• Lulalend has announced the completion of its Series B funding round, where R600 million was raised.
• The financing platform, which specialises in assisting local SMEs with loans, will use the investment to expand further.
• It has committed to helping address the ever-widening credit gap for SMEs in the country.

Providing assistance to many small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) during the height of the pandemic, local digital funding platform Lulalend has announced a significant injection of capital following a successful Series B funding round in which $35 million (~R600 million) was raised.

Lulalend explains that it will be putting the funding towards two primary endeavours – its own expansion, and addressing the ever-widening credit gap for South African SMEs. The latter is estimated to be more than $20 billion per year, according to the International Finance Corporation, which makes the importance of platforms like Lulalend even more evident.

Unpacking the funding round, the company explains that the $35 million Series B was led by Lightrock, with participation from new investors in the form of the German development finance institution DEG, Triodos Investment Management, and Women’s World Banking Asset Management, as well as existing investors The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Quona Capital.

“The capital raised will enable Lulalend to increase the size of its loan book, bring new solutions to market, and invest in the technology and talent that will accelerate the rollout of Lulalend’s new digital business banking proposition. In addition, in partnership with new investor Women’s World Banking Asset Management, the company will work to scale its product to women-owned SMEs in the region,” it added in a press release sent to Hypertext.

“We are excited to utilise these funds to grow and evolve our products so we can better serve the needs of South Africa’s SMEs. We hope that our impact on this vital sector of the economy, which accounts for almost 40% of GDP and 60% of private sector employment, is nothing short of transformative. Our vision is to drive financial inclusion, and act as a catalyst for growth and prosperity across the SME sector,” highlighted Trevor Gosling, co-founder and CEO of Lulalend (pictured above).