| Name | Babs Ogundeyi |
| Known for | Co-founder and CEO of Kuda Bank |
| Alma mater | Brunel University London |
| Ethnicity | Yoruba |
| Occupation | Accountant, Financial Advisory, Angel Investor, and Entrepreneur |
Who is Babs Ogundeyi?
Babs Ogundeyi is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Kuda Bank. Kuda Bank is the first full-service digital bank in Nigeria. Babs founded Kuda with a mission to make banking more accessible while being very cheap. He has worked as an auditor and also given his service to some of the biggest banks in Africa.
Kuda Bank, initially “Kudi money” is a free digital bank in Nigeria that was established in 2017 and based in London. Kudi Money was rebranded to Kuda Bank after it got licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 2019.
Kuda Bank was founded by Babs Ogundeyi and Musty Mustapha. It’s known for not charging bank fees. Kuda became very popular during the 2020 #EndSARS protest, as it was used for fund contributions.
Kuda Bank’s support for the protesters led to a lot of accolades from the public. Many Nigerians started opening accounts with Kuda Bank, just to express their gratitude. Kuda also freely gave NGN 1 million to its 1 millionth customer.
It is one of the seven WEF African technology startups in 2021, and also the first mobile-oy bank to be licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Early life and education
Babs Ogundeyi was born and raised in Nigeria. He attended The Downs School and also King’s College in Taunton.
After completing his college education, he enrolled in Brunel University, London, United Kingdom. From this university, he obtained his BA (Honours) in Business Studies and Accounting.
Career and employment history
Motortrader Nigeria
Between April 2002 to May 2003, Babs Ogundeyi was busy co-founding and growing Motortrader. Motortrader is the first classified ad car magazine in Nigeria. It was later acquired by a big Newspaper company in Nigeria.
That was just after one year of establishment.
PricewaterhouseCoopers, PwC
PricewaterhouseCoopers, PwC is one of the biggest audit firms in the world. They have a network of firms in 155 countries with over 284,000 staff. PwC provides assurance, tax, and advisory services to its customers and other companies.
From October 2002 to March 2010, Babs Ogundeyi worked at PwC as an Engagement Manager. He directed audits and advisory engagements of many African banks. He has also performed auditing for some financial service organizations.
Redbrick Limited
Redbrick Limited is a property development company that operates in Lagos, Nigeria. Between March 2010 to June 2011, Babs Ogundeyi worked as a Partner and Financial Advisory with Redbrick Ltd.
Special Adviser to the Governor on Finance (Oyo State Government)
After his exit from Redbrick in June 2011, he became a Special Adviser to the Governor of Oyo State. His main role was to advise the government on fiscal policies and other finance-related matters. Some of his notable projects are listed below.
1. Babs was responsible for capital raising in Oyo State. He successfully led a Bond raising program that generated NGN 55 Billion. That was the largest Bond raise in the history of Oyo State.
2. He was also in charge of establishing the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) office and Debt Management Office (DMO) in Oyo State.
3. Babs Ogundeyi created products that increased the Internally Generated Revenue. That resulted in a 500% increase within 4years.
4. He successfully set up and managed the Oyo State Pension Contributory Scheme.
5. Babs Ogundeyi was also the Head of Oyo State’s Microfinance Bank. He converted the Microfinance Bank from a USD 2 million loss position into a profit-making entity within 4 years.
Kudi Money
Kudi Money was established by Babs Ogundeyi (an accountant) and Musty Mustapha (a software developer) in January 2017.
Kudi Money was the first online+only lending and savings service in Nigeria. It was rebranded in 2019 to what people now know as Kuda Bank.
Kuda Bank
Kudi Money was rebranded to Kuda Bank in 2019, shortly after it obtained its Microfinance banking license from the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.
Kuda Bank is a full-service digital bank that charges no fees for transactions on the app. It is designed as a mobile app so that it can be easily accessed by everybody that has a smartphone.
Kuda Bank is good for making fast transactions, creating budgets and spending wisely. The mission of Kuda Bank is to provide the best banking experience for all Africans.
Don’t Miss – Kuda bank: How to open an account, save and how it works
How Kuda Bank was funded
Kuda Bank has raised a total of $91.5 Million in funding over 5 rounds. The Microfinance bank’s latest funding was gathered on August 2, 2021, from a Series B round.
Kuda is financed by 15 investors. The most recent investors are Target Global and SBI Investment. Here is a list of the funding rounds, according to CrunchBase.
1. A Pre-Seed Round funding took place on July 13, 2018. There was only one notable investor, and €15,000 was generated.
2. Another Pre-Seed Round funding took place on September 10, 2019. There were two notable investors and $1.6 million was raised.
3. The Seed Round funding of Kuda Bank took place on November 10, 2020. There were 10 notable investors, with Target Global being the lead investor. A capital of $10 million was raised in this funding.
4. Kuda Bank’s Series A funding took place on March 22, 2021. Four investors were present, with Valar Ventures being the lead investor. An amount of $25 million was raised.
5. The Series B funding took place on August 2, 2021. There were 4 investors, of which Target Global and Valar Ventures were the lead investors. NGN 22.6 Billion was raised.
Babs Ogundeyi as a philanthropist
Babs Ogundeyi is also a philanthropist. During the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, Kuda Bank donated a fund of ₦1.5 million to cater to the vulnerable population in Lagos State. This was done by partnering with the Lagos Foodbank.
Babs Ogundeyi is available on various social media platforms. He is also on LinkedIn and Crunchbase.
- Instagram: @babsogundeyi
- Twitter: @Babsogundeyi
- Crunchbase