Nigerian founder Samuel Adebisi incorporates with Firstbase

At Firstbase, our mission is to make US incorporation available to more entrepreneurs from around the world. We incorporated Nigerian fintech startup Aibanc in August 2022 and spoke with founder Samuel Adebisi about his experience building a new business from the ground up.

What is Aibanc?

Aibanc is a Nigerian lending firm that allows customers to access credit through a mobile app (currently available on Android). Mr. Adebisi leveraged his experience in investment banking to build Aibanc and bring more robust financial services to Nigeria.

Financial services currently have limited personalization, and millions of consumers and businesses lack access to the financial services they need deserve. Aibanc is utilizing AI and ML models to drive personalization across the spectrum of financial services for these users.

Samuel’s story will resonate with any entrepreneur who has recognized a need in their market and worked to create the right solution. We talked with him to learn more about his entrepreneurial journey and how Firstbase has supported his work with Aibanc.

Starting Aibanc

After graduating with a degree in economics, Samuel started working as an investment banker in 2018. He also has experience as a product manager, and now serves as the founder and CEO of Aibanc.

In 2021, Samuel was inspired to put these skills into practice when he spoke with friends who were having trouble accessing credit. He and his team settled on the name “Aibanc” for two reasons: because every customer would get a personalized experience, and because the tool uses AI to determine the right offer for each user.

As Aibanc expanded, Samuel soon realized that he would need to incorporate his business in the USA both to connect with investors and access the American banking system. He decided to incorporate Aibanc as a Delaware C Corp — the best entity type for founders looking for outside funding.

“After speaking with angel investors, I realized that we would need a Delaware C Corp to reach our funding goals. Firstbase made it easy to incorporate and open a US bank account, allowing us to manage our finances and receive funding in USD.”

Accessing US banks

While Samuel considered some alternatives such as Clerky or even a conventional law firm, he went with Firstbase due to its low prices, compliance + operational support, and extensive rewards.

Getting a US bank account was another critical element for the Aibanc team. The foreign exchange risk associated with Nigerian accounts can cause issues with investors, so a US account enabled them to transact with investors around the world with less friction.

Taxes, compliance, rewards: More Firstbase perks

The Aibanc team had some concerns about paying taxes and staying compliant with US regulations, but they found that everything was handled through Firstbase Agent.

“It’s been very easy for us to file our annual reports. We just send Firstbase the information online and let them handle the paperwork.”

Samuel also utilized the Firstbase partnership program to save thousands of dollars on critical business tools. Our AWS partnership, for example, gave them $5,000 in free credits after completing the incorporation process. That’s $5,000 in their account that they can now use to invest in the business.

Our goal is to remove barriers to US incorporation and operations, and we've been amazed to see what Samuel has accomplished with his US business. Learn more about how Firstbase Agent can streamline your operations so that you can focus on business development.

Insights

While Aibanc is only a year old, Samuel has already gained vital skills and experience that have given him a new perspective on entrepreneurship. We asked him to share some of the lessons he’s learned to help founders who may be at an earlier stage of their journeys.

Samuel noted that building a successful startup is more than simply coming up with a good idea or even developing a strong product. The other areas of your business are just as relevant, if not even more critical to your long-term success.

“Building a product is just one part of entrepreneurship — you need to think about how you’re going to sell that product from the very beginning. No matter what you build, it won’t go anywhere unless you’re able to convince people to use it. You should always be focused on connecting with more people and developing a sustainable user base.”

Samuel also emphasized the importance of being financially self-sufficient — everything you do should be oriented toward building a sustainable business that isn’t dependent on outside funding. Don’t be afraid to use other financing sources that could work for your business given the macroeconomic climate.

When we asked about the most rewarding element of entrepreneurship, Samuel didn’t hesitate:

“Watching more and more people use Aibanc is what it’s all about. I love to hear my customers’ stories and see the impact we are having in their lives. At Aibanc, we believe that banks will eventually be a bunch of AI and ML tools. These models will be able to advise customers, balance liquidity levels, assess credit, enable collection, and most importantly, manage the financial life of billions of people and millions of businesses."

Wrapping up

Aibanc is an innovative and exciting startup that reaches new customers every day. Incorporating in the US was a crucial step toward their goal of receiving funding from both American and African investors. We're dedicated to continuously improving the Firstbase product suite and offering entrepreneurs even more tools to support their dreams.

Today, Aibanc has thousands of users and is quickly becoming a major player in the Nigerian fintech space. We’re honored to have the opportunity to support their mission and look forward to seeing what they accomplish next!

Ready to start your own incorporation journey? Hit the link below to get started. Enter code BLOG10 at checkout for 10% off incorporation.