Nigerian payments startup Nomba has raised a US$30 million pre-Series B funding round to support the delivery of bespoke payment solutions for African businesses.
Founded by Yinka Adewale and Pelumi Aboluwarin in 2017, and formerly known as Kudi, Nomba has evolved over the years into a profitable, omnichannel payment service provider.
The company supports more than 300,000 businesses with a wide range of payment solutions, as well as management and banking tools that enable better business processes and support business owners to be better at doing business. It processes US$1 billion in monthly transactions, which represents a market leading gross transaction value (GTV) for a payment service provider in Africa.
The oversubscribed equity funding round was led by San Francisco-based Base10 Partners, with participation from Helios Digital Ventures, Shopify, Partech and Khosla Ventures. Nomba will use the investment to deliver payment solutions that have been designed for the specific services that businesses provide, enabling them to plug gaps in their payment processes, operate more efficiently and deliver excellent customer experiences.
For example, restaurants will be able to access menus, manage inventory, receive payments and perform other business functions all from the same hardware. For transport and logistics companies, Nomba’ solutions will enable them to directly connect their transactions to payments, creating a more seamless experience that increases sales and profitability.
Starting in Nigeria, Nomba will also deliver a range of business tools, including invoicing and order management solutions to improve efficiency and reduce cost of operations for businesses across the continent.
“We see payment as a business model, not just a product and we want to make it easier for businesses to take advantage of all that is possible in their payment processes to support their continued growth and success. We have a long list of products we have been working on and the funds we have raised as well as the investors that have backed us gives us a lot of confidence about what can be achieved with more effective payment solutions in the hands of business owners,” Adewale said.
Luci Fonseca, partner at Base10, said Nomba’s track record of innovation and capital efficiency made it one of the most exciting startups in Africa.
“We are thrilled to be supporting them to deliver their game changing solutions to power growth and continued success for businesses in Nigeria and beyond,” she said.