Nigeria-based digital financial services company Carbon recorded an all-time high revenue in 2019, a year in which it also saw significant additions to its product offerings and regional expansion, according to its 2019 financial results released Tuesday.
The statements audited by Big Four consulting giant KPMG shows steady growth in revenue since the company began operations in 2012, reaching a record $17.5 million in the full-year ended December 30, 2019.
A pioneer of instant lending in Nigeria, Carbon (formerly Paylater) also saw its loan disbursement value grow to ₦23 billion compared to ₦13 billion in 2018. Despite being a private firm, the company will “continue to share it’s audited financials annually, thus upholding a culture of transparency and accountability,” Founder Ngozi Dozie said.
Over the course of the same period, Carbon expanded to the Kenyan market, launched a service for businesses while adding to its app multiple new features – a one-time investment feature allowing users to create an investment plan with as little as ₦100, cashback rewards, loan top-ups, and instant refunds.
The company has so far this year witnessed a multichannel expansion with the introduction of an iOS app, a USSD service, and Carbon Express – a keyboard that allows users to make payments from any social app, periodic investments, free bank transfers, monthly wallet interest, and more. In February, it launched the Disrupt Fund, a $100,000 Pan-African fund to address the lack of capital for African tech startups.
Carbon has had to make changes to its operations, like several other businesses in light of the rapid spread of the coronavirus globally and the ensuing negative economic impacts, while offering support to its customer base.
“It’s been a challenging year so far for the world with the COVID-19 pandemic. We’re also aware that in such an unprecedented time, our customers are going through significant financial challenges,” Carbon said in the statement.
The company is offering loan rescheduling for customers experiencing difficulties with repayments and has rescheduled 9,016 loans so far. It also recently partnered with insurance provider AXA Mansard to provide eligible customers with a ₦20,000 health benefit, an initiative more than 5,000 customers have benefited from since its launch in April.
“As a digital-first business, we’re uniquely positioned to continue delivering first-class financial services without interruption,” Carbon said, hinting at more updates in the pipeline that are scheduled to come on stream later this year. It plans to introduce debit cards, a reward program for loyal customers and SME accounts for entrepreneurs in the months to come.
