Nigerian Digital Financial Services Provider Carbon Acquires Fintech Startup Vella Finance

Carbon, a leading Nigerian digital financial services provider, has finalized the acquisition of Vella Finance, a Nigerian fintech company that helps thousands of African businesses sell, pay and receive payments worldwide, and earn up to 15% interest on excess cash flow.

The completion of the acquisition was jointly announced by both companies via a statement released on Wednesday. Vella Finance, acquired through its parent company One Credit Limited, will now operate under Carbon’s umbrella as “Carbon Business”, coinciding with the launch of an innovative AI-powered business banking platform.

This strategic move underscores Carbon’s commitment to empowering SMEs with cutting-edge financial solutions, facilitated by advancements in artificial intelligence. Following the acquisition, Gabriel Ajenifuja, co-founder and CTO of Vella Finance, expressed plans to seamlessly transition their business clientele to Carbon Business while offering individual customers the opportunity to upgrade to business accounts in the near future.

Speaking on the deal, co-founder of Carbon, Chijioke Dozie, said;

“Carbon spearheaded the consumer finance revolution in Nigeria in 2016. Our goal was to give consumers unprecedented access to finance from their mobile devices. Since then we have provided some loans to SMEs but not in a manner that meets our standards or the customers’ expectations.

“We have known the Vella Finance team for some time and admired their innovation and understanding of the market needs. We saw in them the same innovative and pioneering spirit that ignited Carbon. They had built an SME platform that we believe is unrivaled in the market and given our aspirations, the deal was a no-brainer.”

Also commenting, the -founder and CEO of Vella Finance, Mark Afolabi said,

“This is exciting news for businesses and we are thrilled to join forces with Carbon. These are trying times for businesses in Nigeria and by joining forces, we can provide businesses with a platform that provides AI-driven insights into their transactions, low-cost accessible loans, and the power of AI models built into the platform to help with any business challenge.”

According to the statement, Vella Finance will transition business customers to Carbon Business and offer individual customers the option to upgrade to business accounts in the coming days.