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.

A digital educational company, Classera Inc. has disclosed that it raised $40m for its global expansion in its Series A funding round.

The edutech firm expressed readiness to enlarge its e-learning platform scope to further penetrate into more African nations. 

Investors King learnt that Classera engages the world’s latest technology to bring about a positive transformation in the educational system. It encourages the use of digital communication systems instead of the traditional learning methods at all levels of education.

A statement by the company explained that the Series A funding round was embarked on by the Public Investment Fund-owned Sanabil Investments, in collaboration with Global Ventures, Seedra Venture, Endeavor Catalyst, Sukna Venture and 500 Global Company.

Classera averred that the fund gathered would be used to expand into Asia Pacific and other parts of the world, selling more educational solutions and partnering with other organisations.

The company said in a release that the round was led by the Public Investment Fund-owned Sanabil Investments, accompanied by Global Ventures, Endeavor Catalyst, 500 Global, Sukna Venture, and Seedra Ventures.

According to the Strategic Partnerships Director of Classera Inc., Mahmoud Gabry, the firm has its focus on Africa in its scope expansion.

He expressed excitement with the company’s new partnership with TD Africa which has a rich database and records on e-learning solutions in Nigeria and Ghana.

Gabry said, “As we just completed one of the largest funding rounds a company with no prior funding had done in the EdTech industry, we are determined to extend our worldwide presence focusing on Africa to accomplish our vision.

“Today, I am very excited about our new partnership with TD Africa to empower the learning journey of our clients in Nigeria and Ghana benefiting from the innovation brought by Classera and its globally recognized and awarded learning solutions spearheaded by its state of art Learning Super Platform.”