Nomba Secures $30 Million in Pre-Series B Funding Round to Expand Payment Solutions for African Businesses

Nomba, a fintech startup, has secured $30 million in a Pre-Series B funding round to provide tailored payment solutions for African businesses. A Pre-Series B funding round of $30 million was oversubscribed. The funding round was led by Base10 Partners, a San Francisco-based company that invests in Nubank, Plaid, and Brex . Other participants included Helios Digital Ventures, Shopify, Partech, and Khosla Ventures. Nomba plans to use the new funding to provide payment solutions tailored to the specific services provided by businesses. 

This will help them streamline their payment processes, operate more effectively, and provide customers with exceptional experiences. For example, restaurants can access menus, manage inventory, and receive payments from the same hardware, while transport and logistics companies can directly link their transactions to payments for increased sales and profitability.

A Little About Nomba, The Startup

Founded in 2016, Nomba’s first iteration, Kudi, was a chatbot that responded to financial requests, allowing users to make transfers, buy airtime, and pay bills. However, it soon pivoted to agency banking services. Last year, it underwent a rebrand, dropping the name, Kudi, for Nomba and adding payments and business banking services for its users.

Over 300,000 businesses from the three segments use at least one Nomba-powered product, and according to the fintech, it processes $1 billion in monthly transactions. The fintech has also seen its revenues grow 150% year-over-year since 2020, Yinka Adewale disclosed.

According to Yinka Adewale, the startup’s CEO and co-founder, “We see payment as a business model, not just a product and we want to make it easier for businesses to take advantage of all that is possible in their payment processes to support their continued growth and success. We have a long list of products we have been working on and the funds we have raised as well as the investors that have backed us gives us a lot of confidence about what can be achieved with more effective payment solutions in the hands of business owners.”

On the issue of Nomba’s approach to launching the Nomba MAX, Adewale mentioned that 

“We know that medium to large enterprise merchants have payment problems which are usually infrastructure based. So while our solutions help them improve success rates on transactions, we don’t think being a payment provider is good enough,” which means the startup is constantly making efforts towards continual growth and development.

Product expansion aside, the chief executive also noted that Nomba, in a bid to replicate its success in Nigeria, would explore pan-African expansion. “We’re looking at a couple of markets, but it’s too early to share anything. It’s something that we’re spending a lot of time on.” 

Also commenting on the $30 million funding, Luci Fonseca, a Partner at Base10 said:

“Nomba’s track record of innovation and capital efficiency makes it one of the most exciting startups in Africa. We are thrilled to be supporting them to deliver their game-changing solutions to power growth and continued success for businesses in Nigeria and beyond.”

Nomba's successful $30 million funding round is a testament to the company's commitment to providing tailored payment solutions for African businesses. With this new funding, Nomba is well-positioned to continue expanding its reach and help businesses operate more efficiently and provide excellent customer experiences. The startup's plans to explore pan-African expansion is also promising news for businesses across the continent. Overall, this is a positive development for the fintech industry in Africa, and it will be exciting to see what Nomba achieves in the coming years.