Sycamore, a Nigeria-based start-up offering financial services through a peer-to-peer platform has secured an undisclosed amount in a funding round.
Proceeds from this new investment will be geared at expanding its operations into other African countries.
The round was led by a US-based Venture Capital firm, White Hibiscus Capital (WHC) and other strategic investors.
Sycamore was founded in 2019 by Babatunde Akin-Moses, Onyinye Okonji and Mayowa Adeosun to address the challenge of access to finance and capital stimulus for small and medium-sized businesses.
The company uses proprietary risk assessment tools to disburse business loans on the same day via its web and newly-released mobile app. The platform also analyses a broad range of alternative data ranging from social media to bank statements to determine the eligibility of borrowers.
The app has a ‘Loan Friend’ feature that allows users manage and track loans. The app also allows payments of all sorts of bills including airtime, data, electricity, and cable subscriptions.
As Sycamore joins the throng of peer-to-peer platforms operational in Nigeria, the startup is driving at giving its users unique experiences.
According to Sycamore, the Peer-to-Peer Lending Platform is formulated to bring about financial freedom to its customers by connecting individuals or businesses looking for a good opportunity to diversify their income with responsible borrowers.
“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 Chief Operations Officer.
“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.”
“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.”
