The Top Ten early-stage startup fundings in Nigerian technology space in 2021
The Top Ten early-stage startup fundings in Nigerian technology space in 2021
During the course of this year, the Nigerian technology industry experienced a significant influx of capital. The Nigerian startup community raised an estimated $248.6 million, or N102.77 billion, in the third quarter of 2021 alone, according to the Nairametrics platform.
Overall, the industry saw investments across all sectors, from edtech to agritech and health-related technologies. Surprisingly, the financial technology sector received the vast majority of investments.
The following are the top ten early stage (pre-seed and seed) funding in the year 2021;
1. Autochek
Earlier this month, Autochek, a Nigerian automotive trading startup, announced that it had raised $13.1 million in seed funding. Earlier in the year, the company raised $3.4 million in a pre-seed round, bringing the total investment to $16.5 million. This is the second time the company has raised money in a pre-seed round.
Autochek's seed round was led by TLcom Capital and 4DX Ventures, with participation from Golden Palm Investments, Enza Capital, Lateral Capital, ASK Capital, and Mobility 54 Investment SAS. TLcom Capital and 4DX Ventures also participated in the round.
Etop Ikpe founded the company in June of 2020, according to their website. Through its mobile application, the company provides users with the ability to buy, sell, service, and finance vehicles. Currently, the company operates in five African countries, all of which are in East and West Africa: Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, and the Côte d'Ivoire.
Following the acquisition of Cheki Kenya and Uganda earlier this year, the additional funds will be used to improve the company's core auto loan processing platform as well as to expand its footprint across Africa. Cheki is the most popular online auto marketplace in East Africa, with over 500,000 users.
2. Vendease
Earlier this month, Vendease, a Nigerian food technology company, announced the successful completion of a $3.2 million seed funding round. Global Founders Capital led the round, which also included participation from Y Combinator, Hustle Fund, Liquid 2 Ventures, Hack VC, Soma Capital, and Magic Fund. Global Founders Capital was the lead investor in the round.
Agribusiness platform VendEase, founded in January 2020 by Tunde Kara, Olumide Fayankin, Wale Oyepeju, and Olumide Fayankin, allows restaurants and other businesses in the African food industry to place direct orders with farmers and food manufacturers.
The startup claims to have moved 100,000 metric tons of food and processed $12.9 million in transactions, in addition to generating $1.2 million in annual recurring revenue.
The funds will be used to expand the company's operations into new cities and countries, improve the company's technology stack, and establish partnerships with a variety of payment platforms and financial institutions.
3. PayHippo
A $1 million pre-seed round of funding had been completed by PayHippo in July, and the company raised $3 million in seed funding in November. A group of prominent African fintech entrepreneurs and financial leaders led the round, including Ham Serunjogi and Maijid Moujaled, co-founders of Chipper Cash; Olugbenga "GB" Agboola, founder of Flutterwave; Bolaji Balogun, CEO of Chapel Hill Denham; and Hakeem Belo-Osagie, founder of Metis Capital Partners
PayHippo, which was founded in 2019 by Zach Bijesse, Chioma Okotcha, and Uche Nnadi, provides small businesses with instant financing. The money will be used to hire new employees, upgrade technology, and expand the company's lending capabilities.
According to the company's website, it has disbursed over 5,000 loans to small businesses throughout Nigeria. In September 2021, the company earned $64,000 from $900,000 in funds disbursed, representing a 25 percent monthly growth rate and a loan repayment rate of 97 percent, according to financial statements.
Its chief operating officer, Chioma Okotcha, says the new funding will allow the company to hire more engineers and data scientists to improve its technology and lending offerings as it continues to address Nigeria's persistent financing gap for small businesses.
4. Edukoya
An initial pre-seed funding round of $3.5 million was completed in December for the online learning platform Edukoya, which is primarily focused on African students and teachers. Target Global was the clear winner of the round. Angel investors include individuals such as Shola Akinlade, CEO and co-founder of Paystack; Babs Ogundeyi, founder of Kuda; and Musty Mustapha, founder of Kuda, among others.
Its founder and CEO, Honey Ogundeyi, created a company that combines a data-driven question bank with world class teachers and cutting edge technology to deliver personalized learning to students in kindergarten through high school.
The $3.5 million funding round is the largest pre-seed round ever raised by an African EdTech platform, surpassing all previous records. In addition to accelerating the development of the company's product and technology, the funding will also be used to expand the company's online curriculum content coverage as well as its on-demand tutoring feature for secondary school students.
5. Onepipe
During a seed round of funding in November, OnePipe, an API infrastructure platform, raised $3.5 million. The seed round was led by Atlantica Ventures, Tribe Capital, and V&R associates, among others. Canaan Partners, Saison Capital, Norrsken, The Fund, and Two Culture Capital also participated in the round as co-lead investors. The company also received contributions from Chris Adelsbach, Techstars, Ingressive Capital, Acquity, P1, Raba, and DFS Lab, in addition to a small number of angel investors.
