The rise of fintech is here, and Nigerian startup Cowrywise is proof of that.
The digital wealth management and financial planning solutions platform just closed a $3 million pre-Series A funding round — led by Quona Capital — in addition to its previously raised $500,000 through equity financing and grants, to help expand its company growth, according to TechCrunch.
Other participating companies and individuals in the funding round include the Tsadik Foundation, Gumroad CEO Sahil Lavingia, and a syndicate of local Nigerian angel investors in the diaspora.
Cowrywise’s mission aligns with “digitizing investment management for Africans and enabling access to savings and investment products securely,” according to the company’s website. The fintech startup prides itself on helping the underserved such as Africa’s middle class individuals and millennials to better manage their wealth.
CEO Razaq Ahmed came up with the idea to found Cowrywise after noticing that existing investment management firms only focused on catering to the top one percent, leaving millions of Nigerians neglected.
While banking services have been able to make more progress on this front for other customers, the quality of their resources has drastically changed, doing very little to support those who continue to go underserved when it comes to investment products.
Thus, CEO Ahmed, alongside CTO Edward Popoola, created Cowrywise back in 2017 to help resolve this issue. Together, they aimed to democratize Nigerians’ access to savings and investment products to both the growing middle class and millennial populations.
“Wealth management had been strange to many Nigerians because the existing players were not built for the mass market,” Ahmed told TechCrunch. “That has always been a problem we felt required a solution.”
For this reason, both founders dedicated the company’s mission to leveraging the telecom industry’s reach in order to extend its investment products to its large consumer base.
The success of the company’s business model is the reason it was able to raise this latest funding round with the support of other partners and investors.
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“Our mutual fund partners clearly recognize the value of being part of an inclusive digital platform that allows retail investors to invest regardless of faith or financial status,” Ahmed shared with TechCrunch.
The platform’s unique approach to wealth management is why Quona Capital decided to lead the funding round, according to TechCrunch.
“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,” partner Johan Bosini said to TechCrunch. “In a market of 200 million people, we think this will be very impactful for individuals to have more control over their financial future.”
As one of the many wealth startups in Africa, now the hope for Cowrywise is to increase its number of subscribers, expand its product offerings, support more fund managers in Nigeria and further build out its investment management infrastructure.
For more information about Cowrywise, visit its website.
