Lydia bags US$1billion+ valuation

Lydia, a startup that began in Nigeria before moving to France, seems to be rising to more prominence. It’s currently France’s second-most-downloaded fintech app, with 5.5 million users able to bank, invest, and send money to one another.

Lydia has attracted the support of major investors like Tencent and Accel, who have invested $133 million in its Series B round.

Finally, Lydia has been valued at over $1 billion in a fresh $100 million round led by US funds Dragoneer and Echo Street. The new achievement comes with a new set of lofty objectives.

Lydia hopes to become the primary account for 10 million people in the next three years.

It will also utilize the capital to offer new credit and investment products (it recently debuted cryptocurrency trading), as well as expand into at least two new European geographies, including Portugal and Spain.

Lydia’s most ambitious goal is to become a financial “super app” for millennials and Gen Z, similar to WeChat in China and even Revolut in the United Kingdom.