Nigerian fintech company Bankly has been acquired by C-One Ventures, an investment firm focused on technology and financial services in Nigeria. The deal includes Bankly’s full operations, licenses, and team, which will now be integrated into C-One’s growing portfolio of digital finance products.
Bankly CEO and co-founder Tomilola Majekodunmi will step aside from day-to-day operations but will remain involved as an advisor during the transition. A structural reorganization is underway to align Bankly with its new parent company.
A Track Record of Impact with Lean Resources
Bankly is best known for digitising informal savings practices like ajo and esusu, providing access to financial services for Nigeria’s unbanked and underbanked populations. Its network includes over 50,000 agents and a customer base of more than 2 million people.
In 2021, the company raised $2 million in seed funding to support its operations and growth. In a LinkedIn post, CEO Tomilola Majekodunmi reflected on Bankly’s impact to date, highlighting the scale it reached through a focused, lean approach.
“With just $1.7M in equity, we built two licensed companies, grew revenues to $5M, onboarded over 50,000 agents—17,000 equipped with our POS terminals—served over 5 million people annually, banked more than 250,000 users, and processed over $1.2 billion each year. All of this was achieved by a lean, brilliant team of just 60 people.”
A Milestone for Financial Inclusion
Over the last six years, Bankly has become a trusted name in last-mile financial inclusion. From rural communities to underserved city areas, the company has helped close the gap between cash-based informal economies and formal banking systems.
“I am immensely proud of what we have achieved at Bankly. Bankly was founded with a mission to drive financial inclusion to the last mile, and we have certainly made significant progress on that front. Like any business, we’ve faced our share of challenges, but I’m confident that this acquisition will keep the Bankly vision alive and further advance our mission of empowering more Nigerians through inclusive financial solutions.” Majekodunmi said in a statement according to Condia.
A Journey Worthwhile
Reflecting on her journey from 2019 to 2025,
“It has been a journey of building, stretching, learning, and becoming… one I would never trade. It’s been the honor of a lifetime to partner with the best in the industry, work alongside talented people, forge lifelong connections, and sometimes step on toes for a vision bigger than myself.” she added in her LinkedIn post.
With this acquisition, C-One Ventures strengthens its ambition to build a comprehensive fintech ecosystem that serves individuals, small businesses, and underserved populations across Nigeria.
