Participated · Seed · May 2024

Renda offers an asset-light, end-to-end fulfillment platform that aggregates warehousing, inventory management, order processing, deliveries, returns and cash-on-delivery reconciliation for businesses. The company partners with third-party warehousing, delivery and payment providers rather than owning assets, and runs partner verification and management via apps and dashboards. Since launching in 2021 it has onboarded over 300 warehousing partners, 3,000+ delivery assets and 2,000+ cash collection partners, processed more than 250,000 orders and served over 500 businesses and 100,000 customers across 15 Nigerian states. Renda says it has achieved profitability and reported 450% year-on-year revenue growth. It serves clients including OmniRetail, Jumia, M-KOPA and Dangote and targets enterprise contracts of 12–24 months. Planned product moves include embedded finance for drivers, health insurance and fuel assistance, plus AI tools to automate processes and optimize logistics.

Participated · Seed · Jun 2023

Talstack is an all-in-one platform that enables businesses to upskill employees using competency- and gap-assessment tools, curated content, self-paced courses and insights from African professionals and operators. The company launched with a focus on soft skills—five courses including communication, feedback, time management, goal setting and problem-solving—delivered as short video modules and community-driven live Q&As. It is running a closed pilot with eight paying customers (at least three employees per company) and currently charges businesses N10,000 (~$13.33) per employee per month. Courses are taught by African professionals with experience at firms such as Andela, MAX, Paystack and Google; instructors are paid a flat fee now, though Talstack may explore revenue sharing as it scales. The founders, Seni Sulyman and Kayode Oyewole, built the product from operator and investor experience and plan to expand the course catalog, onboard more professionals, iterate on product/tech and open access to a broader set of employers in the second half of the year. Talstack may later explore a B2C offering but is initially prioritizing B2B customers, including startups and larger legacy companies, to drive broader adoption across the continent.

Participated · Series A · Jan 2023

Jetstream Africa operates an e-logistics platform that vertically aggregates fragmented logistics and financing vendors to serve cargo owners in cross-border trade. The company underwrites short-term loans (15–90 days) backed by actual shipments, taking a security interest in cargo and disbursing funds directly to vendors across the supply chain. After pivoting to focus solely on import-export customers, Jetstream now functions as a freight forwarder offering end-to-end movement plus trade finance. The startup has disbursed about $9 million in total loans to date (up from a $1 million debt facility in 2021) and has scaled from one loan per month to up to 50 loans per month. It reports being EBITDA positive, with revenue growth of 48% and active customers up 102% year-over-year; shipments are 47% air, 44% ocean and 9% ground. The team of 44 plans to use the new capital to expand into additional countries (it currently operates in 29 markets, 12 in Africa) and continue developing its technology platform.

Participated · Seed · Oct 2022

Maplerad (parent of consumer product Wirepay) offers a banking-as-a-service infrastructure that lets businesses embed accounts, payments, multi-currency wallets, virtual and physical cards, and FX into their products via APIs. The founders trace the company’s journey to 2020 when they launched Wirepay, which grew to over 50,000 users (mainly in Nigeria) before Maplerad beta-launched its infra product in August. While in stealth the platform processed millions of dollars monthly for more than 100 businesses and onboarded startups and a few banks. The company says it handles banking relationships, licensing and compliance so customers can launch financial products quickly. Maplerad plans to use new capital to acquire more customers, obtain additional licenses, expand its team and solidify its presence across Africa. The company is U.S.-based and positions itself as a global BaaS player targeting African markets.

Participated · Seed · Aug 2022

Pastel’s flagship product, Sabi, is a digital bookkeeping and customer-relationship app that lets small businesses monitor transactions, issue receipts, track cashflow and manage customers who owe them. The company has taken a product-led approach by building standalone apps that share a single login—notably Sabi, Quick Receipt (invoicing) and Pastel Financing/Swift Money for group-based loans. Pastel reported more than 100,000 merchant sign-ups by December 2021, its free app has over 45,000 active merchant users, and Quick Receipt has over 60,000 active merchants. The one-year-old startup recently began generating revenue by charging interest and small fees on loans and using savings as float. Pastel plans to raise debt capital by January to scale its lending product, and the new equity capital will be used to expand product offerings and develop more productivity and finance-management features. The company was formerly called Sabi Cash and was founded by Abuzar Royesh, Olamide Oladeji and Izunna Okonkwo.