Nigerian fintech startup OnePipe has secured a US$4.8 million credit facility from TLG Capital, which it will use to provide inventory finance to small shops, while at the same laying off an undisclosed number of team members to extend its runway.
Launched in August 2019, OnePipe aggregates APIs from banks and fintechs into a standardised gateway that is easy to integrate and makes partnerships seamless. The startup raised US$3.5 million in seed funding in November 2021.
It has now secured a US$4.8 million credit line with TLG Capital, a pan-African alternative investments firm, with OnePipe saying this was to provide credit services to the informal sector in Nigeria.
“TLG’s extensive experience structuring debt in Nigeria and their deep network across Africa, particularly in venture, made them the partner of choice as we look to scale. TLG is our first debt partner and has been a powerful resource in planning our growth and balance sheet strategy. Through this partnership, we’re looking to build the infrastructure to provide credit and payment services to the two-thirds of Nigerian business owners who don’t have access to effective and practical banking services,” said Ope Adeoye, CEO of OnePipe.
Isaac Marshall, an investment professional at TLG, said despite contributing US$220 billion per year in economic activity, micro-enterprises that deal in cash are Nigeria’s most neglected business segment.
“Fintechs tend to prefer more digitally integrated clients and traditional financiers tend to prefer bigger clients. With a clever product to help these small shops to obtain both credit and better purchasing terms on their goods, OnePipe has pioneered a model that can provide sustainable income growth to tens of millions of micro enterprises,” he said.
Meanwhile, OnePipe has also laid off a handful of employees, while the executive team has taken a pay cut, according to various media reports.