CRESTHUB
CRESTHUB MAGAZINE
  • NEWS
    Flutterwave debunks Alleged Reports of Hacked Accounts

    Flutterwave debunks Alleged Reports of Hacked Accounts

    WorkPay raises $2.7million Pre-series A Funding to Expand its Services across Africa

    WorkPay raises $2.7million Pre-series A Funding to Expand its Services across Africa

    Jumba raises $4.5 Million Pre-seed to Expand the supply of Construction materials in Kenya.

    Jumba raises $4.5 Million Pre-seed to Expand the supply of Construction materials in Kenya.

    Naked secures $17 Million Series B to Expand its Digital Insurance Company in Africa

    Naked secures $17 Million Series B to Expand its Digital Insurance Company in Africa

    PICTDA announces Resumption Date for Code Plateau Cohort

    PICTDA announces Resumption Date for Code Plateau Cohort

    Releaf secures $3.3 million Pre-series A funding to improve its Food Processing Technology

    Releaf secures $3.3 million Pre-series A funding to improve its Food Processing Technology

  • FEATURED
    Nigeria’s Cash Swap Policy: Goals versus Results

    Nigeria’s Cash Swap Policy: Goals versus Results

    Six Things that could Shape the Northern Nigerian Tech Ecosystem in 2023

    Six Things that could Shape the Northern Nigerian Tech Ecosystem in 2023

    5 Exciting Things That Happened in the Nigerian Tech Ecosystem

    5 Exciting Things That Happened in the Nigerian Tech Ecosystem

    SmallSmall to Expand to Jos following a $3 Million Seed Raise

    SmallSmall to Expand to Jos following a $3 Million Seed Raise

    The Increase in Data Prices is a Big Challenge for Remote Workers in Nigeria

    How Tobiloba Olusola is making Electronic Health Records Accessible to Patients

    How Tobiloba Olusola is making Electronic Health Records Accessible to Patients

  • BLOCKCHAIN
    Binance now accepts Naira Deposits and Withdrawals

    Binance now accepts Naira Deposits and Withdrawals

    Cardano Accelerator Adaverse Invests in Afriguild’s Mission to Onboard Africans Into Web3

    Cardano Accelerator Adaverse Invests in Afriguild’s Mission to Onboard Africans Into Web3

    Is Africa Ready to Operate a Digital Monetary Policy?

    Is Africa Ready to Operate a Digital Monetary Policy?

    What Binance and TikTok Star, Khaby Lame’s Partnership mean for Crypto and Web3 Adoption

    What Binance and TikTok Star, Khaby Lame’s Partnership mean for Crypto and Web3 Adoption

    PLA2SMART Set to Lead a New Frontier in Nigeria’s Tourism Economy

    Bundle Launches Web App to Give Users More Accessibility to Crypto

    Bundle Launches Web App to Give Users More Accessibility to Crypto

  • FINANCE
    CBN prohibits Foreign Banks from Offering Banking Services

    CBN prohibits Foreign Banks from Offering Banking Services

    Flutterwave adds Google Pay to its Payment Options for African Businesses

    Flutterwave adds Google Pay to its Payment Options for African Businesses

    After Receiving Switching and Processing Licence from CBN, Flutterwave includes eNaira to its Payment Options

    After Receiving Switching and Processing Licence from CBN, Flutterwave includes eNaira to its Payment Options

    Flutterwave gets Switching and Processing licence from CBN

    Flutterwave gets Switching and Processing licence from CBN

    Google Expands its Digital Wallet to South Africa

    Google Expands its Digital Wallet to South Africa

    FCCPC Orders Drawdown of Online Credit Companies

    FCCPC Orders Drawdown of Online Credit Companies

  • START UPS
    WorkPay raises $2.7million Pre-series A Funding to Expand its Services across Africa

    WorkPay raises $2.7million Pre-series A Funding to Expand its Services across Africa

    Naked secures $17 Million Series B to Expand its Digital Insurance Company in Africa

    Naked secures $17 Million Series B to Expand its Digital Insurance Company in Africa

    PressOne Africa raises $600,000 Pre-seed Funding to Support Entrepreneurs

    PressOne Africa raises $600,000 Pre-seed Funding to Support Entrepreneurs

    ThriveAgric selected West African Winners of the AYuTe Africa Challenge, receiving $1 million.

    ThriveAgric selected West African Winners of the AYuTe Africa Challenge, receiving $1 million.

