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Umba, a Lagos-based digital banking platform led by U.S. tech entrepreneur Tiernan Kennedy, has raised $15 million in Series-A funding as part of its strategic pan-African expansion plans.
Kennedy, an American tech entrepreneur, founded Umba with Barry O’Mahony in 2018 with the goal of providing an ecosystem of connected financial services that allow customers to take complete control of their finances all in one App.
The $15-million funding comes almost two years after the fintech startup raised a $2-million seed round, bringing the total funding received from investors to $17.5 million since it began operations.
The new funding will put the Nigerian startup on track to expand its financial products to underserved communities across Africa as part of the continent’s push to increase financial inclusion.
Costanoa Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in B2B startups, led the recently completed Series-A round. Other investors included Chandaria Capital and Streamlined Ventures, as well as angel investors such as Monzo Founder Tom Blomfield and executives from NuBank.
“This is an exciting milestone for Umba, and we’re looking forward to bringing in new partners to fuel our growth,” Kennedy, Umba’s CEO, said in a press release. “Umba has a lot of potential to provide useful, accessible products and services that help financially empower underserved customers.”
Umba CFO and Co-Founder Barry O’Mahony commented on the investment, stating that it allows the startup to continue to hire the best people in banking and FinTech to build something new from the ground up, centered on its customers’ everyday needs.
Umba has been in business for about three years. Since its inception, the company has been able to double its revenues every three months, with over one million downloads on the Google Play Store.
