Rise.ng, a Nigerian startup, has secured a $150,000 pre-seed round as it prepares to launch its business operations in the country.
The tech startup stated that it wants to revolutionize service delivery by focusing on low-income earners; specifically, artisans and vendors who do not have access to digital/online visibility in order to increase its customer base as that is the starting point of search for such services, particularly in the post-coivd19 world.
It essentially provides artisans/vendors who use its platform with access to a dashboard that allows them to advertise and promote their services or products with a safe finance setup that makes their payment seamless and secure, while the user benefits from working with a vendor/artisan who has been verified and has insurance cover in place.
Risé.ng, founded in 2019 by Olawunmi Oyedeji, stated that it intends to build a pan-African network of markets in the near future.
Risé was inspired by ‘Try My Job,’ a reality TV show in which influential people swap jobs with their fans for a day, giving SMEs a platform to showcase their products and services.
Risé takes advantage of this to provide the best set of artisans and vendors that anyone could need to meet their day-to-day needs.
According to the startup, the new funding will enable it to test out an interoperable digital banking experience across African markets as it prepares to launch in new markets such as Egypt, Ghana, and Kenya, where mobile money is prevalent.
Tiernan Kennedy told reporters that the company is taking a customer-first approach rather than purchasing off-the-shelf banking systems and tailoring them to individual customers. “We designed core banking systems from the ground up for us, and we can deliver a customized experience for the customer at the drop of a hat in both the banking and mobile money markets,” he said.
“With these various fragmented payment types and data types, we can take in all of that open banking data and underwrite at scale.” In practice, this means that we are multi-currency, multi-country, and accept a variety of payment types. That will take time. But then there’s the ability to move extremely quickly against competitors.”
Tiernan also revealed that the startup will expand its product offerings in the next 18 months, launching debit cards, savings accounts, and stock trading. “Right now, we’ve solved for credits and spending; what’s next is savings and investments, opening up new markets, which means hiring staff in our three new markets,” he said.