    Yebo Fresh raises $4.5 million to Supply Fresh Food in South Africa

    Yebo Fresh raises $4.5 million to Supply Fresh Food in South Africa

    Sky.Garden survives Shutdown, gets New Owners

    Sky.Garden survives Shutdown, gets New Owners

  • PODCAST
CRESTHUB
  • NEWS
    Flutterwave debunks Alleged Reports of Hacked Accounts

    Flutterwave debunks Alleged Reports of Hacked Accounts

    WorkPay raises $2.7million Pre-series A Funding to Expand its Services across Africa

    WorkPay raises $2.7million Pre-series A Funding to Expand its Services across Africa

    Jumba raises $4.5 Million Pre-seed to Expand the supply of Construction materials in Kenya.

    Jumba raises $4.5 Million Pre-seed to Expand the supply of Construction materials in Kenya.

    Naked secures $17 Million Series B to Expand its Digital Insurance Company in Africa

    Naked secures $17 Million Series B to Expand its Digital Insurance Company in Africa

    PICTDA announces Resumption Date for Code Plateau Cohort

    PICTDA announces Resumption Date for Code Plateau Cohort

    Releaf secures $3.3 million Pre-series A funding to improve its Food Processing Technology

    Releaf secures $3.3 million Pre-series A funding to improve its Food Processing Technology

  • FEATURED
    Nigeria’s Cash Swap Policy: Goals versus Results

    Nigeria’s Cash Swap Policy: Goals versus Results

    Six Things that could Shape the Northern Nigerian Tech Ecosystem in 2023

    Six Things that could Shape the Northern Nigerian Tech Ecosystem in 2023

    5 Exciting Things That Happened in the Nigerian Tech Ecosystem

    5 Exciting Things That Happened in the Nigerian Tech Ecosystem

    SmallSmall to Expand to Jos following a $3 Million Seed Raise

    SmallSmall to Expand to Jos following a $3 Million Seed Raise

    The Increase in Data Prices is a Big Challenge for Remote Workers in Nigeria

    How Tobiloba Olusola is making Electronic Health Records Accessible to Patients

    How Tobiloba Olusola is making Electronic Health Records Accessible to Patients

  • BLOCKCHAIN
    Binance now accepts Naira Deposits and Withdrawals

    Binance now accepts Naira Deposits and Withdrawals

    Cardano Accelerator Adaverse Invests in Afriguild’s Mission to Onboard Africans Into Web3

    Cardano Accelerator Adaverse Invests in Afriguild’s Mission to Onboard Africans Into Web3

    Is Africa Ready to Operate a Digital Monetary Policy?

    Is Africa Ready to Operate a Digital Monetary Policy?

    What Binance and TikTok Star, Khaby Lame’s Partnership mean for Crypto and Web3 Adoption

    What Binance and TikTok Star, Khaby Lame’s Partnership mean for Crypto and Web3 Adoption

    PLA2SMART Set to Lead a New Frontier in Nigeria’s Tourism Economy

    Bundle Launches Web App to Give Users More Accessibility to Crypto

    Bundle Launches Web App to Give Users More Accessibility to Crypto

  • FINANCE
    CBN prohibits Foreign Banks from Offering Banking Services

    CBN prohibits Foreign Banks from Offering Banking Services

    Flutterwave adds Google Pay to its Payment Options for African Businesses

    Flutterwave adds Google Pay to its Payment Options for African Businesses

    After Receiving Switching and Processing Licence from CBN, Flutterwave includes eNaira to its Payment Options

    After Receiving Switching and Processing Licence from CBN, Flutterwave includes eNaira to its Payment Options

    Flutterwave gets Switching and Processing licence from CBN

    Flutterwave gets Switching and Processing licence from CBN

    Google Expands its Digital Wallet to South Africa

    Google Expands its Digital Wallet to South Africa

    FCCPC Orders Drawdown of Online Credit Companies

    FCCPC Orders Drawdown of Online Credit Companies

  • START UPS
    WorkPay raises $2.7million Pre-series A Funding to Expand its Services across Africa

    WorkPay raises $2.7million Pre-series A Funding to Expand its Services across Africa

    Naked secures $17 Million Series B to Expand its Digital Insurance Company in Africa

    Naked secures $17 Million Series B to Expand its Digital Insurance Company in Africa

    PressOne Africa raises $600,000 Pre-seed Funding to Support Entrepreneurs

    PressOne Africa raises $600,000 Pre-seed Funding to Support Entrepreneurs

    ThriveAgric selected West African Winners of the AYuTe Africa Challenge, receiving $1 million.

    ThriveAgric selected West African Winners of the AYuTe Africa Challenge, receiving $1 million.

