As part of its expansion into Africa, Nigerian fintech start-up Kuda Bank has raised $55m Series B at a valuation of $500m. The funding round was co-led by existing investors Target Global and Valar Ventures, the co-founded company.

Existing investors Target Global and Valar Ventures, the co-founded company have been backed by PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, SBI Investment and a number of angel investors. "Our objective is to improve our offers in Nigeria but also to go to conquer the African market", suggested Babs Ogundeyi, CEO of Kuda, stressing that "this financing will be used to invest in the expansion and to strengthen the 'expertise of the company at continental level'. This investment comes nearly 5 months after Kuda raised USD 25 million in a Series A funding round for its expansion into Nigeria. Launched in 2019, the Lagos and London-based digital bank provides services for consumers to save and spend money, receive overdrafts (essentially revolving credit for individuals). During the first quarter of 2021, Kuda claims a customer portfolio of 650,000 users.