SmallSmall, a company in Nigeria that makes software for property management, has gotten $3 million in seed funding. This includes $2 million in equity and $1 million in debt.

The money will be used to expand into other major cities in Nigeria, such as Port Harcourt, Enugu, and Jos, before the end of Q1 2023. It offers renters access to monthly rent payments and gives landlords a way to screen tenants, increase their income, and manage properties.

When Tunde Balogun returned to Nigeria from the UK in 2018, he struggled to find an apartment where he could make a monthly payment.

He joined forces with Naomi Olaghere and Pidah Tnadah to co-found the firm, previously known as RentSmallSmall, in 2018.

CEO Balogun stated that this experience motivated him to look into how to develop market solutions and that after speaking with landlords, he quickly learned that doing so was a two-way street.

With Smallsmall's monthly model, the CEO says that landlords can speed up the process when they give notice.

But to them, that merely makes up a portion of the offer. Balogun also said that SmallSmall helps landlords find good renters and reduce missed payments by giving them monthly payments plus 10–15% on top of that.

SmallSmall offers tenants the convenience of better managing their money by paying rent on a monthly basis, as well as the relief that comes from not dealing with real estate agents.

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According to Balogun, consumers who pay their rent on time establish credit profiles on the platform, enabling them to obtain funding should they occasionally default. Kwaba, Muster, and Spleet are a few of SmallSmall’s rivals; Spleet also revealed its seed round this month.

Demand and supply rarely match up in Nigeria's real estate proptech industry. This is because the country has a severe housing shortage, which is made worse by the fact that both inflation and home prices are steadily going up.

For instance, since 2018, SmallSmall has seen over 476,000 registrations on its platform. Only about 1,500 of those have received services, and the company has 80,000 more on its waiting list. That demonstrates how enormous demand is compared to a very small supply, said Balogun.

Smallsmall changed its name from RentSmallSmall in July to broaden the supply pool and give clients more choices. This product line, along with BuySmallSmall and StaySmallSmall, is now one of three.

Users of RentSmallSmall can rent homes and make monthly payments. For young professionals wishing to invest in real estate,

BuySmallSmall finds newly built homes by well-known builders that fit the company's market need for studio, one-, and two-bedroom apartments and offers them as investment opportunities.

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These owners put their newly bought homes up for rent on RentSmallSmall so they can get money from rent payments without doing anything. StaySmallSmall, on the other hand, lets people book furnished beds for as little as $4 per night.

SmallSmall got $120,000 as a pre-seed investment because it was the first African proptech business to get into the Techstars Toronto Accelerator Programme in 2021.

Other investors include Oyster VC, Asymmetry Ventures, Vivaz, and Niche Capital participated in the seed round. Sean Fannan of Chartboost, Adam Meghji of Universe, Jimmy Ku of Flutterwave, Samir Goel and Wemimo Abbey of Esusu, Jason Njoku of Iroko, and Tunde Kara of Vendease were among the individual angels who took part.

A typical SmallSmall customer spends an average of 17 months on the platform, according to the company’s processing of over 25,000 stays each month across Lagos and Abuja. The proptech asserts that it had a rent default rate of less than 7%, saving tenants over $1.2 million in broker fees and saving property owners over $1.5 million in damages.

SmallSmall aims to use this additional funding to fulfill its vision of “offering flexible, good housing solutions and financing to prospective home purchasers,” having produced more than $5 million in its first three years and making a profit last year.