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Julaya Has Raised $2 Million In Pre-series A Funding To Fund Its Expansion Into West Africa

Julaya, a fintech startup based in the Ivory Coast, has raised $2 million in pre-series A funding to fund its expansion into West Africa. 

Julaya, a fintech startup based in the Ivory Coast, has raised $2 million in pre-series A funding to fund its expansion into West Africa

Julaya, a fintech startup based in France and Ivory Coast, announced today that it has raised $2 million in a pre-series A round. Orange Ventures, MFS Africa Frontiers, Saviu Ventures, Launch Africa Ventures, 50 Partners Capital, and angel investors from Africa and Europe participated in this round.

Mathias Léopoldie and Charles Talbot founded Julaya in 2018 after working together at French payment fintech startup LemonWay. The B2B payments startup aims to leverage telecom operators' extensive coverage to offer payment options to businesses.

To accomplish this, the startup provides an online platform for African businesses and public institutions to send payments to mobile money and mobile banking wallets, and counts eCommerce giant Jumia as a client.

Mathias Léopoldie, co-founder and CEO of the startup, stated, "Having worked in the nascent mobile money industry, we recognized that telecom operators' high consumer penetration would benefit businesses looking to reach the unbanked and make fast payments." Our platform Julaya enables businesses to automate their accounting processes. They increase operational efficiency by digitizing employee and supplier payments.”

Habib Bamba, Director of Transformation, Digital and Media at Orange Côte d'Ivoire, explains why Orange Ventures made this investment: "The African fintech ecosystem is characterized by its competitiveness and dynamism." Orange Group intends to participate in this boom through its technology investment fund by partnering with fintechs such as Julaya.

Objectives

“The objective is to identify local technology leaders who can help accelerate the transition to a more digital and responsible world. This funding will enable Julaya to expand and conquer West Africa with the assistance of the Orange Digital Center team.”

During a call with Techpoint Africa, Léopoldie explains that, unlike other fintech payment startups, they are solely focused on outbound payments rather than payment and receipt of funds, with no future plans to process B2C payments. The startup generates revenue by charging a fee for each transaction processed through the platform.

At the moment, the startup serves 50 corporate clients and processes approximately $1.5 million in monthly revenue. According to the startup, the funds will be used to increase their market share in Ivory Coast and West Africa, launch new digital payment products, and grow their team.

Léopoldie cites the fragmented state of payments, regulation, and human resources as some of the startup's early challenges. The startup intends to use the new funding to expand across West Africa, beginning in Senegal.

Fintech startups are courted by investors worldwide, and Africa is no exception, with fintech startups accounting for a sizable portion of the funding that comes to the continent. Regardless of the current number of players in the sector, the fact that 66% of Africans are unbanked means that there is a sizable market for anyone bold enough to enter.

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