For people and businesses that had been finding it difficult to access secure loans, a new era is here as Sycamore, a secured peer-to-peer lending platform, has entered Nigeria’s financial system with a solution.
Sycamore.ng, the Peer-to-Peer Lending Platform, is aimed to advance credit culture in Nigeria by providing secured loans, targeting individuals, micro, small and medium scale enterprises.
The company believes that what it has is a solution to financial freedom for its customers because, according to its authorities, it can connect individuals or businesses looking for a good opportunity to diversify their income with responsible borrowers.
The authorities explain that, as subscribers to the platform, individuals or businesses are at liberty to either identify and select loan contracts themselves or simply opt to have their portfolio managed autonomously.
“Our platform provides a compelling combination of liquidity, low volatility and attractive returns,” Tunde Akin-Moses, the company’s CEO, assures.
He noted in a statement at the weekend that access to finance was one of the main issues affecting the rapid growth of individuals and businesses in Africa, disclosing that their mission was for individuals to achieve more through organized lending and borrowing.
Onyinyechukwuka Okonji, the chief marketing officer, explained that “Sycamore growth so far has been based on great customer experiences and the effectiveness of word of mouth marketing; improved marketing efforts are being made to attract new lenders and credible borrowers”.
On his part, Mayowa Adeosun, the chief operations officer, noted that “a marketplace exists with the Sycamore P2P lending with investments designed for individuals seeking long-term capital preservation and growth; this fund offers competitive returns compared to the average online lenders.”
The company’s board chairman, Bade Aluko, who is also the chairman of GNI Plc, attested to the importance of Sycamore’s vision, emphasizing that Sycamore uses robust alternative data to make accurate financial decisions, which yields the most value for both lenders and borrowers.
Established in 2018 as a brainchild of three Lagos Business School graduates – Akin-Moses, Okonji and Adeosun, Sycamore has successfully facilitated transactions in the 9-figure range since inception. It has framed its business holistically around Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) one, eight and 10.
With one loan at a time, Sycamore is helping to reduce poverty, foster economic growth and decent work in addition to reducing inequalities by providing the necessary springboard for small business to transit to big businesses.
Sycamore is authorized by the Money Lenders Act Cap 52, incorporates solutions, such as Flutterwave, Paystack, Remita, NIBSS and BVN infrastructure among others.
CHUKA UROKO
