Lula

Cape Town, South Africa Founded: 2014 • Age: 12 yrs
Digital business funding and banking solutions are provided for SMEs.

About Lula

Lula is a Financial Services company based in Cape Town (South Africa) founded in 2014 by Trevor Gosling and Neil Welman. Digital business funding and banking solutions are provided for SMEs. It operates on a FinTech and Usage + Subscription Mix model. Lula has raised $41.5 million across 6 funding rounds from investors including International Finance Corporation, Accion and Quona. Its chief executive, as recorded, is Trevor Gosling. Its website lula.co.za draws about 50 thousand monthly visits. Lula offers products and services including Revolving Capital Facility, Capital Advance, Lulapay, and Business Banking Account. Its focus areas include FinTech and SME Financing. Its legal entity is Lula Lend (Pty) Ltd. Its competitors include Retail Capital, WesBank and Bridgement; 1 of its 3 listed competitors has raised funding.

Company details

Innovative fintech products are developed by Lula to support SMEs with cash flow management. Business funding solutions, such as Revolving Capital Facility and Capital Advance, are offered alongside fully digital banking accounts. Services are tailored for the SME sector in South Africa, ensuring fast access to capital and easy financial management tools. Partnerships with leading financial institutions like Access Bank are maintained to enhance service delivery.

  • Headquarters Cape Town, South Africa
  • Founders Trevor Gosling, Neil Welman
  • Sectors
    Financial Services
  • Website category Finance · Banking Credit and Lending
  • Email
    ••••••••
  • Phone
    •••• ••••
  • Website lula.co.za
  • Social LinkedIn X Facebook Instagram YouTube
  • Legal Name Lula Lend (Pty) Ltd
Key Metrics

Products & Services of Lula

Lula offers a comprehensive portfolio of products and services, including Revolving Capital Facility, Capital Advance, Lulapay, and Business Banking Account.

Revolving Capital Facility
Business Funding

Flexible funding is provided for SME working capital needs.

Capital Advance
Business Funding

Fixed funding is offered with clear repayment terms for SMEs.

Lulapay
Trade Credit

Instant payment is enabled for SMEs with customer terms.

Business Banking Account
Banking

Digital banking accounts are provided for SME financial management.

Apps and channels of Lula

its YouTube channel We Are Lula has 1.59K subscribers and 30 videos.

We Are Lula
YouTube 1.59K subscribers 30 videos Science & Technology
Open channel

Videos from Lula

The most watched videos on Lula's YouTube channel, We Are Lula (1.59K subscribers). Click a video to play it here.

Lula | Celebrating 10 Years of SME Success
385 views
How Lula partnered with Anthony Anti-Corrosion Coatings to make cash flow [FULL STORY]
293 views
Exchange with Lula | Episode 1 | A 2025 Snapshot: South Africa's SME Landscape
275 views
Exchange with Lula | Episode 18 | Efficiency Unlocked: How AI Can Transform Your SME
236 views

More on We Are Lula.

Funding Insights of Lula

Lula has successfully raised a total of $41.5M across 6 strategic funding rounds. The most recent funding activity was a Debt – Conventional round of $20 million completed in February 2026. This substantial capital infusion reflects strong investor confidence in the company's business model, growth potential, and market opportunities. The funding enables strategic expansion, product development, market penetration, and operational scaling to drive long-term value creation and competitive advantage.

  • Total Funding $41.5M
  • Total Rounds 6
  • Last Round Debt – Conventional — $20M
  • Investors Count 11

All 6 funding rounds of Lula with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.

DateAmountTransaction NameValuationLead InvestorsInvestors
Feb 2026$20MDebt – Conventional––
Nov 2025$10MDebt – Conventional–IFC
–
Feb 2023$35MSeries B–Lightrock
Jun 2021$416,647Debt – Conventional––
Jun 2019$6.5MSeries A–IFC, Quona
Oct 2016Seed–Accion
Valuation history

11 investors in total: 11 institutional.

Investors in Lula

Lula has secured backing from 11 investors, including venture fund and institutional investors. Prominent investors backing the company include International Finance Corporation, Accion and Quona.

All
Venture Fund
Institutional
InvestorDescriptionFounded YearDomainLocation
IFC is focused on private sector development in emerging markets.
1956ifc.org
Diversified investment portfolios are managed for various clients.
triodos-im.comDriebergen Rijsenburg, Netherlands
Investments are directed toward growth-stage companies generating scalable impact.
2009lightrock.comLondon, United Kingdom
Fintech investments focused on financial inclusion and global economic growth.
2015quona.com
Private equity firm focused on growth equities
deginvest.deCologne, Germany
Early-stage tech-focused VC firm investing in geographies such as Asia and Africa
newidcapital.comAlexandria, United States
fmo.nl
Women's financial inclusion is advanced by a global non-profit organization.
1979womensworldbanking.orgNew York, United States
Microfinance investments are connected to entrepreneurs in emerging markets.
2011lendahand.comRotterdam, Netherlands
Foundation focused on early-stage investments in fintech sector
1961accion.org
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Investor details for Lula

The complete investor list, round-by-round participation and investor portfolios require an active premium plan.