    Yebo Fresh raises $4.5 million to Supply Fresh Food in South Africa

    Yebo Fresh raises $4.5 million to Supply Fresh Food in South Africa

    Sky.Garden survives Shutdown, gets New Owners

    Sky.Garden survives Shutdown, gets New Owners

  • PODCAST
No Result
View All Result
CRESTHUB
No Result
View All Result
Home StartUps

Y Combinator-backed Startup, CrowdForce raises $3.6M in a pre-Series A Funding to Scale up Access to Financial Services 

by Nuel Umahi
July 4, 2022
in StartUps
Reading Time: 4 mins read
0
Y Combinator-backed Startup, CrowdForce raises $3.6M in a pre-Series A Funding to Scale up Access to Financial Services 
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

CrowdForce,  a Y Combinator-backed startup that prides itself in being Africa’s largest offline distribution network, has raised the sum of $3.6 million in a pre-Series A funding round. The raised amount has $1 million of it in debt and the round was led by Aruwa Capital Management with participation from HAVAÍC and AAIC. 

With the funds raised, the company plans on expanding its team of 76 full-time staff, deepening its operations in cities which it currently operates, reinforcing its marketing efforts as well as increasing its agent network to a three-fold in 2022. It also plans to distribute more POS terminals to small businesses, gas stations and pharmacies, which would act as mobile bank branches. 

The startup which was founded in 2015 by Oluwatomi Ayorinde and Damilola Ayorinde  was originally known as MobileForms – a data collection agent network. Prior to its change to CrowdForce, the company provided insights on hard-to-reach rural and semi-peri urban populations for businesses across several sectors, NGOs, and development organisations.

Founded by CEO Oluwatomi Ayorinde and COO Damilola Ayorinde, what is today known as CrowdForce originally started as MobileForms, a data analytics platform set up in 2015. At the time, the company provided insights on hard-to-reach rural and semi-peri urban populations for businesses across several sectors, NGOs, and development organisations. The startup which gained backing from the Y Combinator program in 2017 and in 2018, MobileForms performed KYC on 4.5 million eligible micro-traders for the Nigerian government’s TraderMoni small loan program. 

Furthermore, in 2019, MobileForms dived into financial services and rebranded as CrowdForce – a technology-driven agent distribution network that enables data collection for businesses and delivery of financial services to the mass market. 

PayForce, a CrowdForce product, is a POS-enabled system that provides ATM services, through transfers and bill payments. It is currently present in market clusters and small businesses as both can meet high cash demand from customers in areas where bank branches are absent. For merchants, PayForce helps manage their cash float safely and allows them to earn extra income by acting as an agent.

Speaking on the need to provide an offline distribution network, CEO and co-founder Oluwatomi Ayorinde said, “Fintechs and challenger banks are emerging in Africa to deliver better financial services via digital rails but cash is clearly still king in Nigeria and 97% of retail transactions happen offline”. 

“There is a clear need to build an offline distribution network to enable fintechs and challengers to reach the mass market – this is exactly what we’re doing at CrowdForce and this round will accelerate our momentum even more”, he added. 

The Y Combinator-backed startup currently has 7,000 active agents, a significantly small figure compared to players like E-Settlement, Paga, or Baxi with an average of 100,000 agents. But to broaden its distribution network, CrowdForce relies on partnerships with cash-heavy small businesses, converting them to mobile bank branches while helping them store their cash on PayForce digital wallets.

Related

Previous Post

Earnipay secures $4 million to Provide On-Demand Salary Access to African Employees

Next Post

Flutterwave and Paga becomes Payment Providers for Twitter Tipping in Nigeria

Next Post
Flutterwave and Paga becomes Payment Providers for Twitter Tipping in Nigeria

Flutterwave and Paga becomes Payment Providers for Twitter Tipping in Nigeria

Jos Crypto Trading Seminar: Building the Crypto community in Northern Nigeria

No Result
View All Result

CRESTHUB MAGAZINE

Popular Posts

  • How to Use the Generative AI for Google Workspace in Docs and Gmail
  • The Impact of E-commerce in Strengthening the Supply and Distribution Chain of Nigerian Businesses
  • Flutterwave debunks Alleged Reports of Hacked Accounts
  • Nigeria’s Cash Swap Policy: Goals versus Results
  • WorkPay raises $2.7million Pre-series A Funding to Expand its Services across Africa

Cresthub

Learn, Start and Grow your Business with Innovative Business Solutions at Cresthub.

Company

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise With Us
  • Privacy Policy

Products

  • Cresthub Magazine
  • Cresthub Podcast
  • Cresthub Insight

Socials

Facebook Twitter Youtube
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise With Us
  • Privacy Policy

© 2022 Cresthub Media

No Result
View All Result
  • NEWS
  • FEATURED
  • BLOCKCHAIN
  • FINANCE
  • START UPS
  • PODCAST

© 2022 Cresthub Media

Cresthub newsletter
THE WEEKLY ROUND UP

Join our newsletter to get first hand insight in tech and start up happenings in Nigeria and Africa at large.

Enter your email address