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The founders, Frederik Obasi, Chioma Ugo, and Rodney Jackson-cole had witnessed how difficult it was to run a business and handle its banking operations simultaneously. Most banks in Nigeria are concerned with fulfilling only the bare minimum – presenting businesses with statements. They care less about providing businesses with information and possibilities for growth related to their consumers and products. Obasi teamed up with his co-founders to create a platform that would put not just the provision of financial services into consideration when catering to business but the operational aspects of the business as well.
“When I left my last business, I wanted to do something really big and something that I knew the problem inside out. That’s why I started Prospa,”Obasi told TechCrunch over a call. They founded Prospa in 2019 and the company has since grown through organic traction.
“We like to think a really long-term game. We really wanted to really test the hypotheses, build an actual business with revenue and understand what we were doing. Then the COVID period came and we started seeing enough traction,”he added.
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The common misconception about Prospa is that it is “a neo-bank for small businesses” but has more to offer such as invoicing tools, inventory management, employee and vendor management, an e-commerce store, and payroll features.
How Prospa Works
Prospa’s target market is freelancers and entrepreneurs. Businesses that register on the site are provided with an account number as well as other important features for doing business. Prospa guides unregistered firms through the process of formalising their operations and setting up bank accounts. The pricing on Prospa is determined by the turnover of a business. For example, a company with a $100,000 ($200) annual revenue is unlikely to pay a subscription price to Prospa. Businesses having a turnover of more than $100,000, on the other hand, pay monthly fees of between 3,000 ($6) and 5,000 ($10). When it comes to traction, Obasi claims that the company has tens of thousands of enterprises and is growing at a rate of 35 percent per month. From a non-banking viewpoint, Prospa has managed over 150,000 product catalogues, and small businesses have used the platform to send out 360,000 invoices. Prospa was one of ten African startups selected for Y Combinator’s winter batch in March. The startup closed a $3.8 million pre-seed investment just a few months after graduating. On plans for the future, Prospa intends to use its fresh funds to double focus on acquisition methods to get additional clients. In addition, the company intends to expand its workforce, particularly in product and engineering. Sources: TechCrunch Finextra Featured Image Source: FinTech FuturesGot a suggestion? Contact us: editor@connectnigeria.com