In the face of a global economic downturn leading to cutbacks, layoffs, and closures, ten Nigerian startups have not only weathered the storm but have also managed to secure a total of $245 million in funding to expand their operations. Here is an overview of these resilient companies:
- Moove ($76 million): Moove, an African fintech company focusing on mobility, successfully raised $76 million in a funding round. This includes $10 million in venture debt from BlackRock-managed funds, $28 million in equity from investors led by Mubadala Investment Company, and $38 million from undisclosed sources over the past year. Moove finances cars for gig network and ride-hailing service drivers such as Uber.
- Sabi ($38 million): Sabi, a Lagos-based B2B e-commerce business providing digital commerce infrastructure to Africa’s informal economy, secured $38 million in Series B funding. The startup is now valued at $300 million.
- LemFi ($33 million): LemFi, aiming to simplify remittance payments for immigrants globally, raised $33 million in Series A funding. The funding round was led by Left Lane Capital, with participation from Olive Tree, Global Founders Capital, and Y-Combinator.
- Helium Health ($30 million): Helium Health, an African startup offering software-as-a-service tools, financing, and information for healthcare providers and public health organizations, secured $30 million in Series B funding.
- Nomba ($30 million): Nomba, a Nigerian payment service company providing customized payment solutions for African businesses, raised $30 million in a pre-Series B investment led by Base 10 Partners. The company is now valued at over $150 million according to YCombinator’s statistics.
- Remedial Health ($12 million): Remedial Health, focusing on digitizing pharmacies and enhancing efficiency in the pharmaceutical value chain, raised $12 million in Series A equity-debt funding.
- FrontEdge ($10 million): FrontEdge, a Nigeria-based trade financing startup aiding African SMEs in transactional trade, secured $10 million in debt and equity funding. TLG Capital led the financing, with participation from Flexport.
- Traction ($6 million): Traction, a merchant solution platform based in Nigeria, announced a $6 million seed round in August. The investment was led by Ventures Platform and Multiply Partners, with additional participation from P1 Ventures.
- FairMoney ($5.39 million): FairMoney Nigeria (MyCredit Investments Limited) launched its Series 1 Commercial Paper (“CP”) Issuance, valued at N2.5 billion ($5.39 million). The CP program received significant interest from institutional investors, with demand exceeding the issue size by 100%.
- OnePipe ($4.8 million): OnePipe, integrating bank and fintech APIs into a standardized gateway for easy collaboration, secured a $4.8 million credit facility from TLG Capital. The funds will be utilized for financing inventories for small businesses
Source: Tech City NG