Sycamore’s ₦1B Power Play: How Local Debt Financing Is Disrupting Nigeria’s Lending Game
When dollars disappear and inflation bites, smart start-ups stay local.
That’s exactly what Lagos-based digital lender Sycamore is doing raising a bold ₦1 billion as part of a larger $1.5 million debt funding round. Just one week after pulling in ₦1.5 billion from Cascador, Sycamore is doubling down on the local debt market.
In an economy riddled with naira devaluation and foreign funding fatigue, this move is more than strategic it’s survival innovation.
Outsmarting the Naira Crash
With the naira losing over 75% of its value in just 18 months, Nigerian start-ups that raise capital in dollars but earn in naira are facing a harsh reality: returns don’t add up.
Sycamore’s CEO, Babatunde Akin-Moses, gets it. Instead of burning equity or defaulting on expensive FX debt, Sycamore is choosing naira-based borrowing hedging against currency risk while still expanding aggressively.
Beating the Currency Trap
Foreign loans? Great on paper. Nightmare in practice.
By raising debt locally, Sycamore avoids the messy legal gymnastics of FX-linked repayment clauses. No sudden margin calls. No regulatory blindsides. Just clean, naira-denominated financing with up to 12-month repayment terms.
This structure:
- Reduces exposure to FX volatility
- Avoids equity dilution
- Keeps Sycamore nimble in a volatile market
Call it financial judo using local legal levers to dodge global punches.
A Win for Economic Self-Reliance
This isn’t just business it’s national alignment.
As Nigeria pushes for local content and self-financing, Sycamore’s homegrown capital strategy hits the sweet spot. It reinforces government narratives around self-reliance, strengthens Nigeria’s internal capital markets, and shows that Nigerian money can fund Nigerian innovation.
The Bigger Picture: Debt Is Eating Equity’s Lunch
Let’s zoom out.
In 2024, African start-ups raised $3.2 billion, and over 33% of that came through debt deals. That’s a 4% YoY jump and the signal is clear:
Founders want growth capital without giving up ownership.
Examples like Fair Money, which now runs on commercial paper funding, show how debt can scale fintech in Africa without foreign gatekeepers.
Sycamore’s Numbers Speak for Themselves
- $5.5M in loans disbursed in 2024
- $3.5M+ in revenue
- 10,000+ loans planned in the next year
- Supporting 5,000–10,000 SMEs across Nigeria
That’s not potential. That’s execution.
With $1.5M of this year’s revenue already booked, Sycamore is proving that local capital, when deployed smartly, is more than enough to dominate the lending game.
The New Playbook for African Start–ups
Forget chasing shaky VC deals and overvalued SAFEs. What Sycamore is doing is what every smart founder in a fragile economy should be doing:
- Raise naira.
- Lend at higher yields.
- Avoid currency risk.
- Scale without dilution.
Final Insight: The Future of Nigerian Finance Is Homegrown
Sycamore isn’t just raising funds. They’re raising the bar.
As more founders recognize the real costs of foreign capital, expect to see a wave of debt-powered fintech growth, backed by local investors who understand the terrain.
Nigeria’s next unicorn may not be venture-funded. It may be debt-fuelled.
