HerVest

What HerVest does

HerVest (legal entity HerVest for Women Limited) is a Lagos-based, private inclusive fintech founded in 2020 by Solape Akinpelu (CEO) and Yomi Ogunleye (CTO) that targets the $42bn gender finance gap in Africa, with a primary focus on Nigerian women, including smallholder female farmers, women-owned SMEs, urban professional women, and female university students. Its core offering is a mobile-first platform (iOS and Android apps backed by a web stack at hervest.ng and dedicated subdomains) that combines a liquid Purse wallet, personal savings plans earning up to 15% annual interest, Locked Savings (3-month to 1-year tenor with upfront interest), HerVest Cliq group savings for up to 100 members, and impact investments that channel retail capital into verified women farmer cooperatives starting from N20,000. Credit is extended to smallholder women farmers via a dedicated loan portal (loan.hervest.ng) and Women-in-Trade Financing targets female micro-business owners, while HerVest Learn provides financial literacy content. The platform is built on BVN-based identity verification, Paystack payment processing, and automated recurring debits; customer deposits are custodied at CBN-regulated, NDIC-insured VFD Microfinance Bank, and investments are insured by Royal Exchange General Insurance.

HerVest monetizes primarily through interest spread on credit extended to women farmers and women-led SMEs, supplemented by minor processing fees on impact investments routed via Paystack. The product is free to use with zero maintenance, SMS, and withdrawal fees, so revenue scales with the active loan book and impact investment volume rather than with subscription or account fees. Distribution is diversified across self-serve mobile and web onboarding, a Campus Ambassadors Program covering 18+ Nigerian tertiary institutions, a referral program with cash bonuses, and event-driven marketing (e.g., the Value Up panel at MUSON Centre, Lagos). Notable ecosystem backing includes Google for Startups Black Founders (2022), VC4A, Katapult, CcHUB, and the Aurora Tech Award; the company was named Startup Company of the Year at the 2025 NiRA .ng Awards.

The company reports 40,000+ women served, 270% growth in loan disbursements to $284M (likely cumulative or program-level rather than single-year), and 36% YoY revenue growth, with 11–50 employees, a single-country Nigeria footprint, and cumulative disclosed equity funding of approximately $650K across 2020–2023. Strategic differentiators are the gender-lens positioning, the integration of retail savings capital with agricultural lending through cooperative networks, and the regulated banking and insurance rails underpinning customer fund safety.

Name

HerVest

Legal name

HerVest for Women Limited

Website

https://hervest.ng

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

HerVest is a Lagos-based inclusive fintech providing savings, impact investments, and credit to Nigerian women, including smallholder female farmers and women-led SMEs. Its mobile platform links retail savers earning up to 15% interest to agricultural lending and group savings products.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Inclusive Digital Finance

NAICS

Finance and Insurance (52)

SIC

Personal Credit Institutions (6141), Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

Digital Wallets & Account Aggregation Hub (Multi-account, Stored Value) (FSAGAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Large Purchase & Lifestyle Personal Loans (Unsecured Installment) (FSAKAAAG), Stored Value Ledger / Wallet Infrastructure (Non-Bank) (FSAMANAM), Gender Lens / Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Funds (FSANAJAM)

Keywords

• Women financial inclusion
• Digital savings platform
• Agricultural impact investments
• Gender lens finance
• Women-focused lending

Headquarters

HQ city

Lagos

HQ country

Nigeria

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Interest Spread on Loans: HerVest provides credit financing to smallholder women farmers and women-owned/led SMEs, earning interest on the loans disbursed. Reported 270% growth in loan disbursements to $284 million.
2. Processing Fees on Impact Investments: Impact investments in agriculture incurs minimal processing charges from payment partners. Users invest starting from N20,000 in women farmer cooperatives.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

HerVest is an inclusive Nigerian fintech that delivers a mobile-first platform enabling women to save via personal, locked, and group (Cliq) savings plans, invest in smallholder women farmers through agro impact investments, and access credit financing for women farmers and women-owned SMEs. Customer funds are custodied at VFD Microfinance Bank (NDIC-insured, CBN-regulated) and investments are insured by Royal Exchange General Insurance, with payments processed via Paystack.

