Nigerian online real estate marketplace lands $1.2 million in funding from FDV

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September 22, 2016 9:18 AM

ToLet is one of the first thirteen companies to get seed funding from Spark.ng, the investment company setup by Jason Njoku (iROKO) and Bastian Gotter.

Fikayos Ogundipe, Sulaiman Balogun, Dapo Eludire and Seyi Ayeni, cofounders of ToLet

“The new funds raised will be used to improve the platform’s technology offering to both property seekers as well as that used by listing agents. The rest of the funds will be channelled into improved marketing efforts and aggressive expansion across Nigeria over the next 12-18 months,” said ToLet cofounder and CEO, Fikayo Ogundipe.

Ogundipe, along with Sulaiman Balogun, Dapo Eludire and Seyi Ayeni, founded ToLet (known as Estatenode at the time) in 2012. It is a platform that helps users find property for sale or rent in various parts of Lagos. Listings include apartments, serviced apartment, luxury apartments, and office spaces.ALSO READ: Online events venue booking startup secures $45k funding from Spark, Hotels.ng

Speaking on the investment, Frontier Digital Ventures founder/CEO, Shaun Di Gregorio, said, “We are super excited to be making this investment into ToLet.com.ng, and look forward to being part of helping fuel their next stage of accelerated growth. We have full confidence in the ability of the founding team to continue with the awesome job they have already started and we look forward to the consolidation of their position as the Number One property classifieds portal in Nigeria.”

ToLet, one of the first thirteen companies to get seed funding from Spark.ng, the investment company setup by Jason Njoku and Bastian Gotter, in 2013, has since gone on to become one of the leading online real estate platforms in Nigeria.

Spark cofounder Bastian Gotter, said, “We are very excited to welcome Frontier Digital Ventures (FDV) to the ToLet.com.ng family, as a long term thinking and very knowledgeable partner. We believe this new fundraise gives the ToLet management team the capital to scale, and as well serves as validation for what they have achieved already. We are looking forward to seeing ToLet.com.ng win big and change the real estate industry in Nigeria.”

Despite the fact that Nigeria is in a recession, the real estate sector grew by 2.12% in the second quarter of 2016 and added 8.64% to the country's nominal GDP. Right now, ToLet has about 20,000 properties listed from 143 locations in Lagos.

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