Amidst SVB exposure, OnePipe closes $4.8M debt funding, downsizes its workforce

Nigerian fintech company, OnePipe has raised a $4.8 million debt financing from TLG Capital, it has also laid off at least ten employees and the executive team has taken a pay cut, according to media reports.

"Sadly, we are also not immune to the broad industry dynamics and had to say goodbye to a handful of our colleagues yesterday," Ope Adeoye, OnePipe's co-founder and CEO, told TechCabal. Meanwhile, this latest investment will enable the company's inventory finance solution for small businesses.

The investment was made via TLG's Africa Growth Impact Fund (AGIF), a credit fund investing in sub-Saharan Africa. AGIF's focus in the region converges mainly on SME investing. According to the company, such an investment thesis provides a nexus between social impact and commercial returns.

With the help of the investment from TLG Capital, OnePipe will be able to grow its business and work towards its goal of being Nigeria's top supplier of financial services to small businesses.

"Despite contributing $220 billion per year in economic activity, micro-enterprises that deal in cash are Nigeria’s most neglected business segment. Fintechs tend to prefer more digitally integrated clients and traditional financiers tend to prefer bigger clients," Isaac Marshall, an investment professional at TLG, said. "With a clever product to help these small shops to obtain both credit and better purchasing terms on their goods, OnePipe has pioneered a model that can provide sustainable income growth to tens of millions of micro-enterprises."

Microbusinesses make up almost 85% of employment in Africa, according to the International Labour Organization. Hence, financial access to this industry is essential for promoting economic growth and eradicating poverty. The model developed by OnePipe is ideally suited to meet this requirement, and this latest investment will assist in that endeavour.

The last time the company publicly disclosed its funding was in November 2021 when it raised a $3.5 million seed in a round co-led by Atlantica Ventures, Tribe Capital and V&R Associates. The company previously raised $950,000 pre-seed in December 2020.

So far, OnePipe has raised at least $9.2 million since it was launched in 2018. The Techstars-backed company is one of the African companies that were exposed to the fall of Silicon Valley Bank; with about $829,000 in the bank.

Editor's Note: This is a developing story, it will be updated with more details.