Nigerian mobile-based digital bank, Sparkle, is eyeing listing its shares on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
Sparkle, founded by a former chief executive of the defunct Diamond Bank Plc, Mr Uzoma Dozie, provides financial, lifestyle, and business support services to Nigerians.
Diamond Bank used to trade its securities on the stock exchange until it was absolved into Access Bank Plc in 2019, which later left the NGX to NASD OTC Securities Exchange. Access Bank is now a subsidiary of Access Holdings, which is now on the NGX.
According to Business Day, Sparkle, established in 2020, has not disclosed the volume of shares and the price it would list on the NGX, but it was reported that the stock exchange is ready to welcome Mr Dozie’s firm as a publicly listed company.
The NGX listing is expected to position Sparkle as not just a bank but as an ecosystem which blends commerce with convenience, the publication reported.
The plans to list its shares on the Nigerian bourse are in line with the founder’s expansion drive, considering the firm’s last publicly announced raise happened in 2021.
In October 2021, Sparkle announce a $3.1 million seed fundraise from entirely Nigerian investors.
The round, which was oversubscribed according to a statement from the company, was led by Leadway Assurance with the participation of Trium Networks and a number of undisclosed high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) in the country.
The funding at that time brought Sparkle’s total investment secured to $5.1 million, having previously raised $2 million in pre-seed from friends and family.
At that time, Sparkle said it will use the new investment to scale its talent teams across engineering, financial risk, and marketing departments as well as invest in its automated back-end processes and digital infrastructure.