Sparkle
“Can a self-licensed Nigerian neobank become the financial and operational OS for retail consumers and SMEs at once?”
Founded2019
HQLagos, Nigeria
FoundersUzoma Dozie
Total raised$3.1M+ (disclosed)
Latest roundSeed, 2021
IndustryFintech / Neobank
The story
Founded by former Diamond Bank GMD Uzoma Dozie, Sparkle launched in 2019 as a Nigerian digital-only microfinance bank targeting both retail consumers and SMEs. Rather than relying on BaaS infrastructure, Sparkle obtained its own CBN microfinance bank license, making it a self-operated neobank. It has since expanded beyond accounts and payments into adjacent SME services — business registration (CAC/TIN), invoicing, inventory, payroll, tax remittance and lending — positioning itself as a full lifestyle-and-business financial ecosystem rather than a single-product app.
Last 12 months
—
Product timeline
2019
Sparkle launches in Q4 2019 as a digital-only microfinance bank licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria.· banking
2021
Closes $3.1M seed round to scale personal and business neobank operations.· funding
2024
Sparkle Business expands with CAC/TIN registration, invoicing, inventory, payroll and tax remittance features for SMEs.· banking
Regulated entities
1
regulatory licence held by Sparkle
Licence types, jurisdictions and registered entities are in the Embedded Finance Index report.
Same company
Sparkle was analysed under more than one name on the same domain, so its stack is split across these dossiers. Each was analysed independently and may name providers the others do not.
The stack
6 layers disclosed in Sparkle’s embedded-finance stack
Payments / PSP
Sparkle Payments (self-operated)
Banking / BaaS
in the full report
Card issuing
in the full report
Lending
in the full report
Payroll
in the full report
Sponsor bank
in the full report
Accounting gap: significant
6 more providers across 5 layers, with confidence-scored evidence and source URLs, are in the Embedded Finance Index report.