Cowrywise raises $3 Million in pre-Series A Funding

Nigerian Fintech startup, Cowrywise recently announced the success of its pre-Series A funding. The digital wealth management and financial service raised $3 million in the funding round led by Quona Capital. Other investors were Tsadik Foundation, Gumroad CEO Sahil Lavingia, and a syndicate of angel investors in Nigeria and the diaspora.

Cowrywise previously raised more than $500,000 to fund its business, through equity financing and grants.

CEO Razaq Ahmed got the idea for the company when he worked as an investment analyst at Meristem. His duties at the financial firm included covering equities and making recommendations to retail and wealth management clients. From his observations, he realized that many of the investment firms in the country only focused on the 1 percent.

Ahmed, alongside co-founder and CTO Edward Popoola, created Cowrywise in 2017 to provide a solution to the underserved. The fintech aims to democratize access to savings and investment products, serving the underserved middle class and millennials in Nigeria. Although Millennials have high prowess in digital connection and operations, they lack access to high-quality savings and investment products, according to Cowrywise.

“Wealth management had been strange to many Nigerians because the existing players were not built for the mass market, said Ahmed. “That has always been a problem we felt required a solution.”

When Cowrywise started in 2017, it first introduced savings on its platform, then mutual funds. The firm has 19 different mutual funds listed on its platform.

The company also made plans to leveraged the telecom industry, using it as a medium to reach its customers and drive Cowrywise investment products to millions of Nigeria. But, the plan was put on hold due to the expensive demands the telcos made. Instead, the company changed direction and leveraged on existing digital payment services such as Flutterwave and Paystack.

Quona Capital’s Johan Bosini said the company agreed to lead the funding round because it sees much potential in Cowrywise, and it believes that its founders are on the right track to providing financial solutions to underserved Nigerians.

“Razaq, Edward, and the Cowrywise team are providing everyday Nigerians with easy access to powerful and flexible wealth-generating tools that have typically been reserved for people who are already wealthy,” said Bosini. “In a market of 200 million people, we think this will be very impactful for individuals to have more control over their financial future.”

The new funding will be used to expand the company’s product offerings, increase customer base, and partner with more fund managers in Nigeria. It will also expand its investment management structure.

Key Points

• Cowrywise is a digital wealth management platform that helps you easily plan your finances, save and invest. It offers attractive interest rates and investment returns. It is also the first Nigerian startup to be backed by Washington DC-based Quona Capital.

• Cowrywise was founded in 2017 by Razaq Ahmed and Edward Popoola. In 2018, the company raised $50,000 in an Angel round. In August that same year, it raised $120,000 in seed round from Y Combinator and another seed round from Kairos at the close of the year.

• In April 2019, Cowrywise received undisclosed funding from K-50 Ventures, and another $80,000 in grant from UK-DFID backed accelerator, Catalyst Fund.

• Cowrywise has also invested in South African startups including Yoco, ALLLIFE, ZOONA, and Lulalend.