Digital Bank Kuda Raises $25m In Series A Round, Plans to Expand

According to Kuda’s latest Chief Commercial Officer; Ryan Laubscher, the Digital bank processed transactions worth over $2.2 billion in the single month of February this year. When juxtaposed with the figures from February last year which was $5.2 million, the digital bank has seen a formidable increase.

Kuda which is alternatively called the ‘bank of the free’ started out as Kudimoney in 2016. It was launched in Nigeria and founded by Babs Ogundeyi and Mustapha Musty. Kuda carries out transactions just like any other bank but the difference is that its operations are done online. Kuda is therefore an online-only savings and lending platform and has been through a number of foreign rounds before becoming a digital bank, the first of its kind in the country.

In a Series A funding round led by Valar Ventures; co-founded and backed by PayPal’s co-founder Peter Thiel, Kuda has raised $25 million. The Series A funding round comes after Kuda’s $10 million dollar raise that took place in November last year. Target Global, the leading firm for the digital bank’s last funding also participated in the Series A funding round. As at November last year, Kuda had only about 300,000 customers that comprised of sole-proprietors and individuals. Also, as at that time the digital bank was processing transactions worth an average of $500 million per month.

The company has seen a lot of growth, figures prove this! Kuda’s customer base is up to 650,000 (as at February 2021) from 300,000 about five months ago. Kuda’s growth is quite impressive, considering the fact that the digital bank serves Nigeria alone, was started in Nigeria and still sited in the country.

It is the dream of co-founder; Babs Ogundeyi to bank every African in every part of the world and this is why the digital bank is expanding. Although the figure acquired in its Series A funding round was $25 million, more was expected for a bank with such prestigious reputation. According to the bank’s Commercial Officer; Ryan Laubscher, there were interest from numerous investors but the bank decided to raise only what was needed and adequate to fund their intentions. He said that, ‘It is very important to us that our metrics are justifying the valuation that investors are buying into with their capital. Our growth is at the point where we need to beef up our technology and people. But in terms of our plans for the next 18 months, we’ve got sufficient capital to fund those plans. If we need more capital, it’s going to mean that something is going very right. And if that’s the case, we can raise again’.

While Kuda is looking at providing services for every African, the digital bank hopes to be widespread and increase its customer base here in Nigeria.