loan app” into the market without offering any additional value to them,” said Adeosun, Sycamore’s COO. “Being the customer-centric business that we are, we engaged our customers on their needs. We are proud that our app does face everyday – the management of loans given to – or received from – friends and family almost everyday.”
White Hibiscus Capital (WHC), a US-based venture capital firm, led the unannounced seed investment round, which also included a number of additional private investors. Sycamore will use the funds to raise market awareness, double down on its financial education efforts, and acquire enough engineering expertise to expand its capacity as it embarks on a strategy to expand to other African nations.
“Sycamore is doing an amazing job of getting loans to small businesses in record time,” said Bade Aluko, managing partner at WHC. “I love the team’s technologically-driven approach to making things seamless for its customers, and WHC looks forward to having Sycamore operational in other African countries.”
