Meet Nigerian entrepreneur who secured $15 million to empower Africans to build wealth

Richmond Bassey, a Nigerian tech entrepreneur, is revolutionizing access to investment opportunities for Africans through his digital investment platform, Bamboo.

Bassey, who has a bachelor’s and master’s degree in mechanical engineering and management and organizational innovation, respectively, founded Bamboo in January 2019 with Yanmo Omorogbe, in order to help young and growing adults grow their wealth by investing in U.S. stocks.

The platform, which provides users with real-time access to the U.S. stock market and other global capital markets, as well as investment products that provide real, inflation-adjusted returns, empowers Africans to build wealth from the ground up.

Since its founding, Bamboo has grown to have more than 50,000 active investors and has executed nearly 1 million unique trades. In 2022, the startup secured $15 million in a Series-A funding round led by Tiger Global and Greycroft.

The $15-million capital injection is currently being used to expand into new markets and launch new products, with a portion of the funds going toward developing the company’s technology infrastructure for smoother processes and faster withdrawals.

Bamboo will continue to build its tech infrastructure and leverage technology to create value in the African tech ecosystem and democratize access to investment opportunities for Africans as a leading fintech startup.

The startup’s next market is Ghana, where over 50,000 people have already signed up for its waitlist. Based on market demand, it is also considering expansion into Kenya and South Africa.

Bassey’s efforts to democratize access to investment opportunities for Africans through the use of technology is a valuable contribution to the African tech ecosystem.

By providing real-time access to global markets and inflation-adjusted returns, Bamboo is helping young adults build wealth from the ground up. The company’s success, demonstrated by its $15-million funding round and expanding user base, shows the potential for technology to create value in Africa.