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Kenyan fintech startup Paylend has secured $2 million in seed funding to expand operations in Kenya and jump-start operations in Tanzania, Zambia and Nigeria.
Paylend is a Nairobi-based fintech startup founded by Bendon Murgor and Eliutherius Juma. Since its founding in 2019, the fintech firm has digitized more than 10,000 small and medium enterprises, providing a broad range of services, including access to credit and crowdfunding tools.
The seed funding round was led by Next Chymia Consulting HK Limited, an Asian company that provides blockchain applications, consultancy services and training to international companies.
The payment company explained that the $2 million will be used strategically to achieve its three-year growth plan, which includes expanding its operations to the Kenyan market and opening new markets in Tanzania and Zambia.
In addition to its expansion plans in East and Southern Africa, Paylend added that under the three-year growth plan it will also kick-start operations in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, in a strategic move that will see it compete with leading fintech companies Flutterwave and Paystack.
Eliutherius Juma, the CEO of Paylend, said the strategic partnership with Next Chymia Consulting HK Limited will help it offer business tools that ease the operations of micro, small and medium enterprises in Africa.
“I believe in impact driven solutions. For a very long time, MSMEs have experienced stunted growth due to lack of efficient business tools or lack of funds,” Juma said. “With Paylend, we are able to turn this around by helping these businesses access affordable credit quicker thus allowing them to have liquidity thus ensuring business continuity.”
Kenji Sasaki, CEO of Next Chymia Consulting HK Limited, noted that he was delighted to support Paylend in its vision to ensure that no one is left behind in Africa when it comes to access to funding and technology that can potentially facilitate wealth creation.
“We believe in the power of technology in transforming communities, and Paylend’s model is doing that at a micro level, which is where a lot of work is needed if we are to drive digitization,” he said.
