Salad Money

Mar 21, 2023

Access to quick cash, salary advances etc., led to the rise of the loan apps that the mainstream media aptly dubbed “loan sharks” for their unprecedented hateful and unprofessional methods of compelling customers not to default on their loans. They slide into users’ WhatsApp, hang around gadget stores and spend thousands on targeted advertising, hoping that Nigerians in desperate need of quick cash will see them. If the customer defaults on the loan, unscrupulous messages are broadcasted to their entire contact lists. This is why Salad Finance ‘s product is important in reshaping the future of work in Nigeria but also in Africa at large. Coined from the words “salary” and “advance,” Salad Finance is one of the startups that were part of the ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator Program  inaugural cohort that had its demo day last week. The startup’s goal is to help working professionals access to part of their salaries before they receive salaries, in a country that mostly pays salaries for the luckiest at the end of the month. Founded by Chikodi Ukaiwe and Seunfunmi Omotunde, it provides “employees with access to financial services and benefits beyond their monthly paychecks,” according to Techstars’ information material. “We are providing employees in Africa with the financial services they need to live their best lives,” the chief executive of Salad Finance, Chikodi Ukaiwe, told Technext in a recent interview. “We give them tools to access, save and manage money conveniently and cost-effectively.” Salad Finance vs other lenders Salad Finance is different from other lenders because it enters into partnerships with employers. This allows the product access team members that qualify and decide how much team members can collect in salary advance. “We are able to do this by partnering directly with their employers for prequalification and collection,” the CEO said. Having worked as a banker with access to benefits like overdrafts and loans, Chikodi Ukaiwe was treated to a corporate world without such benefits when he left his job at the bank for a higher-paying one. This makes him wonder why more people are not offering this product. “I think the problem is ‘why aren’t more people solving this problem?’ he asked. “I didn’t earn a lot of money,” he said of his time working at the bank. “But I had access to overdrafts, buy now pay later services that helped basically subsidise my lifestyle. But when I moved on to another job, even though I was earning more money, I could no longer access these funds that I once did. That is where the problem first reared its head.” The goal is to bring the Salad Finance product to over 400 million salary employees across the continent. “It’s a problem that over 400 million salary employees in Africa face. Despite the fact that we earn a stable salary, we are unable to access the funds that we need to live our daily lives.” Chikodi Ukaiwe said. But there have been other ways salary employees have been able to access funds before payday. The executive said that the demands of going through those means are not of this time. “Bank processes are lengthy. Opportunity lenders are too expensive and asking for money from your family and friends can be embarrassing,” he said. But even as Salad Finance is bringing this product to salary earners, it is facing its problems retaining employees as young Nigerians flee a dwindling economy. “One of the problems I’ll say I face as a founder is brain drain. Africa is blessed with so much talent and it’s quite unfortunate to see them almost impossible to lockdown,” he said. In the meantime, he wants Salad Finance to become the financial partner for as many African professionals as possible. “We want Salad Finance to be the financial partner that works with employees in Africa across their professional journey and even beyond that.” Technext Newsletter