Technology-driven company that provides hassle-free last-mile logistics services to businesses and individuals across Africa, Fez Delivery has raised $1 million in a seed round to deepen its products offering and expand operations to other African markets.

The funding round was led by Ventures Platform, with participation from other investors such as Voltron Capital, and Acasia Ventures as well as other Angel investors.

This funding announcement follows Fez Delivery’s acceptance as one of the only two logistics companies in Nigeria to have received investment from Techstars Toronto, an elite global tech accelerator.

Speaking on how the recent capital raised will be deployed, Fez Delivery CEO Seun Alley disclosed that the company will continue to push towards leveraging technology to solve real problems.

In her words, “With this funding, we are repositioning as a full-fledged tech company focused on last-mile deliveries. We are currently focused on the $10 billion transport and logistics market in Nigeria, where we still have room to grow. We plan to keep growing in Nigeria and expand to other markets starting in the last quarter (Q4) of this year. Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa are on our list, but we haven’t decided on the order yet. While the platform is currently in development, interested parties can sign up to join the waitlist”.

Also commenting is the company’s co-founder and CTO Oluwafemi Jose who said, “Our goal has always been to create something truly transformative. We are excited to use this funding to accelerate our innovation, expand our team, deepen our development efforts and bring more value to our customers and partners”.

Founded in 2020, Fez delivery distinguishes itself from its competitors by offering tailored and hybrid solutions that combine physical touch-points with technology to serve its customers.

The startup offers APIs to its business clients and claims over 17,000 people currently use its platform, with 70% being individuals and 30% being a mix of SMEs and startups.

Fez Delivery makes money by charging individuals per delivery, and businesses a monthly subscription. It offers customers live tracking. Upon placing an order, customers will receive a tracking ID to track their order with an up-to-the-minute status report as well as the courier’s live location, Investors King understands.

In 2022, the logistics startup completed 200,000 trips and grew revenue by 20% month-on-month. Fez delivery boasts a team of well-trained professionals that provide best-in-class services and are committed to making the delivery as hassle-free as possible. Some of its partners include Opay, Kuda, Fairmoney, Techstars, Flutterwave, and paystack

Africa’s leading identity verification and digital platform Smile Identity has raised $20 million in Series B funding to expand its product and services into new markets.

The funding round was led by Costanoa and Norrsken 22, with participation from other Investors such as Two culture capital, Courtside Ventures, Value stream Ventures, Intercept Ventures, Latitude, Future Africa, and 500 fintech. Lexi Novitske from Norrsken 22 will also join Smile identity’s board as part of the series B funding. This brings the total funds raised to $31 million including $7 million in series A funding raised in 2021.

Investors King understands that the recent funds raised will help Smile identity to expand its product and engineering team, accelerating the development of specialization of its AI-powered biometrics, document verification, anti-fraud and compliance solutions tailored for new African markets.

The startup is optimistic that the money raised will enable it to partner with the governments of African countries as well as ID authorities to create consumer consent standards, enforce local African data protection laws, and share data on fraud and financial inclusion trends.

Speaking on its expansion plan, the company’s CEO Mark Straub said, “we believe the majority of people are honest. The challenge in the digital age is to prove this regardless of how a user is on boards, whether via agents, apps, tablets, the web, blockchains, or paper forms. We are thrilled to have the support of our partners and investors as we solve this problem across IDs, devices, and compliance regimes to ensure Africans are among the most trusted in the world”.

Since its operation in 2017, Smile Identity has been leading the way in digital transformation, providing secure and verifiable identities for millions. The startup has been driven by a desire to ensure that any African, anywhere in the world, can easily verify their identity.

Currently, Smile Identity is developing tools and software that will revolutionize the way millions of Africans prove and authenticate their identities online. Its artificial intelligence and identity verification tools have been specially designed for African faces and have a 99.8 percent accuracy rate.

Nigerian energy financial technology startup that provides people access to solar energy and payment plans SunFi, has raised $2.324 million in seed funding.

The seed round was led by Nairobi-based factor (e), SCM Capital asset management, and other participation from investors such as Sovereign capital, Voltron Capital, Ventures platform, and Norrsken impact accelerator.

Speaking on the seed fund raised, SunFi CEO Rotimi Thomas revealed that the investment will help the startup expand its operations and enhance its capacity to adjust clients on the best systems to purchase at the most affordable prices.

With this funding, SunFi also hopes to improve its Fintech features over the following 12 to 18 months, convert more than 4,000 consumers, and expand its existing 29-person workforce.

“This investment seeks to aid SunFi to grow its operations and improve upon its capabilities to suggest the best systems with the lowest costs to customers, typical of every rational customer wanting to be offered the best quality in exchange for a small quantity fee or charge associated with acquiring the facility,” he added.

Founded in 2021, with its headquarters in Lagos, SunFi builds energy financial technology that optimizes and matches the right clean energy solution to meet customers’ needs. From payment plans to installation support and maintenance, the startup got its customers covered.

It also offers a buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) payment option for solar providers, which ultimately benefits end consumers. By filling the credit gap, the startup wants to eliminate the need for solar providers to seek credit from financial institutions.

Investors King understands that SunFi does not manufacture or install solar panels, rather it gives small solar businesses expert advice on choosing the best manufacturers in the market.

After it launched a demo version of its app in November 2021, the demand for solar systems surged to over 200%. SunFi has also partnered with Arnergy Solar, the largest solar installer in Nigeria, to expand access to more consumers.