Bumpa Closes $200k Pre-seed Round To Improve Support For Merchants

Bumpa closes $200k pre-seed round to improve support for merchants

Bumpa, a Nigerian e-commerce startup, has raised $200,000 in a pre-seed round of funding, according to VentureBeat magazine. In a statement released by the startup and obtained by Technext, the company stated as follows:

Participating in the funding round were Greencap Equity, Rizq Investment Group, Perfect Makanju, Microtraction, DFS Labs, Prosper Otemuyiwa, Aidi Ventures, Whogohost Venture Arm, OO Nwoye, and other angel investors. Greencap Equity was joined by other angel investors in the round, including HOAQ Club, Rizq Investment Group, DFS Labs, Aidi Ventures, and DFS Labs.

It is an online-commerce platform that assists merchants and businesses in transitioning their operations to the internet. Adetunji Opaleye and Kelvin Umechukwu established it in February 2021 as a non-profit organization. Thus, merchants with no programming or digital skills can create an online store using nothing more than their smartphones to sell their goods and services online.

The startup, which was formerly known as Scalescabal, was founded in the aftermath of the Covid-19 lockdowns, which made running a small business in Nigeria more difficult than it should have been.

Why Bumpa

Bumpa was founded in response to a critical need for non-technical eCommerce solutions tailored to the African market. The founders, who had previously worked with a large number of small business owners, recognized the importance of leveraging technology tools.

In the two years since its launch, the e-commerce startup claims to have onboarded more than 7,000 merchants on its platform, including retail businesses such as The Ajala Store and Lash Ng. Additionally, it claims to have achieved a month-on-month (MoM) growth rate of 50 percent in recent months.

Over 30,000 products have been listed on Bumpa, with over $500,000 in recorded transactions totaling over $500,000, according to the company. Additionally, they have the ability to evaluate the performance of their company across a variety of channels, both online and offline.

In spite of its success, the startup is not content to sit on its laurels. According to Kelvin Umechukwu, co-founder and CEO, the company wants to reach 200,000 merchants by the end of 2021.

Also stated by him was the fact that the startup is looking to grow its team in order to better equip more small business owners with the tools they need to grow their businesses. Furthermore, it intends to channel its new investment in this direction.

With Bumpa, customers can manage inventory/products, fulfill orders and track sales, accept online payments, receive a free customizable website to list products, request logistics services to assist them in delivering physical products and engaging with customers, and much more, all while on the go.

Additionally, they can accept online and offline payments, manage bookkeeping, and engage with customers quickly and easily, all from the convenience and comfort of their mobile devices.

In Conclusion

In light of the impressive offerings by the promising e-commerce newcomers, Opeyemi Awoyemi, Venture Partner and Founder of Whogohost, has referred to the region as "Africa's Shopify," emphasizing that creating such a platform is no small undertaking.

In less than a minute, I was able to open a store on Bumpa. As he explained, the Bumpa team is working on developing market-ready tools that will digitize informal markets and generate value for millions of existing and new sellers.”