Product overview

HerVest is an inclusive fintech platform for African women, operating as a unified app-based ecosystem with multiple integrated savings, investment, and credit products. The core HerVest App serves as the central platform, supplemented by the liquid HerVest Purse account, Personal Savings Plans (earning up to 15% annual interest), and the Locked Savings feature for long-term goals. HerVest Cliq enables group savings with family and friends, while Impact Investments allow users to fund verified women farmers and earn returns. The dedicated HerVest Loan portal provides credit to smallholder women farmers, and Women-in-Trade Financing targets female micro-business entrepreneurs. Supporting infrastructure includes HerVest Learn (financial literacy content platform), an Interest Calculator tool, and the Campus Ambassadors Program for student outreach. All services are accessible through a mobile-first approach with free in-app transfers and zero withdrawal charges.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• HerVest Personal Savings Plans Individual savings plans that allow users to save toward short or long-term financial goals while earning up to 15% annual interest, with minimum contributions as low as N100 daily, weekly, or monthly and automated recurring debits from debit card or purse funding.
• HerVest Locked Savings Long-term savings product that locks user funds for 3 months to 1 year with no withdrawal until maturity and offers upfront interest paid to the purse account upon funding, designed for discipline-oriented goals such as cars, land, or weddings.
• HerVest Cliq Group Savings Group savings feature that lets up to 100 users pool money toward common financial goals with a 3-month minimum and 12-month maximum duration, flexible daily, weekly, or monthly contributions, and even split of savings targets among members.
• Impact Investments Agricultural investment product that allows users to sponsor verified smallholder women farmers in cooperative networks and earn financial returns (e.g., 12% on a Maize investment), with minimum slots from N20,000 and funds insured by Royal Exchange General Insurance Company.
• HerVest Loan (Credit for Smallholder Women Farmers) Low-interest credit financing product targeting smallholder women farmers in Nigeria, accessed through a dedicated subdomain with applications handled by email inquiry.
• Women-in-Trade Financing Flexible loan and resource offering for female entrepreneurs running micro-businesses in Nigeria, addressing the gap that Nigerian women account for 41% of micro-businesses but receive less than 15% of conventional business loans.
• HerVest Learn Standalone financial literacy and education platform with articles, guides, and content across Finance, Career, Entrepreneurship, Agriculture, and Women's Voices categories, supporting the company's community and onboarding funnel.
• HerVest Purse Wallet Liquid in-app savings wallet that holds user funds with instant access, used to fund savings plans, locked savings, Cliq contributions, and impact investments and to receive free in-app transfers.

Quantifiable outcome

• 270% growth in loan disbursements to $284 million
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• VFD Microfinance BankcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHerVest savings are placed with VFD Microfinance Bank which is NDIC insured and regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). This partnership provides regulatory protection for customer funds.
• Royal Exchange General Insurance CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHerVest investments are insured by Royal Exchange General Insurance Company, ensuring investor funds are protected and invested in secured options.
• PaystackcoreTechnology or IntegrationPayment processing partner using Paystack (with bank-grade certification) for secure transactions. Paystack's automated and manual fraud systems protect users from fraudulent transactions.
• Kwara State GovernmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment partnership on gender finance project for 1,000 women farmers. Collaborative initiative to provide financial inclusion to rural women farmers.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Branch International: Mobile lending platform operating in Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, India, and Mexico, providing instant personal loans to underbanked consumers. Comparable on the digital lending-to-women-and-SMEs thesis, though at much larger scale and across multiple geographies.
• Tala: Mobile lending fintech using alternative data to underwrite loans for underbanked consumers across Kenya, Nigeria, Philippines, India, and Mexico. Comparable on the consumer-credit-to-the-underserved thesis and the use of mobile-first underwriting.

Direct peers

• Cowrywise: Nigerian fintech providing digital savings and investment products (target savings, mutual funds, halal investments) to retail consumers via a mobile app. Closely overlaps with HerVest's savings and impact-investment offerings, targeting similar Nigerian retail users.
• PiggyVest: Nigeria's largest digital savings and investment platform offering target savings, fixed deposits, and investment options to consumers. Directly competes with HerVest on personal savings plans and group savings, with a much larger user base.
• Carbon (formerly Paylater): Nigerian digital lender offering personal loans, savings, and investments via mobile app, also expanding into SME credit. Competes with HerVest on consumer credit and digital savings, with broader product portfolio.
• FairMoney: Nigeria- and India-based digital lender providing personal and SME loans via a mobile app, with a recent pivot into a neobank offering savings accounts. Directly comparable to HerVest's consumer lending book and savings-wallet features.

Broad incumbents

• Renmoney: Established Nigerian consumer and SME lender providing personal loans, salary advances, and savings products with a longer operating history and broader customer base than HerVest. Comparable on the credit and savings side, with stronger offline distribution.
• Moniepoint: Nigerian business banking and payments platform serving SMEs and agents with POS, accounts, and credit. Comparable on the SME-credit and agent-driven distribution side; a scaled incumbent serving a slightly different segment than HerVest's women-led SMEs.
• Kuda Bank: Nigerian digital-only bank offering free savings, payments, and personal loans via mobile app, holding its own banking license with CBN. A scaled neobank incumbent whose wallet/savings model overlaps HerVest's Purse and savings plans.

Others

• Flutterwave: Pan-African payments infrastructure provider whose former COO (Bode Abifarin) sits on HerVest's Advisory Board. Not a direct competitor but a critical infrastructure/enabler in the Nigerian fintech ecosystem that HerVest and its peers rely on for payment processing and credibility.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/hervestng
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@hervestng
• Facebookfacebook.com/hervestafrica
• Instagraminstagram.com/hervestng/?hl=en
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hervest

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds7 records

Investors11 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about HerVest