Both a billion-dollar multinational company and a leading Black VC firm are betting on a fintech startup that may be the future of payments in Africa.
Nomba, a Nigerian payment service provider, has raised $30 million in a pre-Series B investment — bringing the company’s valuation to over $150 million — TechCrunch reports.
The round was led by Base10 Partners, the outlet details. Among the participants were Partech, Khosla Ventures, and Helios Digital Ventures. What’s more, Shopify invested in the round, with the outlet noting that the e-commerce company “might be making its first investment on the continent.”
“Nomba’s track record of innovation and capital efficiency makes it one of the most exciting startups in Africa,” Luci Fonseca, a partner at Base10, said, according to the outlet. “We are thrilled to be supporting them to deliver their game-changing solutions to power growth and continued success for businesses in Nigeria and beyond.”
The company hits this new milestone after rebranding back in May 2022. First being named “Kudi” then moving to “Nomba,” founders Adeyinka Adewale and Pelumi Aboluwarin transformed the platform from an online solution for essential financial requests to an omnichannel platform that provides business and management tools for various African businesses.
The outlet details that Nomba plans to use the new funding to deliver payment and operational solutions for businesses such as food companies, restaurants, logistics and transport companies.
“Our core focus has been figuring out how to help small businesses essentially scale,” Adewale shared. “A lot of that is hinged on what kind of software tools we provide, which could potentially reduce their cost of operation and provide better visibility to their business.”
In the future, Nomba aims to look into the potential of pan-African expansion.
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