OjirehPrime becomes Pryme, seeks European banking licence

Nigerian fintech company OjirehPrime has changed its name to Pryme to expand to Europe, Central Asia, and the United Kingdom. The company said it has started applications to secure a European banking licence allowing it to reach the 12 million Africans (5.8 million are Nigerians) who live in Europe.

Founded in 2018, Pryme provides digital banking services with access to loans and savings.

Edoka Idoko, founder and CEO of the company, claimed Pryme now has 1 million downloads, with 250,000 month active users growing at 20% month-on-month. He also claimed the company processes N30 billion transactions monthly and $1.5 million annual recurring revenue. In 2023, Idoko said Pryme processed N330 billion transactions across 980,987 transaction counts.

The CEO notes that from the beginning it was obvious that OjirehPrime was a mouth full, but it decided to retain the name until it was time to move to the next phase of the playbook.

“Pryme has always been part of our plans and originally it’s supposed to be Prime but we needed that touch of creativity hence the introduction of ‘y’,” Idoko said.

Pryme will also expand its product offering to include lending, insurance, and upgrading its bill payment offering.

In July 2023, the company said it was in the market to raise $21 million in Series B funding, a big jump from the $1.2 million the company has raised since it was founded.

Beyond the European market, Pryme said it has a long-term plan for the Asian market, precisely Uzbekistan.

“Uzbekistan has a fast-growing tech environment, government support for the sector, and its market handshake with other economies,” Idoko said.