Asilimia raises $2 mn in two investment rounds for its fintech services

NewCrop Team / December 8, 2021 / Global

Nairobi-based financial services startup, Asilimia, raises a $2 million investment for its platform and app focused on lending services, among others.

The startup’s digital service, called Leja, will be focused on providing loans and booking-keeping services for the small and medium business sector, especially those such as merchants. The company’s customer base has grown to approximately 27,000 users so far.

Investors in the $2 million funding include Fredrik Jung Abbou, Norrsken Impact Accelerator, French Public Investment Bank and GreenTec Capital Partners.

“MSMEs play a vital role across Africa and making it easier for them to succeed is great for the continent as a whole,” Co-founder at Norrsken Impact Accelerator, Funda Sezgi said, as reported by TechCrunch. “Tekwane and the team have built a solution that works and we are delighted to be supporting them as they drive prosperity in a key sector for the African economy.”

Asilimia was founded by Tekwane Mwendwa and Morgane Kablan in 2017, and is a graduate of incubation programs including the Station F incubation program and the Norrsken Impact Accelerator program. The new investment will be put toward team growth, among other areas.

“We will factor in their B2B transactions, cash flow, sales, liabilities and expenses because all this information is in the app,” Mwendwa said to TechCrunch. “This is possible because traders love to use our app which, unlike other lending apps, has inventory management. I like to think of our app as the operating system of informal businesses and we are happy that it is a one-stop shop for the traders.”

The startup has future plans for geographical expansion and technology development as well. The investment was raised in the form of two separate rounds, one being a $1 million equity round and the other a $1 million debt funding round.

“We interact with them daily and understand their pain points, and so we want to give them all the support they need so that they can continue doing business — we will also extend airtime top-up credit at no interest,” Mwendwa said, as reported by TechCrunch.

(Picture courtesy: Ventures Africa.com)

 

 

 

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