• Zanifu

  Participated · Seed · Jan 2022

  Founded in 2017 by Steve Biko and Sebastian Mithika and launching operations in 2018, Zanifu offers a digital lending platform that supplies short-term working capital to informal and small retailers embedded in the FMCG supply chain. The company positions itself as critical financial infrastructure for merchants who are largely excluded from traditional credit channels. To date, it has disbursed more than US$60 million in loans and financed over 15,000 SMEs. Zanifu reports having reached break-even for two consecutive months, a notable feat in the cash-intensive fintech sector. The startup’s growth strategy includes scaling its lending solutions across additional African markets. Previously, it raised a US$11.2 million mix of debt and equity in August 2023. The latest infusion from Yango Ventures is intended to accelerate this regional expansion and deepen its loan book.

• LipaLater

  Participated · Series A · Jan 2022

  Lipa Later is a Kenyan fintech that offers consumer financing solutions. The company completed a KES 500 million (US$5 million) privately placed debt issuance. It plans to raise an additional KES 2 billion (US$20 million) in equity and debt to fund expansion in Kenya. Lipa Later is also crowdfunding roughly $1.2 million in exchange for equity at a reported valuation of $30,000,000; the article also references an ongoing ~ $1.34 million crowdfund on Republic. The five-year-old company previously raised about $25 million in equity and debt from investors including Founders Factory Africa Platform Capital and others. CEO Eric Muli said the new funding will enable infrastructure enhancements to make the company’s financing solutions more accessible, and the firm remains optimistic despite weakened VC appetite for growth and late-stage startups. Lipa Later operates a tech-driven BNPL platform that provides consumers with near-instant credit limits using proprietary credit-scoring and machine-learning systems. The company offers a BNPL API that integrates with e-commerce platforms and enables merchants to accept installment payments. It has exclusive partnerships with retailers across its markets, including a regional partnership with Carrefour that charges about 2.3% monthly interest on extended credit. Founded in 2018 and active in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda, Lipa Later plans to expand into Tanzania, Ghana and Nigeria and to deepen its presence in existing markets. Management said it aims to grow and double its presence in current markets and open three to five new African markets in the next 12 months. The new funding will support product expansion, additional merchant partnerships, and geographic growth across Africa.

No current team members are available.