Fintech start-up Pryme secures £10M investment towards £30M capital raise
Fintech start-up Pryme secures £10M investment towards £30M capital raise
UK-headquartered fintech firm Pryme has secured a £10 million investment commitment from Black Water Fund, marking a significant milestone in its ongoing £30 million capital raise. The investment is contingent on the successful completion of the full funding round.
Founded in 2016 with the launch of a single prepaid card—OjirehPrime—on a broken Samsung tablet in Africa, Pryme has since grown into a full-fledged financial technology platform. Now positioned as a “financial operating system” for globally mobile entrepreneurs and SMEs, the company offers a unified suite of services including multi-currency banking, embedded credit, AI-powered financial tools, and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems.
The startup aims to address a persistent gap in global financial services: over 1.5 billion freelancers and small business owners remain underserved by traditional banking systems. This challenge is especially acute in regions such as Africa, where infrastructure and credit access lag behind global standards.
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Pryme’s platform now offers:
- Multi-currency banking for seamless cross-border payments
- Embedded credit products to support SME growth
- AI-powered financial insights for real-time decision-making
- ERP and invoicing tools for enterprise-level financial management
The company’s growth trajectory includes several key milestones: the acquisition of a licensed microfinance bank in 2020, the launch of a mobile app in 2022, and ongoing efforts to acquire an IPO-ready enterprise platform in Canada—a move intended to accelerate North American expansion and strengthen compliance capabilities.
The £10 million commitment from Black Water Fund reflects growing investor confidence in fintech platforms addressing underserved global markets. However, Pryme still faces the challenge of closing the remaining £20 million of its funding round.
Pryme’s rise has been supported by the Welsh fintech ecosystem, including initiatives like the Welsh Government’s Soft Landing Programme, FinTech Wales, and Tramshed Tech. These partnerships have helped the company establish and scale its UK operations.
“In a world where traditional banks often overlook freelancers and SMEs, Pryme is stepping in with infrastructure-first solutions tailored for the modern entrepreneur,” the company said in a statement. “Our story—from a faulty Samsung tablet to a borderless financial OS—reflects the resilience and innovation needed to solve global challenges.”
With global remittances to low- and middle-income countries reaching $685 billion in 2024 (World Bank), demand for next-generation fintech solutions continues to grow—offering firms like Pryme a significant opportunity to lead in transforming how money moves across borders.
