SA fintech LulaLend raises $6.5m from the IFC, Quona Capital

Cape Town based fintech startup Lulalend has closed a $6.5-million (R92-million) Series-A round led by the World Bank’s IFC and Quona Capital.

The startup, which was founded in 2014 by CTO Neil Welman and CEO Trevor Gosling (pictured above, left and right, respectively), provides short-term loans to small businesses via an online platform (it typically lends out R150 000 over a six-month term period).

In a report today, TechCrunch said Lulalend will use the investment to develop its tech and data team and improve its ability to reach more small businesses to finance.

Gosling is quoted in the report as saying the startup is aiming to build a $100-million loan book “as quickly as possible” and that the latest investment will assist the company to achieve this.

LulaLend, which was founded in 2014, has netted $6.5-million in a round led by the IFC and Quona Capital

The tech publication said as part of the deal Quona Capital (which is sponsored by fintech organisation Accion) will join LulaLend’s board.

Accion in 2016 led a round of funding in the startup (see this story). At the time Gosling said the startup had raised $1-million with equity and the debt side will run into multiple million dollars over time.

Read more: SME failure rate set to spike unless funding is addressed – LulaLend survey
Read more: LulaLend raises new round of funding from Accion Venture Lab
Read more: LulaLend is a true fintech company mixing tech and finance
Read more: A Day in the Life of: LulaLend startup CEO Trevor Gosling [Native Article]

Featured image (from left to right): LulaLend founders Neil Welman and Trevor Gosling (Supplied)