Led · Seed · Sep 2022

Bitmama operates a crypto exchange and a social payment product called Changera that issues virtual crypto debit cards funded with stablecoins for remittances and international online purchases. The company began as a WhatsApp group and expanded into formal crypto services including buying, selling, swapping and peer-to-peer transactions. Changera targets non-crypto‑savvy users with simple UI and supports virtual dollar cards with >$10,000 monthly spending limits for online transactions. Bitmama reports user growth from under 20,000 earlier this year to more than 70,000 across its platforms; revenues come from transaction margins. The team is distributed across Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya and the company is U.S.- and Nigeria-based. Future plans include a B2B API offering to let businesses embed crypto services and broader market expansion across Africa. Bitmama operates a crypto exchange and a cross-border payments product, Changera, which lets users buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrencies (including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Celo and six others) and send/receive money internationally, buy airtime, and pay utility bills. The company was founded in 2019 and is based in Delaware and Neuss, Germany. Bitmama has recorded more than $6 million in transaction volume this year and reports over 15,000 users across its two offerings; the team has grown to more than 20 members. The company says its users are active monthly, though the founder would not confirm profitability at this stage. Future plans include expanding current products into other African markets (including Francophone countries and Kenya) and Europe, launching Changera for businesses, opening its wallet API free to developers, and supporting the ecosystem via hackathons. Bitmama has been hiring in engineering and marketing to accelerate product development and feature expansion rather than adding new product lines.

Participated · Seed · Jun 2022

Sava is a spend-management fintech founded by Yoeal Haile, Federico Von Bary Landesmann and Kolawole Olajide that targets cash-flow constrained small and medium businesses across Africa. The platform bundles bank accounts, mobile wallets, payment and accounting integrations to control spending, digitize expense reimbursements and reconcile records while capturing data to support underwriting. Sava plans to issue company cards by converting debit cards to credit cards, offering businesses 30 days of free credit and access to revolving overdrafts or working capital loans. It intends to monetize via interchange fees on card transactions, subscription fees for platform access, interest income from loans and upselling third-party products such as insurance. The product is yet to launch; Sava will beta in South Africa in Q3 and plans a Kenya launch in Q4, with later expansion to Nigeria and Egypt. Competitors cited in the article include Float, Lenco, Boya, Prospa and Brass.

Led · Seed · Mar 2022

Churpy provides a SaaS product that automates accounts receivable reconciliation by connecting via API to banks for real-time statements and transaction data, enabling reconciliation with ERPs. Its platform gives finance teams dashboards showing who owes money, collection efficiency, liquidity and other operational metrics. The company is piloting with major Kenyan enterprises including Unga Limited and Chandaria Industries. Churpy plans continent-wide expansion by setting up hubs in Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa and is hiring to support that growth. It is also rolling out an embedded working-capital financing product for SMEs supplying its enterprise customers, enabling near-immediate payment for delivered goods for a 0.5% origination fee. Trade Development Bank has made $15 million available to Churpy for onward lending through its banking partners.

Led · Seed · Jan 2022

ThankUCash, launched in 2018 by Connected Analytics, operates a multi-merchant rewards platform that lets customers earn loyalty points and cashback across thousands of merchants. Its consumer app has recorded over 600,000 users, onboarded more than 1,000 stores, and processed over $80 million in transaction volume. The company monetizes via merchant fees and commissions (for example, a 1.5% commission on certain cashback redemptions) and plans to charge onboarding/API fees for businesses using its services. With a 45-person team, ThankUCash is expanding within Nigeria (Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja) and into Ghana and Kenya, hiring regional leads for those markets. It is building out infrastructure products — rewards, deals, couponing, gift cards, buy-now-pay-later and a planned remittance product — and has signed a partnership with Interswitch while working on payments gateway and bank integrations. The team intends to keep the consumer-facing platform active while offering plugins and APIs that banks, fintechs and merchants can use to run cashback, loyalty and BNPL services. Thank U Cash is a Nigerian rewards platform that enables consumers to save and earn loyalty points that can be swapped for cash, while merchants benefit from increased spend. The startup was founded earlier this year by CEO Madonna Ononobi, CTO Surak Supekar and COO Simeon Ononobi. Lagos-based VC Ventures Platform announced an undisclosed investment on 11 October via founding partner Kola Aina. The company also received an investment from Nigerian VC Microtraction in August and is part of the second cohort of Google Launchpad Accelerator Africa, which kicked off in August. Crunchbase estimates Thank U Cash has raised $210,000 across three rounds. Microtraction’s website notes it ordinarily invests $65,000 in two stages with an initial investment of about $15,000, providing context on typical early checks.

Participated · Series A · Sep 2021

Verto began in 2018 and was founded by Ola Oyetayo and Anthony Oduwole; it started as a currency-exchange marketplace and has since evolved into a full-suite cross-border payments product. The platform offers payments, exchange and multi-currency accounts for freelancers, SMEs and corporates and supports exchanges in over 200 countries across 39 currencies (up from 120 countries and 19 currencies previously). Verto currently lists six African currencies that cover roughly 60% of the continent’s GDP. The company reports a user base of over 2,000 businesses, an average transaction size of $30,000, and says it facilitates billions of dollars in transaction volume annually; user growth has increased 11x and revenue 8x since the start of the pandemic. Verto operates a no-fee proposition for cross-border payments, takes a small commission on currency-exchange services and charges 1% on its price-discovery marketplace, with potential future revenue from API calls and payments. The company plans to expand its currency roster to 51, accelerate geographic expansion across Africa and the Middle East, and build its platform to enable faster, more efficient settlements. VertoFX operates an online marketplace that enables businesses and banks to exchange and settle in exotic, illiquid currencies across Africa and other emerging markets. The platform currently supports 19 currencies and can settle in 120 countries, including China and the U.S., and the company is registered as a payment services provider with the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority. VertoFX processes transactions and earns a commission or spread on each trade; it reported about $7 million in transaction volume processed last month. The startup counts several undisclosed banks and San Francisco-based payments company Flutterwave among its clients. VertoFX is expanding its product set toward market research and potential subscription services on the currencies it trades. The company plans to use new funding to develop the platform, add more currencies, secure licenses in new countries, and hire primarily for compliance and regulatory roles.