MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Fintech Appzone of Nigeria Raises $10m in Funding Round Led by CardinalStone Capital Advisers

Appzone, a Nigeria-based financial technology firm, recently raised USD 10 million (NGN 3.8 billion) in its Series A round of funding, which was led by Nigeria-based private equity investor CardinalStone. The other participating investors were US-based Lateral Investment Partners and three Nigeria-based firms: Constant Capital; V8 Capital; and Itanna Capital Ventures, which is led by the Nigeria-based Honeywell Group. Appzone plans to use the funding to “bolster investment in Appzone’s core technologies [to] build out a financial operating system intended to completely digitise and automate the delivery of financial services” in seven countries in Africa. The sizes of the stakes taken by each investor remain confidential.

Founded in 2008, Appzone offers financial tools, including a lending platform and cloud software to help banks and individuals perform digital transactions. As of 2021, Appzone reports a yearly transaction value of USD 2 billion (NGN 761 billion), including loan disbursements of USD 300 million (NGN 114 billion).

Appzone CEO and Co-Founder Obi Emetarom stated, “We’re excited not only to be securing a significant capital raise, but also welcoming on board some strategic investors whose support will be key to our growth journey. Today’s news allows us to scale Appzone’s products and services rapidly…we exist to make our financial sector the most innovative and technologically advanced on the globe through solutions built for Africa by Africans.”

By Harriet Ritchie, Research Associate

Sources and Additional Resources

Appzone press release
https://www.appzonegroup.com/news/pan-african-fintech-platform-appzone-secures-10mn-series-a-funding/

Appzone homepage
https://www.appzonegroup.com/

CardinalStone Capital Advisers homepage
https://cardinalstone.com/

Constant Capital homepage
https://www.constantcap.com/

Itanna Capital Ventures homepage
https://itanna.co/

Lateral Investment Partners homepage
https://latcap.co/

V8 Capital homepage
https://v8cappartners.com/

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