African Financial Technology Company Kudi, has changed its name to Nomba as it transitions into an omni-channel payment platform providing tools to enable businesses grow.
The company has expanded its offerings to include simple business solutions for accepting, processing, and managing payments both online and offline for all types of enterprises. These tools will provide a separate gateway into the digital economy for more enterprises of all sizes across Africa, while also allowing them to optimize their operations.
This solution could not have come at a more opportune time. From neighborhood kiosks to high-brow restaurants and fashion stores, the small business segment in Nigeria is responsible for 86 percent of the total workforce through 41 million micro-businesses and 73,000 small and medium enterprises as indicated by the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) National Survey.
Yet, payments in the retail sector in Nigeria are largely offline with over 25 million merchants yet to accept any form of digital payments. Many of the retail businesses who do accept digital payments lack a unified platform to seamlessly manage their businesses across multiple touch-points and locations.
From payment collection, to trade financing, to intelligent business reporting, and even multiple location management, businesses largely depend on traditional financial services providers who do not provide the ecosystem of services that support their businesses. Having all of this on one platform will really make a difference and make business easier.
Underserved and full-fledged businesses may self-onboard in five minutes and buy a full-service integrated terminal and dashboard to manage all of their payment needs across numerous channels and locations, whether in cash, cards, transfers, USSD, or QR.
Over the next six months, Nomba will expand the reach of its POS terminals across the country, allowing more businesses to benefit from technology that provides real-time control of all business transactions, whether they are little or large, all on one dashboard. It also intends to expand its product offerings to include invoicing, payroll administration, and other company efficiency tools.
To help with this growth, the fintech has appointed two new executives: Jeffrey Williams as Vice President of Business and Toluwani Ijogun as Vice President of Brand, Marketing, and Communications.
Nomba will accelerate its expansion across the country, guaranteeing that over 350,000 businesses have all of the tools they need to manage their enterprises smoothly by the end of the year, by leveraging their knowledge and expertise.
As VP, Brand Marketing and Communications, Toluwani Ijogun will be responsible for brand strategy, including all consumer, business-to-business and partner marketing activities that advance the company’s goals. She will also oversee all internal and external communications, insights and marketing capabilities and analytics for the brand.
Toluwani brings with her over 15 years experience managing premium brands such as Guaranty Trust Bank; GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Plc; Philips across West Africa; Eat N’ Go (owners of Domino’s Pizza and Coldstone Creamery franchise in Nigeria); FSDH Group and most recently as Senior Vice President: Brand and Marketing for Kuda Bank where she played a pivotal role in the company’s growth in the Nigerian market.
Jeffrey Williams-Edem brings over 18 years of experience in sales, business development strategy, digital payment and merchant acquisition spanning multiple industries. He joins Nomba as VP, Business from Interswitch where he played an integral role in the design and deployment of their first retail solution strategy for the micro, small and medium enterprise market in Nigeria.
As Kudi transitions to Nomba, Jeffrey will be responsible for creating and driving the machinery to deliver on business acquisition, new market development and revenue. He will also oversee the sales, business operations and the development of new products.
“Since our launch in 2017, our technology and insights have enabled merchants to earn and build successful businesses, transforming their own lives and that of others.Today, complimentary regulatory frameworks and well-thought-out partnerships with financial institutions have synergized to create an enabling environment for fintechs to chart the future of payments, making access to digital payment solutions ubiquitous.” said Yinka Adewale, Chief Executive Officer, Nomba.
“Over the next five years, we will be leveraging these factors, as well as the experience and expertise Jeff and Tolu bring to deepen the penetration of digital payment solutions across the country, making payments easier for everyone.”
Nomba started its journey in 2017 as a chatbot designed to simplify payments. However, in 2018 it evolved into a company whose distinct point of sale (POS) technology, partnerships with banks and other licensed financial institutions democratized access to banking products and services for merchants across Nigeria. This also includes core banking solutions such as opening savings accounts and loans.
With over 150,000 businesses using the Nomba platform to conduct card, cash, and bank transfer related transactions for their own businesses and on behalf of their clients, the company was named a YCombinator Top Company in 2022.
