In the wake of its third year anniversary, Rent Small Small, a Nigerian property technology startup that is reorganizing the home rental market in Nigeria has been accepted to join the Techstars Toronto Accelerator Programme starting this October making it the first African property technology platform selected to join the program.
Techstars is an operational investment company that helps founders and early-stage entrepreneurs scale their vision into a thriving business. The Techstars Toronto Accelerator Program is designed to provide mentorship, funding and access to the Techstars network for life, beginning with the Demo Day at the end of the program. When selected, startups will be able to pitch to a carefully curated group of investors.
The 13-week accelerator program which selects early-stage companies from around the world begins on 18th October, 2021 and ends with a demo day pitch to investors affiliated with Techstars. It provides entrepreneurs with invaluable skills, resources and connection to a wide pool of global talent and investors.
Since it launched in 2018, Rent Small Small, which is led by Tunde Balogun, has been leveraging technology to revolutionise the property rental market in Nigeria. So far, Rent Small Small has helped renters save N550 million on legal and agency fees and provided over 12,000 monthly stays across 18 locations in Lagos State, Nigeria. The company is one of the leading advocates for affordable and flexible rental payment across West Africa when it first introduced ‘pay your rent monthly in Lagos’.
Tunde Balogun, Rent Small Small’s CEO believes that joining Techstars accelerator at this time is right for the next growth phase of the company. “We have stayed away from institutional investment for the past 3 years because we wanted to figure out a model that truly solves the rental problems, and one that we can scale. Now that we have good traction and our solution is loved by both Landlords and Tenants, we need strong mentorship for our next growth phase. We believe that participating in the Techstars Toronto Accelerator at this time is right for us. Its network, skills and resources are what we will be able to leverage as we expand”.
According to recent posts by its CEO, RentSmallSmall has broken-even financially in just 3 years led by its co-founders Tunde Balogun, Naomi Olaghere, Pidah Tnadah along with a team of 20 including software engineers, real estate managers and a customer service team. This is a remarkable feat for the young tech startup and a testament to the team’s effort to grow the business with very little financing while building a strong customer base with some customers using the platform from inception till date.
Toronto regional startup ecosystem, led by Sunil Sharma, Managing Director aims to match startups with mentors that help with transforming early-stage startups into scalable and thriving businesses, capable of attracting investors, talent and capital for additional growth and prosperity.
Speaking about Rent Small Small’s selection into Techstars Toronto Accelerator program, Sunil Sharma, Managing Director of the Toronto regional startup ecosystem said, “One thing that unites Canada with Africa is the challenge in finding available and affordable rental living in major cities, particularly for people just starting on their professional careers. When we met the team at RentSmallSmall, we immediately understood the problem that they are solving and even saw the parallels with our own situation here.
“If there is one industry that has captured the attention of Canadians it is real estate, and our belief is that our immediate network of property experts, landlords and tech and real estate investors will be of great value to Tunde and his team looking to make housing available to more people across Africa”
In a market where annual rent payment is the order of the day, Rent Small Small is helping to organize the property rental market in Nigeria with its flexible pay-as-you-stay rental method while eliminating discrimination and unnecessary charges. Its mandate is to provide suitable and affordable homes for home-seekers and influence the conception and birth of new homes to boost the livelihood and productivity of Nigerian youths while helping homeowners to make their property rent-able and profitable.
