YEP!, a super-app based in Lagos and San Francisco, has raised $1.5 million in a pre-seed funding round to help Africans with financial inclusion, economic opportunities, and remittances.
Nigeria, Niger, Togo, Ivory Coast, and Burkina Faso are among the five African countries where the company is launching its innovative new digital financial super app on iOS and Android.
Similarly, it said it plans to increase the super-debt app’s facility to $10 million by the end of the year as the company scales up its lending operations in order to achieve a growth plan that calls for doubling the company’s existing network of about 100,000 merchants to over 200,000 by the end of 2022.
Greenhouse Capital led the $1.5 million investment round, adding the firm to its portfolio of pioneering companies in Africa, including Y.C. companies Flutterwave, Credpal, and Helium health.
Olaoluwa Awojoodu, Yap Co-Founder said the newly secured credit facility will enable the startup kickstart the provision of working capital loans to existing merchants as it expands across the continent.
He said, “As we strive to deliver on our promise of bringing financial access to all Africans and Connecting Africans to the world, increasing Yep!’s lending capacity will be a key catalyst in pulling more customers and merchants into its ecosystem.
“Access to finance can be transformative – it unlocks opportunities among those that need it the most and has a huge impact on the wider economy.”
Garry Ottosen, Co-founder, Yep!, said: “We want to create a disruptive financial platform that democratises access to financial services and economic opportunities for both retail and business customers across Africa. Yep! Succeeds only when our customers do.”
