Nigerian fintech Okra secures $3.5-million investment 

Lagos-based fintech startup Okra has secured $3.5-million in a seed funding round led by US-based Susa Ventures, with participation from existing investors TLcom Capital, and newly joined Accenture Ventures.

Okra secures $3.5-million in funding

The fintech has reported that the funding will be used to expand its data infrastructure across Nigeria. 

Fara Ashiru Jituboh, co-founder and CEO/CTO of Okra comments on the funding secured.  

“We build the tools that businesses need to achieve full digital transformation and we are excited to be welcoming some highly strategic global investors as we scale our Open Finance-as-a-Service operations. The opportunities to collaborate and grow together are significant and we are now in a strong position to continue to build and scale in the African, and global API space.” 

In this round of seed funding, three angel investors took part, namely; Rob Solomon; Chairman at GoFundMe — he is also a former Partner at Accel, Arpan Shah; Founding engineer and ex-Head of Data Platforms/Data products at Robinhood, and Hongxia Zhong; Founding engineer and ex-Senior engineering manager at Robinhood.

Okra

Founded in 2020 by Ashiru Jituboh and David Peterside, Okra has created an Open Finance platform that can be used as a digital transformation tool by businesses and its API enables developers and businesses to build personalized digital services and fintech products for customers.

The fintech claims to have provided its services to a “high calibre” of financial institutions, startups, and government agencies including;  Interswitch, Access Bank, uLesson, Aella App (YC W17), and over a 100 digital-first platforms.

David Peterside, co-founder and COO of Okra explains that digital tools are essential for business growth.

“The companies that will dominate the business landscape over the next decade are prioritizing a digital-first experience for their customers today — and will leverage data & personalization to win market share over time. We share the same vision on Open Finance in Africa and are excited to be working closely with the team at Susa. Having Accenture Ventures join us at Seed stage speaks volumes about our team’s ability to execute at a global scale.”

Read more: Local fintech Payflex secures funding
Read more: South African cryptocurrency platform raises R58.5-million

Featured image: Founders of Okra (Supplied)