With over ten years of professional experience in the accounting sector, Babatunde Akin-Moses knows quite well the challenges faced by SMEs in their search for bank loans. Sycamore was launched to address some of those challenges. 

Babatunde Akin-Moses (photo) is a Nigerian entrepreneur and co-founder of risk assessment startup Sycamore.ng. 

Co-founded in 2019 with Onyinye Okonji and Mayowa Adeosin, the startup allows access to quick and collateral-free personal loans via its web and mobile platform available on PlayStore and AppStore.  Through the web and mobile app, users can also lend to friends and families and automatically collect their dues at specified amortization dates.  

Sycamore was launched to allow SMEs access to credit since they are usually unable to borrow from banks due to stringent conditions. 

“...If you are in other countries, once you have a job, you can easily get a mortgage. But here in Nigeria, even if you are working, you need to be working for an upstream oil and gas firm or basically earning a lot of money before you can access a significant credit facility without having to present a landed property as collateral. You can see how that’s a major problem in a country where there are 100 million poor people,” explains co-founder and CEO Babatunde Akin-Moses. 

As the CEO of Sycamore.ng, Babatunde Akin-Moses completed a seed-funding round whose amount was not disclosed. With the proceeds, the startup will build awareness in the Nigerian market where it is the only startup in the peer-to-peer lending segment. It will also invest in financial education, boost its human resources and expand to other African countries.  

The co-founder holds an MBA from the Lagos Business School. His professional career started in 2010 with a business analyst position at Shell Nigeria. One year later, he joined KPMG as a tax analyst. In 2014, he was hired by PwC as a tax consultant and then as a Tax academy deputy.  After five years with PwC, he was recruited by Pezesha as a finance and strategy manager. He left four months later to co-found Sycamore. He is also a member of the board of  Profiliant Development Resources, a B2B sales, and marketing consultancy firm. 

Melchior Koba