Diool a Cameroonian-based fintech startup has recently secured US$3.5 million in funding to expand its operations.
The startup announced it raised the fund from the Lundin family with additions from other investors. In total, the fintech startup has raised US$4.6 million in investment.
In 2015, the fintech startup started operations as a mobile recharge project back that provides small-scale merchants ways of selling off prepaid recharges to their customers via a single app.
The startup, later on, turned into a financial services platform on discovering that interchanges with payments and financial services were a challenge to its users.
Diool’s platform makes it convenient for small-scale merchants to receive payments from their target customers while also repaying their suppliers through the use of multiple payment processes.
Since the fintech startup pivoted, it has signed up over 2,000 merchants with transaction value worth over US$120 million.
Diool has integrated its payments platforms with all mobile money providers in Cameroon and collaborated with the French multinational investment bank and financial services company Societe Generale in the country.
According to Serge Boupda, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Diool, the startup’s goal is to create a simpler method of enabling small-scale African merchants to access financial services.
“We’re doing Cameroon and payments first. We’ve also spent some time rebuilding operational architecture and processes, to match new payments regulations in Cameroon – a critical building block for financial services distribution in the region.”
The fintech startup offers the following features to its users:
- Instant Commissions on prepaid products distribution – Receive commissions instantly and grow your capital at each transaction.
- Top-Ups and Withdrawals with many payment methods – Add or withdraw funds easily using your preferred method of payment.
- Quick Payments to suppliers and partners – Transfer money to your suppliers and partners directly from your balance.
According to a statement from the fintech’s website, “Much of our access to financial services is done using technologies that adapt slowly to our daily lives. This is especially true in Africa where we import a lot of products, instead of designing them ourselves. Our goal is to bring to life new ways of accessing financial services, more reflective of our culture”
