The archive · Money & Fintech · Product decision · 2020-2024
Bamboo's US-stocks bet: Tiger-backed $15M, an SEC freeze, then Nigerian equities
Nigerian brokerage Bamboo bet Nigerians would buy fractional US stocks on phones; 300,000 users and a Tiger-led $15M round followed a 2021 SEC freeze.
Bamboo
What the business is
Mobile brokerage letting Nigerians open accounts in minutes and buy and sell US stocks, ETFs and ADRs in real time; later added Nigerian equities and a remittance app.
Starting capital：$2.4M raised before 2022 plus a $15M Series A (January 2022) co-led by Greycroft and Tiger Global, with Motley Fool Ventures, Saison Capital, Chrysalis Capital and Y Combinator CEO Michael Seibel - roughly $17.5M disclosed by then.
How it started
Founded by Richmond Bassey and Yanmo Omorogbe and launched in Lagos in January 2020, Bamboo let Nigerians hedge against naira inflation and repeated devaluations by owning fractional shares of US companies like Amazon for far less than a full share.
What happened
In April 2021 Nigeria's SEC called such platforms illegal and warned market operators off them; in August 2021 the central bank accused Bamboo and peers of operating without licences and had their accounts frozen for about six months. The freeze was lifted, and in January 2022 Bamboo announced a $15M Series A. It expanded to Ghana in 2022, launched Nigerian blue chips (GTCO, MTN, Dangote Cement) in May 2024, and launched Coins by Bamboo, a Canada-Nigeria remittance app, in November 2024.
How it ended up
Still running and diversifying: from US stocks to local equities, a Canada-Nigeria remittance app and a growing African footprint - the platform outlasted the 2021 regulatory crisis that froze its accounts.
Background
Bamboo is a Nigerian mobile brokerage that lets retail users open an account in minutes and trade US stocks, ETFs and ADRs in real time through a partnership with DriveWealth. Founded by Richmond Bassey and Yanmo Omorogbe and launched in Lagos in January 2020, it targeted the average Nigerian with no cheap way to own dollar assets.
The bet was simple: fractional investing, pioneered by Robinhood, could democratize US equities in a country whose currency devalued repeatedly and ran near 16% inflation. Bamboo charged 1.5% per trade and quickly signed up users - by January 2022, 300,000+ users, 20% of them daily traders, 75% first-time stock buyers, and 85% of 2021 deposits from repeat depositors.
The road ran through a regulator crackdown. In April 2021 Nigeria's SEC called foreign-stock platforms illegal; in August 2021 the central bank accused Bamboo and peers of operating without licences and got their accounts frozen for about six months. Bamboo's accounts were later unfrozen, and in January 2022 it announced a $15M Series A co-led by Greycroft and Tiger Global.
Bamboo then widened the bet: Ghana in 2022, Nigerian blue chips (GTCO, MTN, Dangote Cement) in May 2024, and Coins by Bamboo, a Canada-Nigeria remittance app, in November 2024. It is still operating and scaling - evidence that a retail product with real demand can outlast both funding winters and regulators.
What has to be true
- TechCrunch's 2022-01-31 report gives hard traction: 300,000+ users, 20% daily active, 75% first-time investors, 85% repeat depositors.
- The 2021 SEC/CBN freeze - accounts frozen for about six months - was a near-death regulatory event the company survived, making it a test of persistence under existential pressure.
- The product thesis (fractional US stocks via DriveWealth at 1.5%) directly answered naira devaluation and ~16% inflation, which is why users stuck around.
- Later moves (Ghana, Nigerian stocks, remittance) show the rails expanding beyond the original bet instead of stalling.
What can be applied
A product that meets real demand can outlast regulators if it stays compliant-minded - and surviving the freeze let Bamboo keep the user base that the category's legalization later monetized.
Aftermath
As of November 2024 Bamboo is a diversified retail finance company: US and Nigerian equities on the main app, a Ghanaian waitlist converted into a live market, and Coins by Bamboo handling Canada-Nigeria remittances under a Canadian Money Service Business licence. It remains Y Combinator-backed and operationally focused on Africa; no later funding round has been disclosed publicly.
Sources
- Tiger Global and Greycroft back Nigerian investment app Bamboo in $15M round
- Bamboo launches Nigerian stocks to deepen retail capital markets
- Bamboo moves to ease remittance from Canada with fee-free app
spotted an error? The archive wants to know.
Your turn
You just read one. Describe what you are building, and see who is betting on the same thing.
Free account · 3 free questions · no card