Issue #76: Lemfi Raises $33M in Series A, Zanifu Secures $11.2 Pre Series A Fund to Expand its Services to Small-Scale Distributors Across East Africa

August 28, 2023

Last week saw a calm pace of events in the African Startup Ecosystem but most Funders and founders decided to stay tight-lipped on the details of their deals. 3 of the 5 funding rounds featured undisclosed amounts. However, the two other deals were quite impressive. Lemfi had a successful Series A round, securing $ 33 million from Left Lane Capital and several other notable investors. Zanifu also had a remarkable Pre-Series A funding round, raising $11.2 Million from Beyond Capital and a few other ventures.

Funding

Lemfi

Funding round: Series A ($33 million)

Investors: Left Lane Capital, Y Combinator, Zrosk, Global Founders Capital, Olive Tree

Founded: 2020

Founders: Ridwan Olalere, Rian Cochran

Product:. LemFi is a fintech startup providing financial services for immigrants. The startup enables foreigners to own and operate bank accounts in their country of residence and origin. Its fintech platform also enables international payments, letting users send and receive cross border money transfers across 20+ countries.

What next?: The secured funds will be used to fuel its expansion into other continents and regions including the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

Nibble Africa

Funding round: Seed (Undisclosed)

Investors: E Squared

Founded: 2016, South Africa

Founders: Glenn Marc, Aidan Kruger

Product: Nibble Africa is a creative agency that helps gaming and esport brands develop and implement marketing and content strategies. The startup began as an esport organization but has since transitioned to offering its expertise and creativity to others in the gaming industry.

What next?: In addition to the company’s newly established content house in Cape Town, the secured funds will be used to fuel the company’s accelerated growth and cement its position as a leader in the African esports and gaming industry.

Rapid Deploy

Funding round: Series C (Undisclosed)

Investors: HAVAIC

Founded: 2016, South Africa

Founders: Steven Raucher, Brett Meyerowitz

Product: Rapid Deploy offers a cloud-native platform designed to improve public safety operations. It delivers cutting-edge solutions and intelligent data to emergency responders.

What next?: The funding will allow the company to expand its reach and further its mission of saving lives by cutting down response times and increasing situational awareness.

Zanifu

Funding round: Pre-Series A (11.2Million)

Investors: Beyond Capital, Variant Ventures, Founders Factory Africa, AAIC Investments, Google Black Founders Fund and Launch Africa

Founded: 2017, Kenya

Founders: Steve Biko, Sebastian Kilimo

Product: Zanifu provides inventory financing to micro, small and medium-sized businesses. The company helps businesses that are unable to access credit from formal financial institutions to get funding for their operations through its loan app.

What next?: Prior to the fundraising round, the company only served retailers and micro businesses. But with the new debt-equity funding, the company intends to expand its solution to distributors across Kenya.

Proboutik

Funding round: Undisclosed

Investors: FUZE

Founded: 2022, Uganda

Founders: Thierno Sakho

Product: PROBOUTIK operates an advanced digital loan and invoice management platform, leveraging innovative technology to streamline client accounts and provide financing opportunities through a loan marketplace.

What next?: The funding marks a significant step forward in the company’s effort to reshape financial accessibility for businesses across the continent. Proboutik intends to leverage it’s partnership with FUZE to catalyze the growth of African enterprises.

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