The platform, powered by C2FO and backed by the International Finance Corporation, connects suppliers, large companies and financial institutions on one system.

It allows businesses, especially micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), to access cash tied up in approved invoices without collateral.

At full scale, the platform is projected to generate between $25 billion and $30 billion in annual financing for businesses in Nigeria.

CycleFlow Nigeria Chairman, Segun Ogunsanya, says the launch is designed to solve a basic problem where many small businesses deliver goods or services and wait 60 to 120 days to get paid. During that period, they find it difficult to fund operations, pay staff or take new orders.

With this system, once an invoice is approved by a large buyer, the supplier can choose to receive payment early at a discounted rate. The money can come from banks or the buyers themselves.

Segun Ogunsanya, chairman of CycleFlow Nigeria, said the platform addresses a core challenge in the financial system.

“By enabling immediate access to funds locked in accounts receivable, we are not just financing businesses; we are powering economic growth across the entire ecosystem.”

Across Africa, MSMEs make up about 90% of businesses and account for up to 80% of employment. However, access to credit is still limited. In Nigeria, many of these businesses cannot meet bank requirements such as collateral or long credit histories.

CycleFlow takes the risk away from the small business and ties financing to the credit strength of the larger buyer. That structure allows suppliers to access funds faster and on better terms.

On the economic impact, data from the IFC shows that every $1 million in financing for small businesses can create an average of 16.3 direct jobs over two years.

At scale, the platform could support more than 480,000 direct jobs in Nigeria, with indirect employment running into millions.

Mohamed Gouled, IFC’s vice president for Products & Clients, said the model changes how businesses access capital.

“Millions of MSMEs across Africa are sitting on receivables they cannot convert into much-needed capital to grow and hire. This platform changes that equation.”

The system also removes several limitations common in traditional lending. There are no loan applications, no collateral requirements and no lengthy approval processes. Suppliers decide when to access funds and at what cost.

Alexander “Sandy” Kemper, founder and CEO of C2FO, said the launch in Nigeria marks the start of a bigger expansion.

“This launch kicks off our broader strategy to bring affordable liquidity solutions across Africa and other emerging markets worldwide.”

The platform already operates globally and processes millions of invoices daily. It has funded hundreds of billions of dollars in working capital to businesses since its launch.

CycleFlow’s launch in Nigeria comes as the government focuses on stronger support for small businesses. MSMEs are important to job creation and economic growth but still face funding constraints.

Linking buyers, suppliers and financiers in one system, the platform is expected to improve cash flow across supply chains and reduce delays that slow business activity.

SMEs no longer need to wait months to be paid, they can access their money in days.

The post C2FO, IFC Launch CycleFlow in Nigeria Targeting $30bn Annual SME Financing Gap appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

The acquisition gives the fintech, owned by Stripe, direct control over deposits and lending, areas where small businesses usually face challenges.

The newly formed Paystack Microfinance Bank (Paystack MFB) will start by lending to businesses before gradually offering services to consumers. It will also provide banking-as-a-service (BaaS) products to companies developing financial solutions and treasury tools. 

“After 10 years of building payment infrastructure and going deep, we realised that businesses needed more than just getting paid to grow,” Paystack COO Amandine Lobelle said. “We wanted to leverage the expertise that we have built over the last decade to continue to address some of the pain points that (businesses) have.”

Paystack MFB will operate independently alongside Paystack’s payments arm under the oversight of their US parent company. The two entities will collaborate within regulatory boundaries but maintain separate licences, governance, and product offerings. 

This structure allows Paystack to experiment with deposits and loans without taking on the costs or regulations of a full commercial banking licence.

The acquisition comes after Paystack’s consumer-facing initiatives, including the launch of the Zap payments app, and positions the company to tap into Nigeria’s $32 billion small business financing gap. 

In processing payments for over 300,000 businesses monthly, Paystack now has the data and infrastructure to offer loans, overdrafts, and merchant cash advances using live revenue flows rather than traditional financial statements.

“By having consistently high uptime, and making Paystack MFB the fastest, most dependable way to move money in and out of their account or to access it,” Lobelle said, outlining the strategy to make Paystack the primary bank account for businesses.

This approach sets Paystack apart from competitors. Digital-first banks like Kuda built deposits first, then layered in lending. Paystack starts from the infrastructure layer, using payment data to underwrite loans and optimise risk models. 

It will compete with traditional microfinance banks such as LAPO, Accion, and Baobab, as well as embedded-finance players including Moniepoint, OPay, PalmPay, and Kuda.

Despite the expansion, partnerships with commercial banks like Titan Trust for payment processing remain unchanged. Paystack MFB also operates independently of Brass, another business banking venture backed by Paystack-led investors. 

“Brass has its own team, investors. Just like any other financial services platform in Nigeria, Brass would be able to benefit from the banking-as-a-service services from Paystack MFB, but the two are independent,” Lobelle said.

In April 2025, the Central Bank of Nigeria fined Paystack ₦250 million ($190,000) for operating Zap as a wallet without approval. Regulatory clearance for Zap and now Paystack MFB emphasises the company’s compliance and points to trust from regulators in fintechs that meet standards.

