Oze, a Ghanaian fintech startup supporting small businesses, has secured funding from VISA and the German development finance institution, DEG.
Existing investors, including Speedinvest and Africinvest, through its Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund, also invested.
Oze helps banks automate lending while equipping MSMEs with tools to manage finances and customers. It leverages this data to provide insights, training, and access to funding.
Launched in beta in 2018, Oze is a mobile app designed to help small businesses track their sales, expenses, payables, and receivables. The platform aggregates this data to generate context-specific recommendations and reports.
By leveraging machine learning, Oze assesses a business’s credit risk and connects it with affordable capital through its banking partners.
With this funding, Oze aims to scale its Lending Management System (LMS), a tool designed to help financial institutions – including banks, microfinance institutions, and fintechs – offer unsecured, no-collateral digital loans to merchants and small businesses.
Powered by Oze’s proprietary machine-learning credit risk algorithm, the LMS enables smarter and more efficient lending decisions.
“This funding will accelerate our mission to empower small businesses across Africa.
By scaling our Lending Management System, we can help more financial institutions unlock the potential of SMEs and drive financial inclusion at an unprecedented scale,” said Meghan McCormick, Oze’s Co-Founder and CEO.
Oze has partnered with commercial banks like Ecobank, enabling operations in Ghana, Nigeria, Guinea, Benin, Rwanda, Madagascar, Zimbabwe, and Lesotho, with plans for further expansion across Africa.
The platform equips banks and lenders with tools to automate digital lending, while MSMEs gain access to user-friendly business management software for tracking sales, expenses, and customer data. Oze analyzes this information to provide actionable recommendations, business education, and access to capital.
“VISA is committed to fostering innovation and financial inclusion across Africa, and Oze’s vision aligns perfectly with that mission. Their approach to enabling digital lending for underserved small businesses is transformative, and we are excited to partner with them to drive this change,” said Fabrice Konan, Ghana Country Manager at VISA.
DEG’s investment is made through its Up-Scaling Programme, which supports high-impact, innovative business models in developing and emerging markets.
“Oze’s technology has the potential to unlock financial opportunities for millions of small businesses in Africa, creating sustainable development and fostering inclusive growth.
We are proud to support their expansion.” said Dr Tobias Bidlingmaier, Head of Up-Scaling at DEG.
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