Led · Seed · May 2023

Figorr builds IoT-powered devices that are placed inside cold-storage setups to collect temperature, humidity and location data; the devices are provided at no cost while customers subscribe to access the data. The company pivoted from mobile solar-powered storage boxes after launching in 2019 and doubled down on the IoT component in 2020. Figorr’s solutions are used across healthcare (vaccines, insulin) and agriculture/horticulture, and the startup says its devices are deployed in Nigeria, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda. It is expanding outside Nigeria and recently entered Kenya to tap agricultural demand. Figorr is developing a risk‑management platform, due before year-end, to give insurers the dataset needed to offer tailored perishables insurance products. Financially, the company raised a $1.5M seed and has so far raised $1.7M in equity funding plus $275,000 in grants from several programs.

Led · Series A · Feb 2023

Sendmarc builds software that implements, monitors and maintains email authentication standards (SPF and DMARC) to prevent domain spoofing and email impersonation. The company was founded in 2020 by Sam Hutchinson, Keith Thompson and Sacha Matulovich after selling their prior communications platform. Its technology helps customers lock down domains and monitor attempted abuse, and it targets a largely underserved market of businesses that have not yet implemented global email security standards. Sendmarc has 1,000+ paying customers (about 80% in South Africa) including stock exchanges, law firms, insurers, banks, startups and law enforcement agencies across multiple regions. Customers pay monthly subscriptions between $49 and $119, generating over $2 million in ARR since 2021. The company has offices in the Netherlands, Argentina and Canada and plans to expand its product suite and scale to serve up to 100,000 customers in the next five years while growing sales teams across Africa, the U.S., Europe and Latin America. Sendmarc provides end-to-end implementation and monitoring of the DMARC industry standard to stop scammers from spoofing customers' domain names and sending fraudulent emails. The startup configures DNS and reporting for clients and charges between R450 and R50,000 per month for its service. Launched operations in July last year, Sendmarc is working with about 100 companies covering over 200 domains, though not all are paying customers. The company was founded in 2018 and has seven employees, with plans to hire roughly 10 more (sales and developers) in the next two to three months. Founders Keith Thompson and Sam Hutchinson initially self-funded the business, contributing roughly R1-million since inception; Sam joined full time in October last year and Sacha Matulovich joined recently. Management aims to expand the service to as many as 200,000 small and medium-sized firms in South Africa, while noting competition from established players such as Mimecast.

Participated · Seed · Jun 2022

Afropolitan is a community-as-a-service startup that connects the African diaspora through events, travel, media and online community-building. Founded in 2016 by Eche Emole and Chika Uwazie, the company grew its audience via events and social audio (50,000 Clubhouse followers) and the founders’ combined following of over 200,000. Its core product vision is a phased “internet country” built with community tools including passport NFTs, a DAO and a super app offering remittances, e-residency, incorporation services and learn-to-earn initiatives. The company plans to mint 10,000 passport NFTs to activate its DAO and grant members access to events and physical spaces. Later phases target building seed institutions, subsidiary funds and negotiating for physical land to pursue sovereignty. Afropolitan has raised $2.1M in pre-seed to kick-start product development and community growth.

Led · Seed · Nov 2021

Onepipe operates a suite of solutions including embedded payments, reconciliation services, and an inventory finance product built on its core APIs. The company says its inventory finance solution—which lets distributors pay for goods so merchants can repay after sales—is its fastest-growing service. Onepipe intends to focus on specific embedded finance use cases, particularly inventory finance for FMCG supply chains. The startup plans to leverage the new capital to expand operations and become a leading provider of financial services to Nigeria’s informal sector. The company cites the large informal sector in Africa as a market opportunity for improving financial access and driving economic development. At the same time, Onepipe is reducing headcount by about 20% and implementing management pay cuts to streamline projects and extend runway amid macroeconomic headwinds. OnePipe is a fintech API company that runs infrastructure enabling embedded finance and banking-as-a-service for non-financial businesses and partner banks. The company originally aimed to build an API gateway for open banking but pivoted to embedded finance after integrations showed limited demand cycles. It currently operates with six partner banks and enables customers to issue accounts, process payments and access credit through its APIs. OnePipe monetizes by taking a percentage cut of transactions and at least 1% of loan interest from lending partners, sharing revenue with partner banks and businesses. In the 10 months since the pivot it processed more than 6.3 million transactions worth over $46.3 million across more than 1 million individual accounts and 138+ businesses. The company plans to deploy capital to deepen its embedded finance offering and expand beyond Nigeria via strategic partnerships (notably with Sendy) into other African markets. OnePipe builds a unified gateway that pools APIs from multiple banks and third-party providers under a common specification to simplify integrations for fintechs and businesses. The product aggregates direct bank APIs and third-party APIs (for example, Mono) rather than relying on robotic process engines. Its revenue model is fee-based: partner banks and institutions charge clients for API access and OnePipe takes a cut. The startup was founded in November 2018 by Ope Adeoye, who previously held multiple product and strategy roles at Interswitch. Since joining Techstars in July 2020, OnePipe has signed partnerships with several banks and fintechs (Polaris, SunTrust, Fidelity, Providus, Migo, Flutterwave, Paystack, Quickteller) and plans to onboard seven more banks. The company intends to use its new funding to push a banking-as-a-service play that lets non-financial institutions help partner banks distribute services to the last mile; it has also signed several unnamed manufacturers, retail, agent, and cooperative networks.

Led · Seed · Mar 2021

Curacel, founded in 2019 by Henry Mascot and John Dada, builds APIs that let insurers connect with digital distribution channels and automate claims administration. The company offers two core products: Grow, an embedded insurance distribution product used by over 100 companies across eight African markets, and an AI-powered claims automation platform used by about 20 insurance partners. Curacel works with more than 5,000 service providers and says it has processed over $100 million in claims since inception. Last year the startup reported a 600% increase in transaction volume and a 500% increase in revenue. Its revenue model includes annual fees for claim processing and fraud detection, take rates on premiums, and charges for API usage. The firm plans to add underwriting and insurance payment services to its APIs and is expanding into North Africa as a step toward serving businesses beyond Africa. Curacel is a Lagos-based insurtech founded in 2017 that provides an AI-powered platform for claims processing and fraud management across Africa. Its platform connects primary care hospitals and insurance companies, using AI to verify treatments, medications, and recommended therapies to reduce fraudulent and abusive claims. Curacel has worked with large insurers including Liberty Health and Old Mutual. The company plans to expand into 10 additional African countries by the end of this year and to launch Curacel Capital, a cash-advance product that lets healthcare providers access lump sums of up to three times their average monthly billings through the Curacel portal. Curacel raised $450,000 in a pre-seed funding round that will be used to expand its African footprint and for product development. CEO Henry Mascot said the funding will help drive insurance inclusion and improve health outcomes across the continent.