Investor Updates: April 5 2022 - Nigeria-based mPOS provider ZirooPay raises $11.4m Series A

Nigeria-based mPOS provider ZirooPay raises $11.4m Series A

Highlights

• ZirooPay, a mobile POS supplier based in Lagos, has secured $11.4 million in a Series A round headed by Zrosk Investment Management, a Lagos-based venture capital firm.
• IroFit, ZirooPay’s parent organization, pitched its “Internet-free” technology as a mobile platform for small companies to receive card payments via a mobile app and EMV-certified card reader in locations where there is no data access, especially in emerging economies.
• The new funds will be used to develop ZirooPay’s payment infrastructure, accelerate expansion, and increase its personnel.

Source: TechCrunch

Our Takeaway

The amount of POS points and payments in Nigeria has expanded dramatically over time, with the former increasing from 150,000 in 2017 to 543,000 in April 2021 while transaction volume reached more than 500 billion in May 2021. Alongside this, ZirooPay has also witnessed commendable growth with over 15,000 merchants who leverage its POS terminals and mobile application processing up to $500 million across 10 million transactions.

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Egyptian fintech PayMint raises seed round

Highlights

• Egypt-based fintech PayMint has raised a seven-figure Seed investment from AUR Fintech.
• Launched in 2019 by Mohamed Yahya and Mohamed Rabie, PayMint provides financial technology services to SMEs, including salary payments, working capital financing, and supplier payments.
• The new funding will support PayMint’s expansion plan in fintech and SMEs’ financial inclusion in the Egyptian market.

Source: Wamda

Our Takeaway

Across Africa, merchant acquisition is proving to be the “new” scramble for payments services on the continent. Offline and informal merchants exist all over Africa and account for up to 90% of businesses on the continent. As such, there’s a significantly large market of non-digital SMEs waiting to be tapped by Africa’s budding technology startups. Layering digital solutions on offline SME activity can create more efficiency for merchants, and generate returns for the startups.

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UPS partners with Jumia to expand delivery network in Africa

Highlights

• The first African technology company to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Jumia has announced a partnership with UPS. 
• UPS will leverage Jumia infrastructure to offer its customers an extended range of delivery solutions, including door-to-door package delivery and collection, with a variety of payment options.
• The collaboration will initially cover Kenya, Morocco, and Nigeria, with initial plans for expansion to Ghana and Ivory Coast.

Source: TechCrunch

Our Takeaway

Small and medium-sized businesses in Africa make up 90% of all businesses on the continent and are essentially the backbone of the continent’s economy but they still struggle with the logistics and delivery side of things, especially for exporting businesses, due to a number of factors. The UPS-Jumia partnership offers a pathway for businesses to bypass these challenges and connect to customers around the world through the former’s global network, potentially accelerating their revenue growth.