Pivo, the Nigerian fintech is shutting down one year after raising a $2 million seed round

Hey, have you heard the buzz? Pivo, the Nigerian fintech that was all about banking services for small supply chain businesses, is shutting down just a year after raising an impressive $2 million in seed funding!

Picture this: Pivo raked in more than $2.6 million from big shots like Y Combinator, Ventures Platform, Mercy Corp Ventures, and a bunch of other unnamed investors. 

But they’re shutting down! TechCabal spilled the beans, and while we don’t have all the details yet, one insider confirmed the closure.

Nkiru Amadi-Emina, Pivo’s co-founder and CEO, spilled the tea to TechCabal via WhatsApp: “I cannot provide the specifics at this time but will be happy to do so later.” 

Let’s rewind a few years: 

Back in July 2021, Nkiru and her partner-in-crime, Ijeoma Akwiwu, kicked off Pivo. Their mission? Offering banking goodness to small logistics and haulage businesses in Nigeria’s supply chain scene. Fast forward, and they raised $100,000 in a pre-seed round just two months later, followed by a sweet $2 million seed round in November 2022.

Their plan was to expand to East Africa and roll out new payment-focused products. But alas, Pivo is closing shop, leaving us wondering what could’ve been.

These two founders weren’t newbies to the logistics game. Nkiru had already founded Jalo, a delivery company snapped up by Kobo360 in 2018. When Pivo hit the scene, they were the supply chain heroes with no competition in sight.

Pivo’s big idea? Tackle Africa’s supply chain liquidity issue by dishing out financing options to logistics providers, clearing and forwarding businesses, and FMCG distributors. They wanted to make a dent in the estimated $41 billion supply chain financing market in Africa.

Pivo had its fintech game on with Pivo Capital (the lending champ) and Pivo Business (the business banking whiz). They claimed to dish out over $3 million in loans and process more than $4 million in transactions. How? By validating deals with buyers before handing out the cash, boasting a stellar 98% repayment rate.

Pivo joins the club of African startups waving the white flag this year. With over a dozen startups bowing out, it seems the economic woes and funding struggles are taking a toll on the startup scene. 

Talk about tough times.