When it comes to banking in Africa, many small and medium-sized businesses face the same problem. Traditional banks are often slow, expensive, or simply not designed to meet the needs of entrepreneurs, freelancers, and startups trying to grow. This is the problem that Impact Airelobhegbe, Co-founder and COO of Lenco, set out to solve.

Before Lenco, Airelobhegbe was part of the team behind OgaVenue, a platform for booking event venues online. Working on that platform revealed a harsh reality. Business owners, even those running thriving enterprises, struggled with basic financial management. They had limited access to credit, lacked reliable tools to track expenses, and had very few banking solutions that understood their realities.

This experience shaped the vision for Lenco. Founded alongside Andrew Airelobhegbe, Godstime Asine, and Praise Osagie, Lenco is not just a neobank. It is a banking platform created specifically for African businesses. The goal is to provide tools that are practical, efficient, and tailored to the unique challenges of the continent’s entrepreneurs.

“We built Lenco because we saw a real gap in the market,” Airelobhegbe said. “Entrepreneurs were working harder than ever but still struggling to manage their finances. We wanted to give them tools that make their daily operations simpler, so they can focus on growing their businesses.”

Lenco offers multi-user business accounts, corporate cards, and cross-border payment solutions. The platform also integrates features for invoicing, payroll, and expense management. According to Airelobhegbe, the idea was to make banking simple, reliable, and genuinely useful for businesses that operate in fast-paced, often unpredictable environments.

The expansion of Lenco into Zambia highlights the company’s commitment to embedding itself in local markets. Lenco operates there in partnership with BroadPay Zambia Limited, a licensed Payment System Business under the Bank of Zambia. This partnership ensures that the platform remains compliant while meeting the specific needs of Zambian businesses.

For Airelobhegbe, the most important measure of success is how businesses use Lenco. He cites examples such as a wedding planner using the platform to pay decorators directly, a retail shop managing staff payouts through the POS system, and startups tracking runway without juggling multiple tools. These examples illustrate Lenco’s mission to simplify daily operations for entrepreneurs across Africa.

The company has received backing from institutional investors, including Y Combinator, Techstars, and the Pioneer Fund. However, Airelobhegbe emphasises that the real validation comes from the businesses themselves, who rely on Lenco to manage their finances, operate efficiently, and grow with confidence.

Lenco continues to develop its platform with the goal of becoming the go-to financial partner for African businesses. The vision is to support entrepreneurs who are building scalable businesses and to provide tools that truly make their work easier.