HerVest
Founded 2020 Β· 41 employees on LinkedIn Β· 1 known investors
HerVest is a fintech platform for women in Nigeria, offering target savings, impact investments, and credit financing to smallholder women farmers and women-owned or women-led SMEs. It uses peer-to-peer capital reallocation to provide low-interest loans and financial services aimed at closing the gender finance gap.
Also known as HerVest for Women Limited
Investors Β· 1
Company profile
researched Aug 2026HerVest, operated by HerVest for Women Limited, is a Lagos, Nigeria-based fintech company that provides financial services to women. Its product set covers a liquid wallet account called a purse, goal-based target savings plans (including locked plans and a group "Cliq" plan shared with friends and family), impact investments in agricultural crops, and credit financing directed at smallholder women farmers and women-owned or women-led SMEs. Users sign up with name, email and phone number, register a Bank Verification Number to generate an account number, and fund plans by card or wallet transfer; interest accrues daily and is tracked on an in-app dashboard.
The company frames its work around a stated $42 billion gender finance gap in Africa, of which it says over $15.6 billion is trapped in agriculture, and uses technology for what it describes as peer-to-peer capital reallocation: women with disposable income pool funds that are extended as credit to verified smallholder female farmers in cooperative networks, with investors receiving financial returns alongside social impact. Beyond capital, HerVest describes providing training, market access, grain banking, livestock and digitised e-extension services to female small-scale farmers. It also runs HerVest Learn, a content site covering personal finance, entrepreneurship, career and agriculture topics, and a campus ambassador programme.
Founding story
Solape Akinpelu, who spent over a decade in marketing and communications for Nigerian financial brands including Skye Bank, Sterling Bank, Wema Bank, Leadway Assurance, FCMB and later Meristem, concluded that adoption of financial services among women in Nigeria and Africa was very low, particularly for women in rural and farming communities. In August 2020 she co-founded HerVest with software engineer Yomi Ogunleye, a computing science graduate of the University of Stirling, who serves as CTO.
Business model
HerVest operates a consumer fintech platform that intermediates between women savers/investors and women borrowers. Savings and wallet services are offered free of account maintenance, SMS and administration fees, while impact investment transactions incur processing charges from payment partners. Investor capital funds low-interest credit to smallholder women farmers and women-in-trade entrepreneurs, with returns paid back to investors on maturity.
The company states its services are free to users, with zero SMS, account maintenance and administration fees; impact investments carry minimal processing charges levied by its payment partners.
Traction
Over 4,000 women were on the platform as of September 2021; the company's site reports more than 40,000 women having taken its money personality assessment. Advertised returns include up to 15% annual interest on savings plans, up to 10% per annum on Cliq group plans, and up to 25% annualized returns for cooperative members investing in female farmers.
Latest developments
HerVest continues to publish financial education content through HerVest Learn, with articles running into 2026, and held ValueUp by HerVest 2026, an event on wealth building beyond earnings. Its site also promotes personal and business loans and a referral programme.
βΈFull profile β market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
HerVest positions itself as an inclusive, women-focused fintech β described by its CEO as an "inclusive neobank for women" β addressing the gender finance gap in Nigeria, where the company notes women account for 41% of micro-businesses but receive less than 15% of conventional business loans.
The platform combines retail savings and neobank-style features with agriculture-linked impact investment products that channel investor funds into credit for verified smallholder women farmers, pairing capital with training and market access, and applies a gender lens across both sides of the marketplace.
Technology
HerVest runs a mobile application on iOS and Android plus a desktop application and web platform, with BVN-based identity verification, card and wallet funding, automated recurring savings debits, daily interest computation and an in-app dashboard for monitoring savings and investment plans.
Go-to-market
Customer acquisition has relied on referrals, partnerships with agricultural cooperatives and social media, supported by an in-app referral bonus programme, a campus ambassador scheme, financial literacy content on HerVest Learn, a "money personality" assessment tool, and community events such as ValueUp by HerVest.
Underserved and financially excluded women in Nigeria and more broadly Africa: urban and peri-urban women seeking savings and investment products, smallholder women farmers in rural cooperative networks, and women-owned or women-led SMEs and women-in-trade entrepreneurs.
Geography
Headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria, with operations focused on Nigerian urban, peri-urban and rural farming communities, including a project with the Kwara State Government; the company stated plans to roll out to other West and East African countries.
History
Founded in August 2020 in Lagos and initially run as a distributed team, HerVest had around 4,000 women on its platform and a nine-person team by September 2021, when it presented at TechCrunch Disrupt's Startup Battlefield after raising a $100,000 friends and family round earlier that year. It launched a desktop application alongside its iOS and Android apps, stated plans in 2021 to expand into other West and East African markets in 2022, and in March 2023 reported a collaboration with the Kwara State Government on a gender finance project for 1,000 women farmers. The website reports over 40,000 women having used its money personality tool.
Risks & controversies
The model depends on repayment by smallholder farmer and SME borrowers and on third-party arrangements for fund safety: savings are placed with VFD Microfinance Bank, which is NDIC insured and regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria, investments are insured by Royal Exchange General Insurance Company, and funds were reported in 2021 as held in trust by FBNQuest Trustees Limited. Locked savings plans and ongoing investments cannot be withdrawn before maturity.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources β announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed β not independently audited.
Timeline Β· 6
launches, deals, and filingsHerVest published a recap of ValueUp by HerVest 2026, an event focused on wealth building beyond earnings.
HerVest reported a collaboration with the Kwara State Government on a gender finance project targeting 1,000 women farmers.
HerVest presented at the Startup Battlefield during TechCrunch Disrupt 2021.
The company reported a live app on iOS and Android and a recently launched desktop application.
HerVest raised a friends and family funding round of $100,000 earlier in 2021, to be used to expand its nine-person team, strengthen digital infrastructure and accelerate marketing.
$100K source β
Solape Akinpelu teamed up with Yomi Ogunleye in August 2020 to found Lagos, Nigeria-based HerVest, an inclusive fintech serving underserved women in Africa.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
βΈResearch sources Β· 8
primary sources listed
- HerVesthervest.ng Β· web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does HerVest do?
- Nigerian inclusive fintech offering women savings, agriculture impact investments and credit for smallholder women farmers and SMEs.
- Who are HerVest's investors?
- HerVest's investors include Co-Creation Hub (CcHUB).