Nigeria Fintech BFREE Closes Growth Round to Scale Pan-African Non-Performing Loan Acquisitions
A Nigerian fintech quietly building one of Africa’s most consequential credit infrastructure plays has just closed a new round of capital.
BFREE, a pan-African distressed retail and SME credit investor, has closed a growth round of an undisclosed amount that substantially expands its capacity to acquire non-performing loan portfolios, deepen its forward flow partnerships with financial institutions, and extend its presence into new markets across the continent. The BFREE pan-African non-performing loan growth round signals that investors are increasingly willing to back the unglamorous but essential work of distressed credit resolution in Africa.
One of Africa’s Largest Distressed Borrower Datasets
The round was led by AfricInvest through its Financial Inclusion Vehicle (FIVE), a growth-oriented evergreen investment fund dedicated to advancing financial inclusion across Africa. It also featured Algebra Ventures making its first investment in a Nigeria-headquartered company alongside existing investors including Capria Ventures, VestedWorld, Axian CVC, Angaza Capital, 4Di Capital, and DotExe Ventures. BFREE has previously raised capital, including a $2.95 million round in early 2024, and has steadily built a differentiated position in a market most founders avoid.
Founded in 2020 by Julian Flosbach, Chukwudi Enyi, and Moses Nmor, BFREE leverages AI technology to transform the credit collection process across emerging markets, with a portfolio of over 11 million borrower accounts across more than 35 closed transactions what is likely one of the most extensive proprietary datasets of distressed unsecured borrowers on the continent outside of the credit bureau ecosystem.
Beyond one-off deals, BFREE structures forward flow arrangements with financial institutions, committing to acquire newly non-performing accounts on a recurring basis giving lenders a long-term partner rather than a transactional buyer. As reported by Disrupt Africa, the BFREE pan-African non-performing loan growth round positions the startup to pursue substantially larger portfolio acquisitions at an accelerating pace.
