Smallsmall, a Nigerian Proptech Firm, Obtains $3 Million in Initial Funding to Support Local Development

• Using $2 million in equity and $1 million in debt, SmallSmall, a Nigerian proptech business, has received $3 million in venture capital.
• Among the investors are Techstars, Oyster Ventures, Asymmetry Ventures, Vivaz, and Niche Capital. Additionally, individual angels like Sean Fannan of Chartboost, Adam Meghji of the Universe, Jimmy Ku of Flutterwave, Samir Goel of Esusu, Wemimo Abbey, Jason Njoku of Iroko, and Tunde Kara of Vendease participated.
• By the end of the first quarter of 2023, the firm, which is now based in Lagos, intends to utilize the cash to expand into additional Nigerian cities, such as Port Harcourt, Enugu, and Jos.
  Previously known as RentSmallSmall, Tunde Balogun (CEO) and Pidah Tnadah co-founded the business in 2018.

According to the business, landlords can screen tenants, raise money, and manage properties while renters may get monthly rent payments.

According to the startup’s CEO, over 476,000 users have registered on its website since 2018. Only around 1,500 individuals have been serviced by the business, even though 80,000 people are on the waiting list.

“That indicates how high demand is, compared to supply, which is really narrow,” said Balogun.

RentSmallSmall changed its name to SmallSmall in July 2022 to expand the supplier pool and provide clients with more choices.

As a result, RentSmallSmall is now one of the company’s offerings. BuySmallSmall and StaySmallSmall are the additional goods.

Users of RentSmallSmall may rent and pay for apartments on a monthly basis. It locates and packages freshly built residences by developers that satisfy the market need of the firm, including studio, one-, and two-bedroom flats.

Additionally, it presents them as real estate investment options for young professionals.

When these homes are bought, the owners get in touch with landlords and post them on RentSmallSmall to generate passive revenue from rent payments made by other users.

The CEO claims that homeownership “may in some ways enhance the economic standing since it creates passive revenue for individuals to satisfy other demands. We thus want to contribute to it and support young people as they transition from renting to investing to ultimately purchasing real estate.

For as little as $4 a night, consumers can rent furnished sleeping spaces through StaySmallSmall.

Additionally, SmallSmall claims to have handled over 25,000 stays per month in Lagos and Abuja, which suggests that the typical user of the site stays for 17 months.

It also claims that the business had a rent default rate of under 7%, saving landlords and renters a combined total of $1.5 million in penalties and broker costs.