Lidya, a digital lending company based in Nigeria, has ceased operations in the country, after nine years in business, citing severe financial distress.
“Despite best efforts to restructure and sustain operations, the Company has encountered severe financial distress and is no longer able to continue in business. As a result, the company has ceased all operations,” the company wrote in an email to customers.
This brings an end to months of internal turmoil.
Tunde Kehinde, co-founder and Cristiano Machado, chief technology officer, departed the firm in October and September of 2024, respectively, and Lidya’s Portuguese-based tech staff resigned between May and September of the same year due to nonpayment of salaries.
Founded in 2016 by Tunde Kehinde and Ercin Eksin, both former Jumia executives, Lidya set out to bridge the financing gap for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in emerging markets by offering fast, collateral-free loans through its digital platform.
The startup quickly became one of Nigeria’s most talked-about fintech success stories, leveraging data analytics to assess creditworthiness and disburse loans within minutes.
Over the years, however, Lidya faced mounting challenges—from Nigeria’s volatile economic climate to rising loan defaults and intensifying competition in the lending space.
In 2020, Lidya made an ambitious move beyond Africa, expanding into Poland and the Czech Republic as part of its European growth strategy.
A year later, it raised $8.3 million in a pre-Series B round to fuel that expansion.
But the momentum didn’t last. By 2023, the company had exited both European markets, citing a renewed focus on Nigeria as it sought to stabilize operations amid a tightening global funding environment.
Despite efforts to pivot its model—including introducing risk management tools for other lenders—the company struggled to sustain profitability and eventually wound down operations in 2025.
