African businesses have increasingly embraced digital payments over the past decade, but many companies continue to face challenges managing the financial processes that follow transactions. From supplier payments and invoice approvals to reconciliation and cash flow monitoring, finance teams across the continent often rely on fragmented systems that can create inefficiencies and limit visibility.
It is within this space that Nigerian entrepreneur Yele Oyekola founded Duplo, a financial operations platform designed to help businesses automate payment workflows, manage approvals and improve financial oversight. The company has raised more than $13 million in funding as it seeks to expand its role in helping African businesses modernise internal finance operations.
Unlike many fintech companies that have focused primarily on enabling faster payments for consumers and merchants, Duplo focuses on the less visible infrastructure behind business transactions. The platform aims to support companies in managing supplier payments, invoice processing, reconciliation and reporting through a more integrated digital system.
Oyekola’s journey into fintech was shaped by experience across finance, public policy and entrepreneurship. After studying finance and economics, he began his career in financial analysis and later worked in investment roles before joining the United Nations, where he gained exposure to economic development challenges across different markets.
His work in public policy brought him closer to the structural challenges facing businesses in Africa. While many entrepreneurs across the continent demonstrated ambition and resilience, he observed that operational barriers, including inefficient financial systems, often restricted their ability to scale.
“The opportunity was not only about moving money but understanding how businesses manage money,” Oyekola has said in discussions about Duplo’s origins.
The company was founded in 2022, entering a market where African businesses were increasingly adopting digital solutions but where many financial processes remained dependent on manual systems. Duplo’s proposition is centred on helping companies reduce administrative burdens by connecting payments, approvals and accounting processes within one platform.
According to the company, businesses using traditional finance processes can experience challenges including delayed payments, reconciliation errors and limited real time visibility of financial positions. These issues can affect companies across sectors, from manufacturing and logistics to distribution and professional services.
The challenge for financial technology providers operating in Africa is that business environments vary significantly between countries. Regulatory systems, banking structures, currencies and commercial practices differ across markets, requiring solutions that can adapt to local realities rather than relying on a single model.
Duplo’s expansion into South Africa reflects this broader continental opportunity. While Nigeria remains one of Africa’s largest technology markets, South Africa offers a different business environment, with a more developed financial sector and established corporate ecosystem. The similarities between operational challenges in both markets demonstrate that business finance inefficiencies are not confined to one economy.
Building trust has been one of the central challenges for companies operating in business finance technology. Unlike consumer applications, financial operations platforms are integrated into critical company processes involving suppliers, payroll obligations and regulatory responsibilities.
For businesses, adopting such systems requires confidence in reliability, security and compliance. This has meant that fintech companies targeting enterprises must often demonstrate long term credibility before gaining widespread adoption.
Since launching, Duplo has attracted investment from venture capital firms seeking opportunities in Africa’s expanding digital economy. The company’s fundraising journey reflects both the continued interest in African technology businesses and the changing investment environment, where investors have become increasingly focused on sustainable business models and clear pathways to growth.
The wider African fintech sector has experienced significant growth, with companies developing solutions across payments, lending, banking infrastructure and business services. However, the continent’s fragmented markets mean that scaling technology businesses requires navigating diverse regulatory frameworks and economic conditions.
Looking ahead, Oyekola believes artificial intelligence could reshape financial operations by automating repetitive processes and enabling businesses to make faster, data driven decisions. Potential applications include automated invoice processing, fraud detection and improved financial forecasting.
The company’s ambition is to become part of the digital infrastructure supporting businesses across Africa, enabling companies to manage financial operations more efficiently as they grow.
The development of platforms such as Duplo reflects a broader shift in Africa’s technology ecosystem. While early fintech growth was largely associated with consumer payments, attention is increasingly moving towards the systems that enable businesses to operate, trade and expand.
For African companies seeking to compete in increasingly interconnected markets, improving internal financial management may prove as important as accessing new customers. The evolution of business finance technology represents another chapter in Africa’s digital transformation, shaped by local challenges, entrepreneurial innovation and the need for solutions built aroun