  • Complete investor list
  • Round participation
  • Investor portfolios
  • Co-investor network

Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.

People of Lula

50 people are tracked at Lula (14 in leadership, 36 in team).

NameRoleGroup
Trevor Gosling
Co-Founder & CEOLeadership
Neil Welman
Co-Founder & CTOLeadership
Jordan Gosling
Vice President | LulapayLeadership
Garth Rossiter
Chief Risk Officer & Head Of CreditLeadership
Dylan W.
Head Of Credit UnderwritingLeadership
Clinton Thomas
Head Of ProductLeadership
Lianca Strydom
Talent PartnerLeadership
Jannae Jackson
Head Of CXLeadership
Lizanne du Toit
Head Of PeopleLeadership
Thomas M.
Chief Operating OfficerLeadership
Leon Wolmarans
Head Of Business OperationsLeadership
Leanne P.
Vice President PartnershipsLeadership
Greer Penzhorn
Head Of LegalLeadership
John Charles Dalton
Head Of EngineeringLeadership
Taryn Crouster
Operations ManagerTeam
Jennifer de Goede
Software EngineerTeam
Priyen Pillay
Senior QA EngineerTeam
Nicole Swanepoel
Delivery LeadTeam
Sive Maneli
Collections And Portfolio AnalystTeam
Vahin Gounden
Software Engineering Team LeadTeam

30 more people are available in the full profile.

Premium access

Complete people profiles for Lula

Full employee and board profiles, team structure, tenure and professional contact details require an active premium plan.

  • Full employee list
  • Team structure
  • Board tenure
  • Professional contacts

Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.

Timeline of Lula

3 dated milestones of Lula across 12 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.

  1. Founded Lula is founded.
  2. Funding First funding round.
  3. Funding Latest funding round, Debt – Conventional, of $20.0M.

Competitors of Lula

Lula has 3 listed competitors in our database, 1 of them funded. They include Retail Capital, WesBank and Bridgement.

Company NameDomainFoundedHQ LocationTotal fundingEmployeesDescription
retailcapital.co.za2011Cape Town, South Africa$41.7M
Flexible unsecured funding is offered to small and medium enterprises.
wesbank.co.za1970Randburg, South Africa
Operates a digital hub for consumer and business loan services.
bridgement.com2016Johannesburg, South Africa
Online invoice financing platform
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Detailed competitors of Lula

The full competitor set, operating metrics and side-by-side benchmarks require an active premium plan.

  • Full competitor set
  • Operating metrics
  • Benchmarks
  • Competitive positioning

Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.

Web traffic of Lula

The website of Lula (lula.co.za) receives about 49.7K visits a month and ranks #322,138 among all websites worldwide, #4,718 in Banking Credit and Lending.

  • Monthly visits
    49.7K

    ▼ 16.4% vs previous month

  • Unique visitors
    25.8K

    per month

  • Global rank
    #322,138

    among all websites

  • Category rank
    #4,718

    Finance · Banking Credit and Lending

Similar websites

Websites whose visitors overlap most with Lula. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.

WebsiteDomainAudience affinityMonthly visitsGlobal rankProfile
fundinghub.co.za
100%
6.8K#3,065,290View details
bridgement.com
96%
25.2K#966,341View details
fnb.co.za
93%
9.2M#5,601View details
southernfinance.co.za
southernfinance.co.za
88%
#254,183–
blinkfinance.co.za
blinkfinance.co.za
86%
#152,258–
••••••••••••••••.com••%•.•M#•••••–
••••••••••••••••.com••%•.•M#•••••–
••••••••••••••••.com••%•.•M#•••••–
Premium access

All 23 similar websites and full traffic analytics for Lula

The complete similar-websites list, audience overlap and engagement analytics require an active premium plan.

  • 23 similar websites
  • Audience overlap
  • Engagement analytics
  • Traffic by brand

Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.

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Related news about Lula

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Complete news archive for Lula

Full article history, source details, and older brand coverage require an active premium plan.

  • Full article archive
  • Source and publication date
  • Older coverage
  • Brand-specific news history

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Frequently Asked Questions about Lula

Lula was founded in 2014 and raised its 1st funding round 2 years after it was founded.

Lula is headquartered in Cape Town, South Africa. It is registered at Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa.

Trevor Gosling is the CEO of Lula, as recorded in our data. They have also founded this company.

Lula is a funded company, having raised a total of $41.5M across 6 funding rounds to date.

Innovative fintech products are developed by Lula to support SMEs with cash flow management. Business funding solutions, such as Revolving Capital Facility and Capital Advance, are offered alongside fully digital banking accounts. Services are tailored for the SME sector in South Africa, ensuring fast access to capital and easy financial management tools. Partnerships with leading financial institutions like Access Bank are maintained to enhance service delivery.

Lula's top competitors include Retail Capital, Bridgement and WesBank.

Lula offers Revolving Capital Facility, Capital Advance, Lulapay, and Business Banking Account.

Lula has 11 investors. Key investors include International Finance Corporation, Accion, Quona, Lightrock, and Lendahand.

Lula operates through Lula Lend (Pty) Ltd.

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