South Africa’s Lulalend Raises $35 Million Series B Round to Expand its Loan Volume Offerings to SMEs

Lulalend, a South African fintech which offers digital lending services to small and medium-sized businesses that are under-represented, has secured a $35 million investment in its Series B funding round to expand its operations.

Lulalend was established in 2014 and is South Africa’s first online automated provider of business funding. It utilizes proprietary artificial intelligence technology to make cash flow management easier for business owners.

The company offers a range of services, including instant access to funding, integrated business bank accounts, and advanced financial analysis tools, all aimed at enabling small and medium-sized enterprises throughout South Africa to thrive.

What Lula offers includes a neo-bank called Lula, built in partnership with Access Bank. This offers a bank account specifically tailored for SMEs, an AI-driven cash flow management tool, and real-time access to funding via the existing Lulalend funding solutions.

Global impact investor, Lightrock, led the funding round with support from new investors such as DEG, a German development finance institution, Triodos Investment Management, and Women’s World Banking Asset Management, and from existing investors like the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Quona Capital.

Lulalend plans to use the new funding to grow its operations and tackle South Africa’s persistent small and medium-sized enterprise credit deficit as put here by CEO and Co-Founder, Trevor Gosling:

We’re determined to ensure that this investment ultimately benefits the more than 2 million formal and informal SMEs in South Africa whose financial needs remain grossly underserved. The capital we’ve raised will allow us to service the surging demand for the fast access to working capital we offer businesses, as well as accelerate the roll out of Lula, our new digital banking offering for SMEs.

The new capital will allow Lulalend to expand the volume of loans it provides, launch new offerings, and invest in technology and personnel to speed up the implementation of its new digital business banking solution.

Moreover, in collaboration with new investor, Women’s World Banking Asset Management, the firm will strive to offer its product to female-led small and medium-sized businesses in the area.

According to Arul Thomas, a principal at Lightrock, conventional lenders have traditionally neglected the small and medium-sized enterprise market, unjustly obstructing the growth of companies that form the foundation of South Africa’s economy.

“We are delighted to be partnering with Trevor and his dedicated team, who are levelling the playing field for SMEs with their simple, fast, and transparent approach to business finance,” he said.