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TechNigeria: A weekly digest of what went down in Nigeria’s tech space

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Antler, Naqla, AltSchool, Tactic, Sary, 100ms, Klump and Yep! These are some of the names that made the headlines this week.

Klump, Nigeria’s buy now pay later (BNPL) startup, during the week, secured a US$780,000 pre-seed funding round.

Also, Antler, an early-stage investor, secured US$13.5 million to continue to support early-stage tech startups in East Africa.

Let’s get into details.

What will a US$1.5 million do in the life of a startup? Your guess is as good as ours.

Nigerian financial super app, Yep!, during the week, closed a US$1.5 million pre-seed funding round.

Tech correspondent Ridwan Adelaja highlighted that Yep! was founded in 2021, and runs a financial super app focused on leveraging technology to deliver seamless financial services and solutions to Africans.

Klump’s new US$780,000 raiser came at a right time. During the week, Nigeria’s buy now pay later (BNPL) startup, Klump, raised a pre-seed.

Ridwan Adelaja, who covered the story, noted the startup’s intent to use the raiser to help it launch its flagship “Pay with Klump” product with selected partners.

Klump was founded in 2021 by Celestine Omin and Olufunbi Falayi, who have combined experience building products with Konga, DealDay, Paystack, Andela, Amazon and H-E-B.

An India-based firm recorded the largest raiser during the week, a $20 million in Series A funding.

According to the startup, 100ms, it is seeking to power next generation of live video apps.

Ridwan Adelaja, however, noted that the raiser was recorded barely five months after the startup closed its seed round.

What can we learn from Antler? Africa can thrive if it gets enough investment necessary to lead its transformation.

During the week, Antler, an early-stage investor, secured US$13.5 million to continue to support early-stage tech startups in East Africa.

Tech correspondent Ridwan Adelaja reported that the investment came as a crowd pool that saw leading investors such as Baillie Gifford, institutional investors such as IFC, and family offices like Canica participated in the round.

How much is too much as a pre-Series A? Egypt-based trucking logistics startup, Naqla, closed a US$10.5 million pre-Series A funding round.

READ ALSO: Healthtech startup, Reliance Health, closes $40M round. 1 other thing and a trivia

The raiser was said to have followed plans of the company to expand into new markets.

Ridwan Adelaja highlighted that Naqla was founded by Sherif Taher and Samer Sallam in 2017, to connect truck owners with cargo companies.

More foreign VCs are leading investment across the world.

Led by Index Ventures, London-based Tactic has banked $4.5 million in funding.

The investment, which was joined by Visionaries Club, is expected to help fund the startup’s expansion plans.

Strategic partnership deals helps both parties. Nigeria’s retail lender, Unity Bank Plc, has announced partnering with AltSchool Africa to empower female students in areas of software development.

This was contained in a statement forwarded to Ripples Nigeria in commemoration of the International Women’s Day, IWD 2022.

According to Unity Bank’s Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mrs. Tomi Somefun, the initiative seeks to assist young women looking to start a career in the IT industry.

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