“Nigeria’s tech-savvy lending ecosystem is the ideal launchpad for our solutions, which support data-driven decision-making.” — Tunde Kehinde, co-founder and CEO of Lidya.
Nearly two years after this statement, Lidya, a Nigerian SME lending company, has closed its operations after nearly a decade of its launch. A case of gone too soon?
The company said it had endured severe financial distress despite its efforts to restructure and sustain operations. It described that its financial distress currently makes it unable to process funds or settle claims.
The shutdown comes nearly two years after Lidya exited its European operations to focus on Nigeria. In 2019, the digital lender expanded into Poland and the Czech Republic, following up with an $8.3 million pre-Series B round the following year. Three years after its European expansion, it pulled out of those markets to focus on Lidya Collect, its loan recovery tool, in its home market.
In October 2024, reports said Lydia’s CEO, Kehinde, had stepped down from his role and exited the company amidst customer complaints about its product, Lidya Collect. Earlier in September 2024, the company’s CTO, Cristiano Machado, also stepped down from his role. A former employee also claimed Lidya was unable to pay the salaries of its Portugal-based tech team.
Lidya has raised a total of $16.5 million, including a $1.3 million seed round in 2017, $6.9 million Series A in 2018, and its $8.3 million Series B raise. Lidya’s closure marks the end of a once-promising venture in Nigeria’s digital lending sector.
