Bridgecard has raised $440,000 in pre-seed funding from ABV funds, Ingressive Capital, Voltron Capital, and other investors to develop an operating system for finance in Africa.
According to the Central Bank of Nigeria, the average Nigerian manages three bank accounts. These accounts are typically used for a variety of purposes, such as savings, salary, and investment, among others.
However, due to issues such as a lack of debit cards, mobile banking, and other spending difficulties, managing and accessing funds across all of these accounts can be difficult. This necessitates the installation of multiple banks or fintech apps on Nigerians’ devices, as well as multiple cards for each account. Furthermore, the difficulty of spending dollars from Nigeria has increased.
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Bridgecard has received $440,000 in pre-seed funding from ABV funds, Ingressive Capital, Voltron Capital, and other investors to develop an African financial operating system.
The average Nigerian has three bank accounts, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria. These accounts are commonly used for a variety of purposes, including savings, salary, and investment.
However, managing and accessing funds across all of these accounts can be difficult due to issues such as a lack of debit cards, mobile banking, and other spending difficulties. Multiple banks or fintech apps must be installed on Nigerians’ devices, as well as multiple cards for each account. Furthermore, spending dollars from Nigeria has become more difficult.
According to Co-founder Owumi Festus, the company knew they were on the right track after early user research revealed the difficulties Nigerians face when managing multiple accounts in greater detail.
“They either do not have an ATM card for one bank because they cannot afford to stand in long lines at the bank, or they use a fintech app for savings and investment and do not have a card issued to withdraw directly from it.” Others are unable to set up mobile banking for their accounts, making it difficult to spend. Another issue they all complained about was their banks’ new $20 monthly transaction limit on their cards,” Festus said.
Bridgecard is a new solution that does more than just combine multiple bank accounts and fintech wallets into a single card and app. These include access to a virtual dollar card with a monthly limit of $10,000, a physical dollar card that manages both Naira and Dollar transactions, a feature to transfer money from multiple accounts, bill payment, and an auto-mount spending management feature.
This app enables users to better manage their finances, gain easier access to their money, spend internationally, and ensure better money security.
The $440,000 in pre-seed funding will be used to expand the number of bank accounts that can be linked to the platform. Bridgecard will also expand to support crypto wallets in supported countries, putting the product in the hands of more people and improving the resolution of online and card payment issues.
Bridgecard is still in its early stages in this space, and while there are a few similar products, it has very unique offerings.
According to the CEO, Bridgecard’s long-term goal is to be the operating system for finances in Nigeria and Africa as a whole. They are ready to build a long-lasting product and improve financial access and management for Nigerians with their team and investors. The recent app launch and pre-seed investment are significant.
