Nigerian BNPL startup Klump shuts down due to funding issues

Klump, a Nigerian buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) startup founded in 2021 by Celestine Omin and Olufunbi Falayi, has ceased operations after raising approximately $1.2 million across two funding rounds. Initially, Klump allowed shoppers to split purchases into instalments at checkout and financed hundreds of merchants, including Jumia, Konga, SLOT, and iStore.

The startup's pre-seed round was led by UK-based investor Seedcamp, which contributed $780,000 in 2022. However, Omin stated that lending at scale requires significantly more capital than just software development.

Klump attempted to raise debt to fund additional loans but was unsuccessful. Consequently, the company pivoted to connecting shoppers and merchants with banks and other lenders instead of lending directly.

By July, Klump enabled shoppers on Jumia to select financing options from multiple lenders at checkout. Despite this change, the startup ultimately could not sustain its operations.