YC-Backed Startup Numida Raises $12.3 Million Pre-Series A Round

Ugandan-based Fintech startup Numida which provides working capital to African micro-businesses has raised $12.3 million in a pre-series A round.

The debt funding round was led by Serena ventures, the venture fund of tennis champion Serena Williams who led the $7.3 million equity portion of the round with participation from Breega, 4Di Capital, Launch Africa, Soma Capital, Y Combinator, and existing investor MFS Africa, which is following on. The startup also received a $5 million debt facility from Lendable Asset Management.

Due to the significant increase in demand for its services, Numida is currently eyeing growth opportunities beyond Uganda, stating that it has a proven business model that can be adopted across the African continent to unlock the potential of MSMEs.

With this recent fundraised, the startup plans to extend loans to an additional 10,000 businesses to reach its 40,000 targets within the next 18 months by entering into two new African markets.

Speaking on the recent fund said, Numida CEO Mina Shahid said, “I’m most excited about continuing to build and provide financial products for these micro and small business owners who have been forgotten by the traditional financial services industry even though they are hardworking and have viable businesses.

“There are so many of these businesses across the continent, we really do believe that we’ve proven a model in Uganda that can be Pan-African and unlock the potential of these businesses to growth and achieve great things”.

Since raising its $2.3 million seed round last year, Numida has grown over 7.5 times propelled by the soaring demand for quick loans. The startup has to date issued $20 million in working capital to micro and small businesses, having grown from issuing $250,000 a month to $2 million.

To support this expansion, Numida has disclosed its plans to double its team to 200 people across its credit operations, data product development, and growth functions over the next 18 months. Shahid told BetaKit that four people out of its over 100-person workforce are based in Canada, with plans to expand its Canadian team to six by the end of the year.