Startup Lagos

25-Feb-2025

Startup Raises

Oze Secures New Funding to Expand Lending Management Solution Across Africa 2 months ago

Ghanaian fintech startup Oze, recognized for its digital recordkeeping tools and embedded finance products tailored for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), has successfully raised new funding from prominent investors including Visa and DEG.

The amount of the undisclosed funding round will bolster Oze's efforts to expand its Lending Management System (LMS), a solution designed to assist financial institutions in delivering unsecured digital loans to small businesses.

Launched in beta in 2018, Oze offers a mobile application that enables small businesses to track their sales, expenses, payables, and receivables. The platform aggregates this data to generate insightful business reports, utilizing machine learning to assess credit risk and connect qualified businesses with financing solutions from banking partners.

Following a successful $3 million pre-Series A funding round in 2022, Oze has secured additional investment from global payment leader Visa, the German development finance institution DEG, as well as from existing investors including Speedinvest and Africinvest's Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund.

With this new investment, Oze aims to expand its LMS, empowering banks, microfinance institutions, and fintech companies to offer no-collateral digital loans to small businesses across the continent. The LMS is powered by Oze's proprietary credit risk algorithm, which enhances lending decisions by analyzing comprehensive business performance data.

"Oze is committed to improving access to finance for small businesses, and this funding will significantly accelerate our efforts in that direction," stated Meghan McCormick, co-founder and CEO of Oze. "Expanding our LMS will enable more financial institutions to offer SMEs tailored lending solutions that meet their unique needs."

Currently, Oze operates in several African countries including Ghana, Nigeria, Guinea, Benin, Rwanda, Madagascar, Zimbabwe, and Lesotho, collaborating with banking partners such as Ecobank. The platform effectively assists banks and lenders in digitizing the lending process while equipping small businesses with essential tools to track transactions, manage finances, and derive valuable business insights.

Fabrice Konan, Visa's Ghana Country Manager, highlighted that supporting fintech firms like Oze aligns with Visa's commitment to providing digital finance solutions to underserved businesses.

DEG's investment through its Up-Scaling Programme is reflective of its focus on technology-driven business models that have a high impact in emerging markets. Dr. Tobias Bidlingmaier, head of Up-Scaling at DEG, remarked that Oze's innovative technology holds the potential to create significant financial opportunities for small businesses across Africa, thereby driving broader economic growth.

As Oze continues to expand its services, the company remains dedicated to strengthening the financial infrastructure available to small businesses, enabling access to digital lending solutions that foster long-term growth and sustainability.

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