Kenya - CashBackApp Has Raised $475k In A Pre-seed Round Of Funding
Kenya's CashBackApp has raised $475k in a pre-seed round of funding
CashBackApp, a Kenyan e-commerce startup, has raised $475,000 in a pre-seed funding round. The funds will be used to expand the company's services in Kenya as well as prepare for future expansion into neighboring countries.
Lofty Inc, Sherpa Ventures, and Loyal VC were among the investors who contributed to the round, which also included participation from several angel investors based in the United States, the United Kingdom, Nigeria, and Kenya.
Established in 2019 by Simon Ngigi and later joined by Allan Thiga, CashBackApp assists fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies in building customer loyalty by allowing them to earn cashback rewards on their everyday purchases through Kenya's largest mobile money company, M-Pesa. CashBackApp is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya.
Consumers who make purchases from supermarkets that are associated with promotions that are featured on the app are eligible to receive CashBack rewards. After two years in operation, the startup has gained significant traction. Following a 38 percent increase in monthly compounded growth in its user base during the first half of 2021, it currently has 45,000 downloads on app store platforms.
At International Level
CashBackApp has signed up major international FMCG companies as customers, including Coca-Cola, Colgate, and Ajab, on the Business-to-Business (B2B) side. Additionally, it has a retailer network that includes eight of the largest multi-chain retailers in Kenya, including Khetias, Eastmatt, Mulleys, and Jamaa, among others.
With this latest investment, the startup hopes to scale its operations in Kenya while also preparing for an eventual expansion into neighboring countries, according to the company. It is anticipated that CashBackApp will reach more than one million shoppers by the end of December 2022.
Speaking about the investment, Idris Ayodeji Bello, Managing Partner of LoftyInc Capital Management, said the company is excited to invest in the CashBackApp team because they are solving the problem of reducing the ever-increasing food and shopping budget that affects the majority of middle to low-income households in Africa. "We are excited to invest in the CashBackApp team because they are solving the problem of reducing the ever-increasing food and shopping budget that affect
According to Idris Ayodeji Bello, "Apart from assisting consumers in saving money, they are also assisting FMCG companies in better understanding their markets and customers through quality data and actionable insights." This is consistent with our investment thesis, which is to support world-class teams of Africans who are leveraging innovation to solve significant problems.”
Kenyan startups have continued to make significant contributions to the funding landscape of the African technology sector. Even though they haven't quite kept up with their Nigerian and South African counterparts, who together received 56 percent of all funding into Africa in the first half of 2020, they have still managed to attract their fair share of funding.
Gro Intelligence, a Kenyan AI-powered insights company, received a $85 million funding round in 2021, making it one of the three largest African fundraisings in the coming year. The top three are made up of Nigeria's Flutterwave ($170 million) and South Africa's TymeBank ($109 million), respectively.
