Ecosystem Insider

Issue #126: FIDO Secures $10m Series B Fund, Workpay Obtains $5m, While KBW Ventures Makes its Debut Investment in NoorNation

August 27, 2024

Three funding activities were announced last week, one involved credit service company, FIDO, secured $10 million in series B funding from FMO to develop its loan book in Ghana and Uganda. Elsewhere, HR and payroll management service provider, Workpay also raised $5 million in a series A funding round that involved several investors, while Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed’s KBW Ventures made its maiden investment in NoorNation.

Funding

FIDO

Funding round: Series B ($10 Million)

Investors: FMO

Founded: 2014, Ghana

Founders: Alon Eitan and Nadav Topolski

Products: FIDO is a digital lending company that utilizes alternative data along with artificial intelligence to assess creditworthiness in customers, and help them to instantly access credits without undergoing the hassle of financial record tracking thanks to their credit score system.

What Next?: The company’s new funding will go into developing its loan book in Ghana and Uganda while simultaneously expanding the company’s operations into other African markets.

Workpay

Funding round: Series A ($5 Million)

Investors: Norrsken22. Visa, Y Combinator, Acadian Ventures, Saviu Ventures, Axian, Plug n Play, and Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures.

Founded: 2017, Kenya

Founders: Paul Kimani and Jackson Kibigo

Products: Workpay operates an end-to-end cloud-based SaaS payroll and HR solution designed to help businesses manage the entire journey of employees and contractors. The system includes features that simplify employee onboarding, payroll processing, time tracking, expense tracking, leave management, employee benefit management, and performance management for HR teams.

What Next?: The new funding will be channelled into the company’s expansion efforts as it seeks to offer its products in other markets on the continent.

NoorNation

Funding round: Undisclosed

Investors: KBW Ventures

Founded: 2021, Egypt

Founders: Ragy Ramadan and Mohamed Khaled

Products: NoorNation is a climate tech company that provides technology-enabled decentralized water and energy infrastructure solutions to underserved sectors across Egypt and Sub-Saharan Africa. The company’s product, LifeBox is a solar-powered technological unit designed to deliver clean and safe water to rural communities, and farms across Egypt.

What Next?: The company is set to deploy more of its newest innovation, the NoorBox which is a standalone portable backup solar home system in markets across Egypt.