Ope Adeoye founded the fintech company in 2018 with the goal of collaborating with banks and non-financial institutions to launch and provide financial services such as credit, accounts, and payments to the general public. As part of the company's mission to assist in the distribution of digital services, this is a natural fit.
Over 6.3 million transactions worth a total of more than $46.3 million have been processed by the startup, according to the company's website. More than one million individual accounts are said to be held by the company, as well as 138 businesses ranging from fast moving consumer goods and retail to lending and agriculture.
OnePipe is currently only available in Nigeria, but the company has plans to expand its reach worldwide. The company's expansion into new markets is expected to be aided by the recent infusion of capital.
6. Busha
Busha, a cryptocurrency exchange platform based in Nigeria, raised $4.2 million in a seed round in November of this year. Jump Capital led the round, which also included Cadenza Ventures, Blockwall Capital, CMT Digital, Greenhouse Capital, and Raba Capital. Jump Capital was also the lead investor in the previous round.
The cryptocurrency exchange platform, which was founded in 2019 by Michael Adeyeri (CEO) and Moyo Sodipo (CPO), allows users of all backgrounds and skill levels to trade and manage cryptocurrency assets.
The startup claims to have more than 200,000 registered users and to have executed more than 1.5 million trades. The Busha app has received more than 100,000 downloads to date. This platform allows users to purchase coins for as little as N550 per coin. Additionally, the platform provides customer service around the clock and charges no trading fees. Also available to users is the ability to set up recurring cryptocurrency purchases, which allows them to purchase cryptocurrency on a regular basis.
Busha intends to use the funds raised from the investment to accelerate product development, talent acquisition, and international expansion efforts.
7. Kippa
A pre-seed round of funding was raised by Kippa, a Nigerian fintech company that uses money management software to improve the life cycle of small businesses. The company raised $3.2 million in November. Among those who participated in the round were Entrée Capital, Alter Global, Rally Cap Ventures, and angel investors. Target Global was the lead investor.
Kippa was founded in February 2021 by CEO Kennedy Ekezie and co-founders Duke Ekezie and Jephthah Uche, with the help of other investors. Using Kippa, small business owners can manage their daily revenue and expenditure transactions, create invoices and receipts, manage inventory, and pursue debt collection.
The company claims that its accounting and financial software has grown at an average monthly rate of 126 percent since it began operations in June.
The company also claims to have generated over $300 million in sales over the course of the last five months, with the app being used by more than 130,000 businesses ranging from small kiosks and street corner stores to high-end retailers.
8. Sparkle
Sparkle was founded in 2020 by Uzoma Dozie, who previously served as the CEO of Diamond Bank prior to its merger with Access Bank. With standard features like savings, bill payment, topping up, and requesting or sending funds, it's a digital bank that everyone knows and uses.
On the individual banking side, the digital bank claims to have already accumulated a customer base of more than 40,000 people. In terms of the business world, this platform is said to have been adopted by approximately 2,000 companies worldwide. The company's mission is to provide Nigerians with financial, lifestyle, and business support services. Currently, the company employs over 1,000 people.
Sparkle will use the new funding to develop robotic process automation to assist with mundane and repetitive tasks, followed by talent acquisition in the areas of engineering, finance, risk, and marketing, among other initiatives.
9. Klasha
An $2.4 million seed round has been completed by Klasha, a Fintech startup that is focused on developing borderless payments for the e-commerce industry.
A group of investors, including Seedcamp, Berrywood Capital, the AVG Basecamp Fund, Practical Venture Capital, Plug and Play, First Round Venture Capital, Expert Dojo, 2.12 Angels, MiLA Capital, and angel investors, participated in the round, which was led by Greycroft Ventures.
With the launch of Klasha in 2018, Jessica Anuna aimed to make it easier for African consumers to pay foreign merchants in their home currencies. Over 10,000 customers and 20,000 transactions have been processed across Africa, according to the startup, which has grown at an average rate of 366 percent per month since its inception.
Klasha is currently available in Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya, among other places. Thanks to this latest round of funding, the startup will be able to further develop its technology to assist international B2B and B2C businesses such as ASOS, Zara, Amazon, and Zoom in accepting payments online in African currencies from customers all over the world.
10. Prospa
Pre-seed funding of $3.8 million was raised by Prospa, a startup that allows small businesses to manage their banking and operations on a single platform. The company was founded in 2012. Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa have just witnessed the largest pre-seed round in the country's history, with Global Founders Capital and Silicon Valley's Liquid 2 Ventures both participating in the round.
It was founded in October 2019 by Frederik Obasi, Chioma Ugo, and Rodney Jackson-Cole with the goal of assisting small and micro businesses in managing their operations by providing integrated features such as inventory and invoicing as well as employee management and banking services.
In addition to having tens of thousands of businesses on its platform, the startup claims to have experienced a month-over-month growth rate of 35%. According to the company, it has managed more than 150,000 product catalogs and that small businesses have used the platform to send out 360,000 invoices through the platform to date.
The funds will be used to expand the company's customer base as well as to hire additional product and engineering talent, according to the announcement.
