Ugandan Fintech Raises $12.3M Funding Led By Serena Ventures
Serena Williams is making big moves in the venture capital world. After announcing earlier this year, that she would be stepping away from tennis, Williams has embodied the phrase ‘put your money where your mouth is, by investing over $100 million in early-stage startups.
Ugandan-based fintech, Numida, is the latest business to benefit from investment from Serena Ventures. The fintech recently raised $12.3M in a pre-series A funding round led by Serena Ventures. Participation included the Pan-African VC fund, Launch Africa, Breega, Soma Capital, Y Combinator, and MFS Africa.
What is Numida?
Numida, founded in 2015 by Catherine Denis, Ben Best, and Mina Shahid, provides financial assistance to African micro businesses. Through the fintech platform, small and micro enterprises can receive between $100 and $5,000 in capital funding for their organization.
Numida decided to provide this service as they believe over 10 million businesses across Africa struggle to receive funding for their small business. In addition, the fintech’s online app simplifies lending for business owners, eliminating the uncomfortable process of lending money from friends and family.
“It’s been a fascinating experience building a tech product for people who have never used a computer before,” said Mina Shahid, Numida’s CEO and co-founder.
“Everyone can understand an interface in the valley, but we’ve had to unlearn what a user interface is and have spent a lot of time improving our UX and customer journey.”
Numida’s $12.3M funding plan
The additional funding will go towards the organization’s expansion into other African markets, including Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, and Ghana. The organization will also use the funds to make two new hires: a potential head of credit risk and a CFO. Additionally, Numida plans to double the number of staff working across the business’s data, product development, credit operations, and growth functions sectors.
The Ugandan fintech also hopes to capitalize on its success with the help of Serena Ventures and grow its already active client base by expanding into new markets.
