How Bankoto is scaling SMEs one campaign at a time

Technology/Start-up

By Seyi King

Nigeria is undergoing a digital revolution with the growth of the internet and broadband across the country. This has ushered in new business opportunities in e-commerce, social media, software and fintech solutions. However, one area that has witnessed significant growth is e-commerce.

While the biggest players in e-commerce in Nigeria remain Jumia and Konga, there are millions of small businesses leveraging e-commerce technology and social media to grow their business. However, like every business, getting visibility for their products can be tough in today’s crowded online space.

Take Nike Ogunsina for example. Nike sells wigs on Instagram and delivers to users via a delivery platform such as Gokada. However, she relies on the Instagram algorithm to get eyeballs. This can be unpredictable and disappointing most times. “I don’t have many followers and I can’t get my products in the faces of many people, if I have enough funds to promote my business on Instagram, I would be able to triple my sales.”

The inability to get e-commerce-friendly capital for advertising is what is driving Nike and millions of e-commerce SMEs to the edge. Marketing is the heart of every business and in today’s world, digital advertising will help drive the growth of many small businesses in Africa.

One of the key challenges faced by e-commerce SMEs is the high cost of advertising. The cost of running a successful ad campaign can be expensive, especially for small businesses that have limited resources. This is where Bankoto comes in. By providing advertising credit upfront at zero interest rate, Bankoto makes it possible for e-commerce SMEs to reach their target audience and grow their businesses without having to worry about the high costs associated with advertising.

Bankoto is a unique e-commerce ad financing platform that helps scale small and medium-sized e-commerce businesses through advertising credit. The platform’s goal is to make advertising credit more accessible and affordable for e-commerce SMEs. It does this by granting up to N250,000 in advertising credit to eligible businesses, which they can use to scale their advertising campaigns.

Bankoto has been in development since 2020 when its founder Seyi King decided to solve the challenge of advertising financing for small businesses. For Seyi King, it’s a familiar terrain since he set up his ad agency in 2012. “Over the years I have struggled with getting proper financing for running campaigns and most debit cards are worthless when it comes to international big-spending online media buying. I have campaigns running with a budget of over $30,000 per month and I always have a nightmare making payments” I decided to jump in and do something about it.  

Bankoto launched its beta version in January 2023 and has registered over 100 businesses while issuing ads credit worth N2 million to eligible businesses. The process is quite simple. Once a business is verified on Bankoto, a request for ads credit can be made that same day and qualified businesses can get the credit in their ads account within 3 hours.

Finally, Bankoto is also dedicated to providing a seamless user experience. The platform’s user-friendly interface and intuitive design make it easy for businesses to apply for advertising credit, manage their campaigns, and track their results. This means that businesses can focus on what they do best – running their businesses – without having to worry about funding their growth.

In conclusion, Bankoto is changing the game for e-commerce financing by providing advertising credit, virtual debit cards for media buying, and a focus on scaling campaigns. With its user-friendly platform, businesses can focus on what they do best, knowing that Bankoto has their advertising capital covered. If you’re an e-commerce SME looking to grow your business, you may want to consider Bankoto as your financial partner in advertising success.