Paystack’s strategy is to leverage its decade-long payments expertise to control more of the financial stack, address the SME funding gap, and build a bank that can scale with Nigeria’s internet economy. 

“By adding Paystack MFB to our family of brands, we’re finding the right balance through combining the rapid innovation of a tech-first platform with the stability of traditional banking,” Lobelle said.

The post Paystack Enters Nigerian Banking with Ladder Microfinance Bank Acquisition appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

That single number explains why a new way of buying software is moving from a niche experiment to a mainstream model. 

Cloud is bigger, more granular and, importantly, more billable by use. That is the foundation of the “pay-as-you-grow” approach now spreading across small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Beyond a pricing trend, this sits at the intersection of interest-rate policy, capital scarcity, currency volatility and high cloud budgets. 

Those forces are changing how software suppliers set prices, and the consequences reach into productivity, inequality and GDP growth in both emerging and advanced economies.

What is “pay-as-you-grow”?

At its core, pay-as-you-grow ties software expenses to what a business actually uses or earns. It appears in several forms:

• Usage-based billing: charges per CPU hour, API call, gigabyte, transaction or active user.
• Revenue-linked pricing: fees rise or fall with a firm’s revenue or GMV, common in fintech and embedded services.
• Cloud consumption models: infrastructure or platforms billed by the minute, not fixed nodes or seats.
• Metered add-ons: a low base rate, with advanced features billed on demand.

This is a break from the old SaaS playbook of fixed seats, annual contracts and upfront licences that forced SMEs to bear full cost regardless of performance.

Why now: the macro drivers

Several measurable forces are pushing both suppliers and customers towards more elastic pricing.

1. Cloud scale and improved visibility

Cloud spending is growing at double-digit rates, and the size of that market makes granular billing attractive and workable. Cloud providers now provide detailed telemetry and mature billing systems as default infrastructure, not experimental add-ons.

2. Better vendor tooling and industry momentum

Platforms that handle usage pricing, metering and complex invoicing have expanded quickly. Billing and observability tools processed far more usage-linked revenue in 2024 than the year before, and software teams are steadily shifting towards consumption-friendly business models.

3. SME financing constraints

In many countries, SMEs still find it hard to access affordable credit. Surveys consistently show gaps in formal lending and strict collateral requirements. That makes large upfront software commitments difficult, especially outside advanced economies. A flexible, usage-based model reduces that pressure.

4. The digital adoption gap

OECD and government studies show SMEs lag in digital uptake because of cost, limited skills and weak awareness of support programmes. Pay-as-you-grow reduces the initial financial hurdle and encourages more firms to experiment.

5. Market economics for suppliers

Usage pricing expands the addressable market for software vendors. Although platforms focused on usage-based monetisation are a small slice of global cloud spending, their speedy growth shows why both young and established firms are experimenting aggressively with consumption-driven pricing.

The case for SMEs: concrete benefits

Flexible pricing isn’t simply kinder to founders, it changes incentives.

Cash-flow alignment

SMEs face seasonal cycles, late payments and unpredictable demand. Paying in proportion to revenue or activity reduces the mismatch between income and expenses. That alone can improve survival odds during downturns.

Lower barrier to adoption

When tools require no large commitment, more firms try them. That increases the pool of SMEs that become digitally capable and able to scale, a genuine productivity boost.

Resilience to currency swings

In economies with volatile exchange rates, fixed USD-denominated licences can squeeze margins. Usage-based or revenue-linked pricing billed in local currency helps cushion that shock.

Faster innovation for vendors

Vendors using consumption models see exactly which features customers value. That encourages quicker iteration and better alignment between product and real-world use.

These benefits are not automatic. They depend on stable unit economics and transparent billing, both inconsistent across providers.

The blind spots and risks

A balanced view is important. Here are the main failure points.

Bill shock

Usage spikes can produce unexpectedly high bills, whether because of a marketing surge, system misconfiguration or bot activity. For firms with thin cash buffers, this can be worse than a predictable subscription.

Billing complexity

Cloud bills are notoriously difficult to interpret. Without strong cost controls, errors or hidden multipliers can create significant problems. SMEs often lack the tools or expertise to monitor usage closely.

Lock-in through consumption

Low entry costs make adoption easy, but high consumption makes switching expensive. Over time, firms become deeply tied to one provider’s ecosystem.

Misleading “flexible” pricing

Some vendors advertise flexibility but hide minimum commitments, sharp tier jumps or steep overage rates. Without transparency, SMEs carry the risk.

Uneven gains and potential inequality

Regions with better banking systems, digital skills and advisory support are well placed to gain more from flexible pricing. Without targeted support, less-served regions may fall further behind.

Evidence and cues from the market

A few recent indicators reveal:

• Cloud spending forecasts for 2025 show strong growth, confirming that consumption across industries is expanding and becoming more granular.
• Platforms built for usage-based monetisation have grown rapidly, showing suppliers are increasingly comfortable with metered commerce.
• SME finance studies continue to highlight persistent credit gaps, explaining why flexible pricing resonates in markets where upfront spending is hard to justify.
• Reports on SME digital adoption consistently stress cost, skills and awareness as barriers, exactly the areas where pay-as-you-grow reduces friction.

