OZÉ, a Ghanaian fintech startup, has raised a $3 million pre-Series A round led by Speedinvest to scale its digital recordkeeping and embedded finance products.
The investment round was joined by Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund, Savannah Capital and other unnamed angel investors. The startup previously closed $700,000 seed funding from Anorak Ventures and Matuca Sarl.
Founded in 2018 by Meghan McCormick (CEO) and Dave Emnett (COO), OZÉ helps capture, analyze and improve the performance of business owners in Ghana and Nigeria. With their cutting edge and simple-to-use app, micro-SMEs are able to keep track of their records, receivables and payables, issue invoices and receipts, get paid by their customers, and even get access to credit.
OZÉ boasts of a client base of more than 125,000 business owners in Ghana and Nigeria. Last year, the startup’s active monthly users grew by 1,200% while the number of loans granted on the platform also increased by 200% from Q3 to Q4 of 2021.OZÉ also claims that 97% of business owners using the platform run businesses that are growing, profitable, or both.
Per loans, the startup claims it primarily provide credit to customers who have been active on its app for at least 30 days. Also, businesses on the platform take an average loan of $5,000 while paying up to 36% Annual Percentage Rate (APR).
Having partnered with the region’s biggest banks, such as Ecobank, fast growing SME banks, such as Suntrust, and fintechs like Kwaba, Ozé is able to provide its users with access to fair, collateral-free credit from traditional financial institutions.
With the new funding, the startup plans to build out its team, acquire more customers, deepen its presence in Ghana and Nigeria, and begin expansion plans into new African markets.
Commenting, CEO McCormick said: “Working so closely with small business owners, I understood the problems they faced. And having seen how small businesses in the U.S. operated as a child, and seeing kind of the tech stack or the service stack that SMEs have over there, I had a good understanding of the solution set,” said McCormick.
“And putting those two things together, we’ve been able to create a platform tailored to the realities of today. But also really pushing towards what’s possible for business owners in Ghana and Nigeria, who has a smartphone in their pocket.”
In aa statement, Senior Associate at Speedinvest, Enrique Martínez-Hausmann said: “We are extremely excited to be part of Meghan’s and Dave’s journey to redefine and improve how micro-SMEs operate in Western Africa and can’t wait to see what they dream of next. We are incredibly happy to be leading the round with Africinvest and backing Ozé for many years to come!”
