The last two weeks have seen a flurry of activities in the African startup funding scenes. Most notably, Zepz, formally known as WorldRemit secured a whopping $267 million in a series F funding round. Several other companies including Winich Farms, TUNL, Amaka Studio, Waribei, Scale, Littlefish, WiASSURE, and Dexude also raised funding from numerous investors.
Funding
Waribei
Funding round: Pre-Seed ($817,000)
Investors: Mstudio and Saviu Ventures
Founded: 2023, Ivory Coast
Founders: Ladislas Pham and Frédéric Fameni
Products: Waribei operates a fintech solution that connects entrepreneurs with banks and other similar financial institutions making it easier for the entrepreneurs to access credit financing for purchasing goods. The platform also manages the credit facilities’ payment terms.
What Next?: The company intends to use the funding to improve its integration with financial institutions, so it can better tailor its services to meet the specific needs of merchants, empowering them to boost their sales and long-term sustainability.
Zepz
Funding round: Series F ($267 Million)
Investors: Accel, Leapfrog Investments, TCV, and IFC
Founded: 2010
Founders: Ismali Ahmed
Products: Zepz operates WorldRemit and Sendwave, financial services infrastructures that enable clients to conduct cross-border transactions without accruing high transaction fees.
What Next?: The new funding will contribute to the company’s expansion across African markets and beyond.
TUNL
Funding round: Seed
Investors: E4E Africa, Jozi Angels, Utopia Capital Management, 54Collective, and Digital Africa Ventures
Founded: 2020, South Africa
Founders: Matthew Davey and Craig Lowman
Products: TUNL operates a digital logistics management infrastructure designed to facilitate exports for manufacturers and merchants across Africa. The company also partners with courier companies to provide express courier services through its digital platform.
What Next?: The new funding round will be used to enhance the marketing support provided by the company to small and medium-sized enterprizes.
Winich Farms
Funding round: Pre-Series A (3 Million)
Investors: Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund, Climate Resilient Africa Fund, Marula Square, Plug and Play, Tekedia Capital, and Sahel Capital
Founded: 2020, Nigeria
Founders: Richies Attai, Chichebem Jibunoh
Products: The Agtech startup operates a digital supply chain and inventory management infrastructure designed to simplify market access for small-scale farmers in Nigeria, making it easier for them to get their products to off-takers and consumers at competitive prices.
What Next?: Fueled by the funding, the company intends to further improve its solution to better connect farmers with farm produce buyers and secure competitive pricing for their products.
Amaka Studio
Funding round: Seed ($2 Million)
Investors: Equitane, Morgan Stanley Inclusive Ventures Lab, Silverbacks Holdings
Founded: 2020,
Founders: Adaora Oramah
Products: The company operates a digital platform that leverages automated tools to connect creators and brands enabling them to easily network and develop working relationships
What Next?: The company initiated the fundraising to finance its mission to empower creators of African descent worldwide. Having secured the finances, it will proceed to execute its goal by launching AMAKA Gigs, a platform aimed at revolutionizing the creator economy by streamlining collaborations between brands and creators.
Littlefish
Funding round: Undisclosed
Investors: TLcom Capital
Founded: 2019, South African
Founders: Brandon Roberts
Products: The fintech company provides a digital platform designed to streamline financial operations for banks enabling them to match up to fintechs and better serve SMEs by offering digital payment processing, and facilitating access to credit.
What Next?: Littlefissh is on a mission to help banks match up to the growing popularity of fintech and adjust to efficiently serve SMEs. The funding will be channelled into fulfilling this mission.
Scale
Funding round: Pre-Seed ($700,000)
Investors: 54Collective, First Circle Capital, and Sunny Side Venture Partners
Founded: 2023
Founders: Miranda Perumal and Barbara Woollams
Products: The company operates an issuer orchestration platform (Scale’s orchestration Issuing Layer, SOIL) that enables fintechs to issue cards to their clients, achieving faster go-to-market strategies and accelerating their revenue growth.
What Next?: The new funding will pave the way for the company’s expansion into Zambia, Kenya, and Côte d’Ivoire
WiASSUR
Funding round: Undisclosed
Investors: AXIAN Investment
Founded: 2019, Ivory Coast
Founders: Teva Fontaine
Products: WiASSURE is an insurance broker operating a dedicated client portal which enables clients to conveniently track and manage their insurance claims, streamlining the relationship between insurers and clients.
What Next?: With the investment, AXIAN becomes the second largest shareholder in WiASSUR and assumes a governance role from which it can play a more active part in the company’s development
Dexude
Funding round: Undisclosed
Investors: Business Finland Tempo
Founded: 2022, Nigerian
Founders: Charles Emembolu and Kelvin Chikezie
Products: Exude operates an Edtech platform designed to enhance learning opportunities for Nigerians, eliminating barriers to education and giving users a flexible approach to acquiring structured learning.
What Next?: The company intends to invest the funding into expanding its innovative educational solutions, incorporating more subjects and features for learners.
Acquisitions
Lesaka Technologies Acquires Adumo
Payment processing Adumo has been acquired by Lesaka Technologies. The deal saw Lesaka part ways with a $96 Million value comprising 17 million Lesaka shares and a cash payment of $13 Million. Lesaka’s goal in acquiring Adumo is to enhance its ability to its ever-increasing user base and increase its financial processing capabilities.
Following the deal, Paul Kent, Adumo’s CEO will join the executive leadership team in Lesaka as the head of the merchant division. Similarly, CEO of Crossfin Technology Holdings, Dean Sparrow, will be crossing into the Lesaka’s board as a non-executive director.
Other Funding News
Dhamana Guarantee Company Secures $10 Million Investment from African Development Bank
Nairobi-based Guarantee Company Dhamana has obtained a $10 Million strategic investment from the AfDB to further support sustainable enterprises. In addition, it will receive equity investments from the County Pension Fund Financial Services and technical assistance from FSD Africa and Cardano Development to facilitate its goal.
Dhamana is on a mission to speed up the development of domestic capital markets in East Africa. It aims to achieve this by connecting underutilized domestic institutional capital sources with the real economy. This will help increase access to affordable local capital and provide additional low-risk investment opportunities for local investors.