What needs to change

If pay-as-you-grow is going to bring broad economic results, three shifts are key.

1. Transparent billing standards

Clear unit definitions, plain-language invoices and predictable ceilings would limit the fear of surprise bills.

2. Built-in cost controls

Caps, thresholds and real-time alerts should be standard. Vendors who provide these will earn trust quickly.

3. Complementary finance and advisory support

Flexible pricing works best when paired with finance that helps smooth short-term shocks. Banks and fintechs can offer small working-capital lines; governments can support training and digital literacy.

Macro implications, the bigger picture

If pay-as-you-grow scales responsibly, the effects extend far beyond software.

• Productivity: Wider use of digital tools among SMEs increases efficiency across entire sectors, especially in services and retail.
• Resilience: Firms that can scale technology costs up or down are better placed to handle economic shocks.
• Distribution: Without intentional support, benefits may cluster in well-served regions, creating a two-speed digital economy.
• Market structure: Large cloud providers will push deeper into SME operations, raising questions about competition and portability.

Can it bring about mass digital adoption?

It can, but not on its own.
Pay-as-you-grow removes a major obstacle, the upfront cost, and aligns incentives between buyer and supplier. Recent data points to rising demand, improved tooling and steady growth in usage-based models. 

But the upside depends on transparency, good product design and complementary finance. Without those, the model risks drifting into volatility and lock-in.

Used well, you get results better than a pricing strategy. It’s a lever for larger and more inclusive digital growth that could help SMEs across different economies compete, survive and grow.

The post How “Pay-As-You-Grow” Tech is Impacting SME Costs, Digital Adoption appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

The investment will enhance Yango’s support for innovative African startups that are solving local financing challenges and enabling sustainable business growth.

Beyond financial backing, Yango Group will work closely with Zanifu to strengthen its business structure and long-term expansion plans, drawing on its operational experience across more than 30 markets. 

The partnership stresses Yango’s belief that empowering SMEs is essential to driving inclusive economic growth across the continent.

Zanifu has already supported over 15,000 SMEs, offering embedded lending solutions that help small businesses access inventory finance, manage cash flow, and scale operations without relying on traditional collateral.

“Zanifu is working on exactly what we care about, building tools that help other businesses grow. By giving thousands of SMEs real access to capital, the team is enabling them to expand and succeed. We’re excited to bring our experience and expertise to help scale a business that’s delivering real impact to local communities,” said Daniil Shuleyko, CEO of Yango Group.

The investment was made through Yango Ventures, a corporate venture arm launched earlier this year with a focus on early-stage startups across Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. 

The fund targets high-growth sectors such as fintech, B2B SaaS, and on-demand services, offering startups both funding and access to Yango’s global expertise, network, and strategic guidance.

A deal with Zanifu results from Yango Group’s trust in Africa’s innovation ecosystem, ensuring growth for small businesses. This also opens a new chapter of scale and expansion across some of the continent’s most promising markets.

The post Yango Group Invests in Kenyan Fintech Zanifu to Boost SME Financing in Africa appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

This announcement came as Vice President Kashim Shettima, representing President Bola Tinubu, led Nigeria’s delegation at the ongoing 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

At a US-Nigeria Executive Business Roundtable organised by the US Chamber of Commerce, Nisha Biswal, a representative of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), revealed the commitment.

Of the total investment, $200 million will be allocated to mortgage refinancing in Nigeria, while $100 million will be directed towards SME financing, with a focus on women’s empowerment.

Added to this, $20 million has been earmarked for Robust International, a company involved in cashew nut processing in Nigeria.

Biswal noted the American Chamber’s focus on facilitating sustainable economic policies in Nigeria. Shettima, in response, reiterated President Tinubu’s dedication to creating an investor-friendly environment in Nigeria.

He emphasised the administration’s early reforms, particularly the removal of the fuel subsidy and the unification of the exchange rate, which aimed to stabilise Nigeria’s economy and attract foreign investment.

Shettima’s participation at the UNGA highlights Nigeria’s efforts to engage global leaders and investors. During the session, he will deliver President Tinubu’s national address and hold several high-level meetings.

These include talks with the UN Secretary-General, leaders from the African, Caribbean, and Pacific States, as well as discussions with the heads of major multinational corporations. The Vice President’s itinerary also includes a meeting with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to explore potential partnerships.

The Vice President is supported by a solid Nigerian delegation, including key ministers from health, women affairs, trade, and technology sectors, all aiming to strengthen international collaboration and secure more investments for Nigeria.

President Tinubu, meanwhile, chose not to attend this year’s UNGA due to the flooding in Borno State, which has caused loss of life and property. His absence has drawn sympathy and support from international stakeholders, who are closely monitoring the situation.

The post US Chamber Commits $320M to Boost Mortgage Financing, SMEs in Nigeria at 79th UNGA appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.