Tech
TechNigeria: A weekly digest of what went down in Nigeria’s tech space
OneOrder, Lipa Payments, Beam, TradeDepot, PayJustNow, Floatpays, and Clickatell. These are some of the names that made the headlines this week.
TradeDepot, a Nigerian B2B e-commerce and embedded finance startup, during the week, consolidated the acquisition of Accra-based counterpart, Green Lion.
Also, Mauritian startup, Weaver Fintech, acquired cape Town-based fintech startup, PayJustNow as it looks to grow its venture.
Let’s get into details.
It seems to be raining funds in Egypt. OneOrder, an Egyptian tech-enabled logistics company, raised a US$1 million funding to accelerate its venture.
Tech correspondent, Ridwan Adelaja reported that the raiser followed the official launch of the startup in Egypt.
The startup was founded by leading Egyptian restaurateur Tamer Amer, who is also the founder of Fuego Sushi and Longhorn Texas BBQ.
Like Egypt like South Africa. Lipa Payments, a South African fintech startup, closed ZAR10 million (US$660,000) in funding to help it scale.
The reported highlighted that the startup seeks to bring the “tap to pay” experience to informal sectors with its software solution that enables merchants to accept contactless payments directly from a mobile phone.
The report further revealed that the startup was founded in 2019 by Thando Hlongwane and Roger Bukuru.
From $42k to $135k, Beam is perhaps the next rated startup to look out for in 2022. Singapore-based shared micromobility operator, Beam, during the week, closed a $93 million in a Series B round.
The funding, according to report filed in by our tech correspondent, is aimed at accelerating Beam’s growth into new countries in Asia.
Led by Affirma Capital, the new investment brings Beam’s total funding raised to $135 million.
Nigerian startups are not left out in the recent acquisition spree observed across sector. During the week, TradeDepot, a Nigerian B2B e-commerce and embedded finance startup, consolidation the acquisition of Accra-based counterpart, Green Lion.
Ridwan Adelaja described the acquired startup (Green Lion) as the biggest and fastest growing B2B e-commerce platform in Ghana.
Founded in 2016, the acquisition comes as TradeDepot seeks to expand its delivery services in Ghana.
Like TradeDepot like Weaver Fintech. Mauritian startup, Weaver Fintech, has acquiring cape Town-based fintech startup, PayJustNow, citing need to grow its venture.
Ripples Nigeria reported that PayJustNow sold its controlling stake of the business to company despite being the largest business of its kind in Southern Africa.
Read also: TechNigeria: A weekly digest of what went down in Nigeria’s tech space
The startup was founded in August 2019, and has more than 180,000 customers signed up and over 1,000 retailers offering its product.
More money for South Africa. Floatpays, a South African fintech startup, closed a US$1 million in funding from Naspers Foundry, one of the largest technology investors in the world.
Ripples Nigeria reported that the startup was founded in 2019.
The startup is a technology platform that enables on-demand access to pay, seamless savings functionality and financial education to build employee financial wellness.
Following closely behind Singapore-based shared micromobility operator, Beam, is Clickatell. The South African company, during the week, closed a US$91 million Series C round.
Tech correspondent, Ridwan Adelaja noted that the funding is expected to help the startup accelerate its product development and expand its footprint in the United States (US).
Founded in 2000, Clickatell is a global chat commerce leader, helping businesses to connect, interact and transact with consumers anytime, anywhere in chat.
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