Anchor, a pioneering banking-as-a-service (BaaS) provider in Nigeria, has successfully secured significant financial backing.
Raking in a substantial $2.4m in seed investment, the financing round was spearheaded by Goat Capital, steered by Justin Kan, according to a report from TechCrunch. FoundersX, Rebel Fund, alongside existing investors Y Combinator and Byld Ventures, also significantly contributed.
Anchor, having emerged from stealth only a year prior, has a clear mission. They equip developers with APIs, dashboards, and other essential tools, allowing them to embed and construct banking solutions seamlessly. This places Anchor among a handful of BaaS providers in Nigeria, navigating a FinTech landscape populated with rivals such as JUMO, Maplerad, OnePipe, and Bloc.
With this fresh influx of funds, Anchor is gearing up to upgrade its end-to-end compliance system. Additionally, they plan to invest in value-added products, such as their ledger system, while simultaneously onboarding a broader customer base.
Traditional banks in Nigeria have struggled to keep pace with the swift evolution of the digital banking realm. This lag has paved the way for BaaS platforms to fulfil a niche, helping businesses like neobanks integrate financial services within their product ecosystem.
By partnering with regulated banking entities, Anchor promises a streamlined process for businesses to establish banking products – from what would have taken years, now reduced to mere days. Anchor’s repertoire has grown significantly since its inception, from catering to only customer accounts to now including features like business accounts, card issuance, and developer-specific tools.
Anchor CEO Segun Adeyemi commented, “If you look at the scope of product today, even though there were a few other players that have been in the market before us, there is no one that has the scope of offering that we have in the market today. This can be validated by looking at the scope of our offerings and comparing them to what similar companies do today.”
Reflecting on the potential of the African embedded finance market, Goat Capital’s Justin Kan said, “The embedded finance market in Africa is nascent but growing fast at over 30% CAGR. Anchor’s growth rate is impressive and showing signs of becoming the category leader, which is something we look out for in our portfolio companies.”
Before this recent accomplishment, Anchor had previously gathered over $1m in pre-seed funding when it first stepped into the limelight.
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