Nigerian firm raises $90m, launches finance app in UK

Kuda Technologies, a digital-only bank, has increased its total investment to over $90 million following the launch of its money app for Nigerians in the United Kingdom (UK). 

The firm in a statement after the launch of the app on Wednesday said the launch would among other things, enable hundreds of thousands of UK-based Nigerians to combat high remittance costs on large transfers which currently average out at eight percent. 

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Kuda is entering the UK market (through its UK-based subsidiary – Kuda EMI Limited) charging a flat fee of only £3 with a transfer limit of £10,000.

With over £3bn sent from the UK to Nigeria every year, Kuda is set to save UK Nigerians millions of pounds.

Parent company, Kuda Technologies Limited, was founded in 2019 by two Nigerians, Babs Ogundeyi and Musty Mustapha, and its Nigerian business rapidly expanded to become the country’s number one money app, with nearly five million customers. 

Remittance accounts for nearly one per cent of Nigeria’s total GDP³ but the UK to Nigeria payment rail has been notoriously unreliable, with high fees. 

But Kuda said its digital-only approach and unique local market knowledge had allowed it to launch a service that drove prosperity for both senders and recipients. 

Commenting on the launch of the UK app, CEO and co-founder Kuda, Babs Ogundeyi, said: “Africans in the UK are faced with barrier after barrier when it comes to financial services – from challenges setting up accounts to prohibitive and inconsistent fees on meaningful transfers. They are forced to limit each transfer to a few hundred pounds to avoid losing money or face escalating exchange rates with bigger transfers.”