Nigeria’s BFREE closes $800k seed round from VC. 2 other things and a trivia

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

1. Nigeria’s BFREE closes $800k seed round from VC

Nigerian startup BFREE has raised a US$800,000 seed funding round to help it scale.

The Lagos-based startup focuses on improving consumers’ financial health through a tech-enabled, credit management solution.

BFREE was founded in 2020 by Chukwudi Enyi, Moses Nmor and Julian Flosbach.

Today, the startup manages more than 300,000 customers for the majority of leading lenders in Nigeria.

According to the management, the startup’s credit management solution aims to incentivise consumers that have fallen behind on their credit repayments to sustainably clear their balances.

In achieving this, the team hopes to deploy a combination of self-servicing solutions, communication automation, and human operations, supported by machine learning algorithms that cluster and predict customer behaviour.

The new funding was led by Nigeria-based Beta Ventures alongside Launch Africa Ventures and GreenHouse Capital.

Tech Trivia: What 6-letter Nigerian city can be typed on a single row of the qwerty keypad?

Answer: See end of post.

2. Egypt’s Telda secures $5m pre-seed round led by Sequoia Capital

As Telda looks to build on a strong first month of operations, the Egyptian fintech startup has raised a US$5 million pre-seed funding round.

According the startup, the funding was led by Sequoia Capital.

Speaking on the founding, the management revealed that the startup was founded in April by Ahmed Sabbah, Swvl’s co-founder and former CTO, and Youssef Sholqamy, ex-senior engineer in Uber’s infrastructure team.

The startup offers digital banking services that cater to the financial needs of millennials and Generation Z.

Through the app, today, users can set up an account with their phone number and national IDs.

In its first month of operation, the startup has already acquired over 30,000 sign-ups, and it now plans to build on that strong start after raising US$5 million in pre-seed funding.

3. Cape Town-based Yebo Fresh looks to expand operations to Johannesburg

Cape Town-based online retailer Yebo Fresh has announced intent to expand its operations to Johannesburg.

The startup is an online retail business that delivers food and household goods to households, shops and organisations.

READ ALSO: AlphaCode awards R2-m to support Fintech startups. 2 other things and a trivia

According to the crew, the new Gauteng branch which will be based at the Airport Industrial area will consists of 10 team members, excluding drivers and marketers.

Commenting on the model, the startup noted that customers orders are packed at the airport-based warehouse and delivered to the customer’s doorstep within 24 to 48 hours.

Consequently, with the launch in Johannesburg, the first areas that will be able to place orders are Katlehong, Vosloorus and Thokoza.

Tech Trivia Answer: Owerri

Owerri is the capital city of Imo State. The Owerri Slogan is Heartland. It is currently referred to as the entertainment capital of Nigeria because of its high density of spacious hotels, high street casinos, production studios and high quality centres of relaxation. It is the home to annual beauty pageants, “Miss Heartland” and “Miss Adanma”.

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