The Nigerian startup funding season is now in full swing and Nigerian fintech startup TeamApt has concluded a $5.5 million Series A funding round. The funding round was led by Nigerian financier, Quantum Capital Partners, an investment firm founded by Nigerian billionaire, Jim Ovia.
https://twitter.com/weareTeamApt/status/1101059181665230849
Founded in 2015, TeamApt is a fintech company providing digital banking business solutions and payment architecture for businesses.
Led by Tosin Eniolorunda, the original founders comprised a team of ex-Interswitch engineers. Yet the biggest competitor to the company is their former employer, Interswitch, Nigeria’s biggest fintech player.
Until now, the three year old startup has bootstrapped its growth with no external financing. But this was its own choice, not because investors turned it down.
“Since people will jump on you when you have value, it’s better to prove that you have value first, then come back to place demand on that value,” Tosin said in early 2018.
TeamApt joins league of tech firm to get Series A funding https://t.co/6JQm278x2K pic.twitter.com/oT7UxLEOeb
— Ugodre (@ugodre) February 28, 2019
The company made its revenue thanks to projects and contracts it completed for clients. Its earliest client was the Nigerian IT behemoth, Computer Warehouse Group (CWG).
Cc @Eniolorunda. Lol.
That evening at your apartment at 1004, when my guy still dey hustle. Before the Team Apt that everyone now sees. https://t.co/4wWZmFtgje
— Mufasa 🦁 (@celestocalculus) February 28, 2019
“To start, we closed a deal with Computer Warehouse Group to build a payment solution for them and that’s how we started bootstrapping,” he said.
TeamApt went on to secure projects from Fidelity Bank soon after.
In 2016, it successfully developed and launched its first PoS acquiring solution. By the end of 2018, this POS solution is being used by 26 Nigerian banks.
"@weareTeamApt sets Nigerian VC record, closes $5.5m Series A Round"
After this expect local #VC investments in Nigerian #startups to grow more than they have been doing in time past. #AfricanTech #FintechAfrica
— Father of Two Boys (@FrankEleanya) February 28, 2019
TeamApt also developed Moneytor, a digital banking solution that allows financial firms follow transactions from mobile and web platforms. It also developed Monnify, an enterprise targeted at small and medium enterprises.
Although TeamApt team remains small, with under 100 employees, its performance is impressive. According to the company, it now processes monthly transactions of around $160 million. And its revenue base has grown by up to 4,500% TechCrunch reports.
The company also recently received a payment switch licence from Nigeria’s Central Bank.
Quantum Capital Partners believes that the company has a lot of growth potentials.
“The problem that they’re solving might be African but the technology is universal. ‘Can it be applied to any other market?’ of course it can,” said Elaine Delaney, CFO at the firm.
With the new round of founding, Quantum Capital Partners will get a board seat with Delaney as its representative. The company is also looking to expand its operations and create consumer-focused fintech products soon. Expansion into other markets remains on the cards as well.
This is the latest Nigerian fintech with ambitious goals for the financial system. And with its team of experienced fintech experts, TeamApt looks poised to make significant breakthroughs.
However, it also has significant competition too. One competition is Interswitch, the biggest fintech company in Nigeria. Other competitions include PayStack, Flutterwave, and even Cellulant. All four competitions are backed by deep finances and impressive investors.
The industry is poised for a lot of disruptions.
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