Nigerian payments startup, Grey Finance, secures $2m seed funding. 2 other stories and a trivia

This line-up of stories will help you discover the latest happenings around the tech world, today

1. Nigerian payments startup, Grey Finance, secures $2M seed funding

A Nigerian fintech startup, Grey, has announced securing a $2M seed funding to expand its geographical footprint.

The startup’s CEO, Idorenyin Obon confirmed the latest raiser in a media statement seen by Ripples Nigeria on Tuesday.

According to the statement, Venture capital firms including Y Combinator, Soma Capital, Heirloom Fund, and True Culture Fund are among the investors in the round.

Grey was established by two Nigerians, Idorenyin Obong and Femi Aghedo, in July 2020.

Local sources said that Grey is a payments startup that offers African freelancers and remote workers virtual international bank accounts.

Grey also announced along with the new funding that it is partnering with fintech giant, Cellular and ed-tech startup Moringa, to secure entrance into East Africa, starting with Kenya.

“We like to say that we’re on a mission to make international payments as easy as sending an email. We want to do impactful work to improve how Africa as a continent interacts with money across its borders,” said Obong.

Answer: see end of post

2. Kenya’s Pezesha secures $11M fund led by Women’s World Banking Capital Partners II

A Kenyan fintech startup, Pezesha, on Tuesday secured $11 million pre-Series A equity-debt round led by Women’s World Banking Capital Partners II.

Read also:Nigerian startup, Anchor, to expand workforce with over $1m fund. 2 other stories and a trivia

The firm’s founder, Hilda Moraa, confirmed in a press statement that Verdant Frontiers Fintech Fund, cFund, and Cardano blockchain builder Input Output Global (IOG) also participated in the funding round.

Hilda disclosed that the round also included a $5 million debt from Talanton and Verdant Capital Specialist Funds.

The Nairobi-based startup was founded in 2016 by Hilda Morgan.

The fintech claims to be the first Africa-focused digital financial marketplace that converges lending amongst other financial services and products for borrowers, lenders, and investors, facilitating a shared economy.

“Pezesha solves this through our robust API driven credit scoring technology,” Moraa stated while explaining her solution.

3. Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation, Sony, acquires Savage Game, launches ‘PlayStation Studios Mobile’

Popular Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation, Sony, has announced launching ‘PlayStation Studios Mobile’ with its acquisition of Savage Game Studio.

Hermen Hulst, head of PlayStation Studios, confirmed the acquisition in a media statement on Tuesday.

He said that the company will operate as part of a new PlayStation Studios Mobile Division.

Savage Game Studios was founded in 2020 by co-founders Michail Katkoff, Nadjim Adjir, and Michael McManus with locations in Berlin and Helsinki.

Katkoff, who’s the company’s CEO, Savage Game Studios expressed his optimism about the new deal.

Hulst explained that Savage Game would operate independently of PlayStation’s console development.

He said it will “focus on innovative, on-the-go experiences based on new and existing PlayStation IP.”

Ripples Nigeria understands that Savage Game Studios is yet to produce any title for mobile devices, consoles, or PC.

However, the company is set to launch an unannounced mobile shooter after securing a $44 million in startup capital last year.

Trivia Answer: Virus

Computer viruses are small programs or scripts that can negatively affect the health of your computer.

These malicious little programs can create files, move files, erase files, consume your computer’s memory, and cause your computer not to function correctly.

Some viruses can duplicate themselves, attach themselves to programs, and travel across networks.

By Kayode Hamsat

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