Despite the ongoing COVID-19 situation, fintech has been active globally and Africa is no exception. The industry has carried on and the African continent has had some recent exciting announcements of successful funding rounds. Here are some of those key highlights.
Egypt-based Fatura raises a seven-figure seed funding
E-commerce startup Fatura from Egypt closed a “seven-figure” seed round that was led by Egypt-based fintech fund Disruptech, with participation from EFG EV and Cairo Angels, according to Wamda. Fatura was founded last year and provides retailers in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) access to a network of wholesalers. According to the same source, “Around 60 per cent of the current wholesale market in Egypt is through on-credit purchases. We will be the first player to unlock the opportunity of digitizing the lending cycle,” said Ahmed Anwar, Fatura’s co-founder and chief operating officer (COO).
Uganda’s Eversend, a digital finance startup, raises $1 million USD in investment
The company handles digital currency exchange and other multi-currency wallets, having been founded in 2017. Branded as Africa’s first neobank, the platform aims to have a one-stop solution and avoid having multiple apps on one’s phone. Users have the opportunity to use cross border money transfers as part of its other financial services such as loan services, merchant payments and group savings. As a consequence, the oversubscribed Seedrs crowdfunding secured Eversend over US$1.015 million in investment, according to Tech in Africa.
Zambia’s Lupiya, a fintech startup, receives $1 million USD investment
Lupiya is an online marketplace for microloans and has received a $1 million USD investment from US venture capital (VC) fund Enygma Ventures. According to Venture Burn, “It is a branch-less, innovative digital microfinance platform that leverages technology to make the process of borrowing simpler and easier so that people and businesses located across the country even in rural, remote areas can access financial services.”
Pricepally, a Nigerian wholesale e-commerce platform, raises funding from GreenTec
Nigeria’s wholesale platform Pricepally allows for users to purchase food and other products either individually or as a part of a group. Pricepally has a social component linking consumers directly with farmers, manufacturers, and wholesalers to mutual benefit and re-imagine the food system in Africa. GreenTec has given the platform funding to allow users to make even deeper savings. This is according to TechMoran. From the same source, Luther Lawoyin, CEO of Pricepally said “At Pricepally we are excited about our collaboration with GreenTec Capital, we see this as a significant step in achieving our vision of a sustainable food system for urban African cities. We are very aware of the huge challenge ahead but we are also very confident in this partnership and we look forward to the future.”
Franc from South Africa receives $300,000 USD as part of wider funding
According to Disrupt Africa, $300,000 USD in seed funding was raised the last six months by Franc as part of a wider round. Franc is an investment robo-advisor helping people who never invested before access the best cash and equity funds in the market, having been launched in May 2018 by Sebastian Patel and Thomas Brennan. The same source states, “We want to democratise access to investing by making investing easy and accessible. We want everyone to be able to create wealth and realise their dreams. We are still in the process of trying to raise further funding, and confirming new investors as we go along. Most was committed pre-COVID, but we have also got two new investors on board in the last two months,” as quoted by Sebastian Patel.
South African fintech ProfitShare Partners secures $5.87 Million USD funding from South Africa’s SME Fund
ProfitShare Partners secured ZAR100 million ($5.87 million USD) in debt and quasi-equity funding from the SA SME Fund. This will help the fintech company provide small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with much-needed capital to catalyse growth and provide assistance during the COVID-19 crisis. The company utilises tech to fast-track SME performance and delivery through its profit-sharing business model. As a short-term capital partner to small business owners, the fintech company also provides the professional expertise and guidance, all according to Disrupt Africa.
Despite the ongoing situation in the global economy, Africa was certainly busy in July in the fintech funding space.
