The archive · Money & Fintech · Strategic decision · 2019–2025
Payhippo's same-day SME loans pivoted into solar financing as Rivy after a $4M raise
Lagos lender bet Nigerian SMEs needed credit in under 3 hours; $3M seed and YC, then the pivot: clean-energy asset financing under new brand Rivy
Payhippo · Rivy
What the business is
Payhippo was a Lagos digital lender giving Nigerian SMEs short-term working-capital loans in under three hours using its own data-driven credit scoring; as Rivy it finances solar systems for businesses through a marketplace of vendors and installers.
Starting capital：$1M pre-seed and $3M seed in 2021 (YC-backed), then a $4M pre-Series A in 2025
How it started
Founded in Lagos in August 2019 by Chioma Okotcha, Zach Bijesse and Uche Nnadi, Payhippo joined Y Combinator's Summer 2021 cohort, raised a $1M pre-seed and then a $3M seed led by African fintech founders (including the CEOs of Chipper Cash and Flutterwave), and by November 2021 had disbursed about 5,000 loans with a 97% repayment rate.
What happened
The underwriting engine kept non-performing loans below 1%. In 2023, after noticing that borrowers' recurring pain was the lack of electricity, Payhippo expanded into asset financing for solar systems in June 2023; that year former CFO Dami Olawoye took over as CEO while co-founder Bijesse moved to the board.
How it ended up
In March 2025 Payhippo rebranded as Rivy and raised a $4M pre-Series A — $2M in equity co-led by EchoVC and Shell's All On plus $2M in debt — to finance solar for businesses beyond Nigeria; it had disbursed $2M in loans in 2024 with the loan book growing 15% a month.
Background
Payhippo was a Lagos digital lender founded in August 2019 by Chioma Okotcha, Zach Bijesse and Uche Nnadi. Its bet: Nigerian SMEs — 96% of businesses and 84% of employment — were locked out of bank credit by collateral and credit-score requirements, so an app that built its own credit scores and disbursed working-capital loans in under three hours would win them.
The bet gained traction fast. Payhippo joined Y Combinator's Summer 2021 cohort, raised a $1M pre-seed and then a $3M seed led by African fintech founders including the CEOs of Chipper Cash and Flutterwave, and by November 2021 had disbursed about 5,000 loans worth over $1M with a 97% repayment rate and 25% month-on-month growth.
The underwriting engine kept non-performing loans below 1%, but the loans surfaced a different constraint: again and again, small businesses said their problem was electricity. In June 2023 Payhippo expanded into asset financing for solar systems, letting businesses spread the cost of panels; leadership changed in 2023 as former CFO Dami Olawoye became CEO.
In March 2025 the company rebranded as Rivy and raised a $4M pre-Series A — $2M equity co-led by EchoVC and Shell's All On plus $2M debt — to connect over 250 solar vendors with businesses and finance installations beyond Nigeria. It had disbursed $2M in loans in 2024, growing its loan book 15% a month.
What has to be true
- Nigerian SMEs were locked out of bank credit by collateral and credit-score requirements, so a three-hour disbursement was a real wedge into a huge market.
- Payhippo's own credit scoring, built from banking history and repayment data, kept defaults low (NPL below 1%) and made the loan book fundable.
- Listening to borrowers surfaced a bigger constraint — electricity — letting the same underwriting engine move to larger-ticket solar financing.
- The rebrand to Rivy let the company shed the crowded lender identity and attract climate-focused capital such as Shell's All On that pure SME lending couldn't.
What can be applied
A lending wedge can be a discovery engine: Payhippo's loan data revealed energy, not credit speed, as the binding constraint — so the company followed the problem, not the original product.
Aftermath
As of March 2025, Rivy operated a dual marketplace connecting more than 250 solar vendors and installers with businesses, financing solar systems and micro-grids with three-month terms starting around 12% interest and a 30% deposit requirement. It disbursed $2M in loans in 2024, growing the loan book 15% monthly, and planned expansion beyond Nigeria.
Sources
- Nigeria's lender Payhippo raises $3 million in seed funding to extend quick loans to SMEs
- Payhippo rebrands as Rivy, secures $4M for clean energy financing
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