Nomanini, a South African headquartered fintech startup for the informal retail ecosystem, has announced a $4m funding round led by Standard Bank and completed by Goodwell Investments, an Amsterdam-based investment firm focused on fintech and financial inclusion.
Through the terms of the strategic investment, Standard Bank gains a stake in the company and the ability to use Nomanini’s platform to unearth previously ‘invisible’ data on the informal retail economy.
With the benefit of these business analytics, the bank can offer a mobile application which provides access to new lines of business, credit and savings services for millions of informal merchants across 14 African countries – all without having to set foot in a bank branch or leave their points of sale.
The service will be available in South Africa, Zambia, Mozambique, Uganda, Malawi, Angola, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania eSwatini, Lesotho and Botswana.
Transaction data analysis via Nomanini’s platform means that micro-merchants’ creditworthiness can be more accurately assessed and, as a result, many will become eligible for working capital loans for the first time. For the merchants using this service, this means a boost to ongoing trade, increased return customers and the sale of additional goods and services.
Excited to announce that we have raised $4m in a #funding round led by Standard Bank, Africa's biggest #bank https://t.co/DEpbDF4w2f#fintech #banking #platform #financialinclusion #informaltrade pic.twitter.com/M5je394Lm5
— Nomanini (@Nomanini) August 27, 2019
For Nomanini, the partnership with Standard Bank adds merchant financing to its existing service offering and provides the opportunity to scale into new markets. With the investment, the company plans to expand its portfolio of financial services to offer remittances, insurance and other products in the future.
“This partnership with Standard Bank will be instrumental for Nomanini’s next wave of growth while ensuring that millions of Africa’s underserved micro-entrepreneurs receive access to digital financial services for the first time. And this is just the beginning. Nomanini’s interoperable wallet is a gateway to a whole range of digital banking services – loans and savings now but soon, remittances and insurance too. It’s only by bridging the divide between the digital and the physical cash that rules in these markets that we’ll be able to rewrite the rules of informal retail trade in Africa,” commented Vahid Monadjem, Founder & CEO of Nomanini.
