Led · Equity · Jun 2024

Terra Aqua Environmental Consultancy Limited operates Nigeria’s largest sustainable aluminum recycling plant in Otta, Ogun State, with over 15 years of experience in metal scrap recycling and trading. Its facility can produce 3,000 metric tons of aluminum ingots annually and holds certifications from the Environmental Permit and the Nigeria Export and Promotion Council. The company emphasizes climate‑smart recycling practices that achieve a reported 95% reduction in CO2 emissions compared with primary aluminum production. Terra Aqua plans to expand operations through climate finance to scale recycling capacity over the next five years, targeting the equivalent of recycling three Eiffel Towers in aluminum. The expansion is expected to generate roughly 200 local jobs and deliver significant environmental impact equivalent to removing 100,000 cars from the road. A $10M investment from TLG Capital and Wema Bank will fund the immediate growth and operational scaling.

Participated · Series A · Dec 2023

Flow48 operates a revenue-based financing platform that enables SME lending across emerging markets by leveraging advanced data analytics and AI-driven risk assessment tools. The platform integrates with payment systems and financial data sources to assess revenue streams and offer tailored, fast and flexible access to capital without requiring equity dilution or traditional collateral. Flow48’s product targets underfunded small and medium-sized enterprises and aims to bridge the SME funding gap to support scaling and financial stability. The company plans to expand its presence in its primary markets and introduce its solution in Saudi Arabia, while broadly targeting SMEs across the Middle East and Africa. With the new funding, Flow48 will enhance its platform by adding new features, utilizing alternative data sources, and implementing more advanced risk-assessment capabilities. Leadership comments from CEO & Co‑Founder Idriss Al Rifai emphasize the company’s commitment to supporting SMEs and scaling its impact. Flow48 is a UAE-based fintech that offers revenue-based financing (RBF) aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises in the MENA region. Its platform is designed to assemble a comprehensive view of SME financial strength by plugging into various sources of information and data to underwrite non-dilutive financing. The firm completed a pilot of its platform between this year and last. Flow48 raised $25 million in a pre-Series A round (a mix of equity and debt) to expand the RBF model across the region and into new markets such as South Africa. Founder Idriss Al Rifai, previously founder of Fetchr, brings experience solving last-mile logistics and address challenges in the Middle East, which the company says informs its product design. The business is targeting a region with a large SME funding gap and strong e-commerce growth forecasts in Saudi Arabia, UAE and Egypt, which the article cites as a tailwind for RBF adoption.

Led · Seed · Nov 2023

FrontEdge, founded in 2021 by Moni Alli, is a Lagos-based fintech that provides SME exporters and importers with transaction-based working capital and integrated software tools for cross-border trade. Its core offering provides upfront capital without collateral by underwriting transactions—typically engaging when goods are on a vessel or at a warehouse—and funds payment terms usually between 60–90 days. Beyond financing, FrontEdge offers cross-border payments, facilitates setup of overseas offshore accounts to manage dollar flows and convert proceeds to naira, and provides logistics management, cargo insurance and document management. The company says customers have grown 20% month-on-month since launch and have been able to triple their sales on the platform; revenue is earned from the spread on financed transactions. FrontEdge reports a zero default rate after executing over 50 contracts and emphasizes disciplined underwriting rather than disclosing revenue figures. It plans to use new capital to hire talent, scale its financing product across Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Kenya, and launch additional products to diversify revenue.

Participated · Equity · Jul 2023

Zuvy provides invoice financing to small businesses—particularly FMCG vendors servicing large chains—by advancing cash upfront against receivables and offering free invoice and purchase-order management software. The platform integrates with WhatsApp so vendors can generate and send invoices without accessing a separate app, while buyers benefit from reduced pen-and-paper errors and streamlined procurement. Vendors can receive advance payments within 24–48 hours, addressing the common 30–60-day receivables gap that ties up working capital. Founded in 2021 by Angel Onuoha (CEO) and Ahmad Shehu (CTO), Zuvy focuses on building a tech stack to scale invoice factoring across Africa. The company plans to expand across Nigeria first and then into other African markets in the near future. It recently secured $4.5 million in mixed debt and equity to fund that expansion and meet growing vendor demand.

Led · Debt Financing · Mar 2023

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.