LulaLend

About LulaLend

Lula, formerly known as Lulalend, is a South African fintech company that provides fast, flexible funding and digital banking services to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Founded in 2014 by Trevor Gosling and Neil Welman, the Cape Town-based company aims to address the significant credit gap faced by SMEs in South Africa, a sector often underserved by traditional banks. The company was born from Gosling's personal and family background in entrepreneurship and his recognition that a high percentage of SMEs were being denied funding by conventional lenders. Prior to Lula, Gosling, a chartered accountant with a background in investment banking, founded and sold an e-commerce venture named 5ounces to the Naspers group. Welman also has a background in the investment banking industry.

Lula provides a range of unsecured business funding options, including fixed-term loans, a revolving cash flow facility, inventory finance, and bridging finance, with amounts ranging from R10,000 to R5 million. The application process is entirely online, leveraging AI-driven credit scoring technology to assess a business's real-time performance, allowing for funding disbursement often within 24-48 hours of approval. To qualify, businesses generally need to be registered in South Africa, have a trading history of at least one year, and an annual turnover of at least R500,000. The company's business model generates revenue through monthly costs on advanced funds, which range from 2% to 6%.

In 2023, the company rebranded from Lulalend to Lula as it transitioned into a broader digital banking provider for SMEs. In partnership with Access Bank, Lula launched a business bank account designed to be opened online in minutes, featuring tools for cash flow management and access to its lending products. This evolution was supported by a $35 million Series B funding round in 2023 and a subsequent R340 million (approx. $21 million) investment from the Dutch development bank FMO in February 2026 to expand its lending capabilities.