C-One Ventures Purchases Bankly, a Nigerian Fintech

Bankly, a regulated microfinance bank and fintech startup in Nigeria, has been entirely bought by investment firm C-One Ventures.

According to a Bankly statement, the action is a component of the company’s plan to expand technology-driven financial services in Nigeria.

As part of its plan to expand technology-driven financial services in Nigeria, investment firm C-One Ventures has fully purchased Bankly, a regulated microfinance bank and fintech startup in Nigeria.

The licenses, platform, and staff of Bankly are part of the transaction and will be incorporated into C-One’s expanding fintech ecosystem.

In order to guarantee a smooth merger, a reorganization process is already in progress, and Bankly CEO Tomilola Majekodunmi will provide advisory support during the transition, the company said in a statement.

With the adventure of Bankly, Tomilola Adejana and Fredrick Adams founded Bankly in 2018 with the “recharge to save” business model, which enabled users to fund digital wallets using voucher tokens—a technique that millions of Nigerians are accustomed to using for airtime top-ups.

Since then, Bankly has developed into a platform that provides credit access, group donations, payments, and savings. More than 50,000 agents and more than 2 million people and organizations nationwide make up its customer base, which enables its services.

A significant step in the fintech’s goal to formalize savings and provide financial access, particularly for unbanked and underbanked Nigerians, was the obtaining of a Microfinance Bank license.

With more security and transparency, the platform’s group savings feature is similar to more conventional savings models like ajo and esusu.

Its efforts have significantly decreased low-income and rural communities’ dependence on cash-based and unofficial saving strategies.

With the help of significant investors like Flutterwave and Vault, the holding corporation for VANSO, which Interswitch purchased in 2016, Bankly raised $2 million in startup money in March 2024.

The CEO and co-founder of Bankly, Tomiliola Majekodunmi, discussed the purchase and expressed his profound pride in the accomplishments of Bankly over the past six years while discussing the acquisition. He said that the accomplishments at Bankly during the past six years fills him with enormous pride.

The goal of Bankly’s founding was to promote financial inclusion down to the last mile, and we have undoubtedly made great strides in that direction.

“Bankly was established with the goal of advancing financial inclusion to the final mile, and we have undoubtedly made great strides in that direction.

We’ve had our share of difficulties, like any business, but I have no doubt that this acquisition will uphold the Bankly vision and further promote our goal of providing inclusive financial solutions to empower more Nigerians.

Though the things you should be aware of is that C-One Ventures is a Nigerian investment firm that specializes in financing and technology.

Gomoney is a digital bank that provides a contemporary, app-based alternative to traditional banking; GetPayed is an all-in-one app for managing payment and banking solutions; and Fulcrum is a technology and financing platform that reveals working capital for vendors in Nigeria by means of payable finance as well as supply chain financing (SCF) products.

C-One Ventures’ dedication to providing technology-enabled financial services for both individuals and businesses is further strengthened with the inclusion of Bankly.