Nigerian startup Thepeer, which gained prominence for its API-based payment solutions, has announced its closure just three years after its inception. Thepeer went from securing $2.1 million in seed funding led by Raba Partnership, with participation from Rali_cap Ventures, BYLD, and fintech giants like Chipper Cash and Stitch, to its unexpected shutdown recently announced. “We embarked on a mission to create something unprecedented, a unique method for transferring money between digital wallets and making payments for goods and services directly from these wallets,” the founders said in a statement. “Yet, we soon realized that exceptional
Nigerian fintech startup Cleva has raised $1.5 million in pre-seed funding in a round led by San Francisco-based 1984 Ventures. Founded by Tolu Alabi and Phillip Abel, alumni of Stripe and Amazon Web Services (AWS), Cleva’s product provides a way for Africans to navigate hyperinflation challenges. Africans face persistent challenges in receiving international payments for their skills and products. According to the startup, it is estimated that the market for facilitating payments for remote workers and freelancers in Africa will be an $18 billion opportunity. Nigerian Startup Cleva Cleva is a USD banking platform for emerging
Lagos-based fashion and beauty e-commerce platform Maka has raised $2.65 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Pan-African venture capital firms 4DX Ventures and Janngo Capital. Other contributors include Palm Drive Capital, angel investor Jonathan Shipman, and executives from delivery platform Wolt. Maka Maka empowers trusted creators to live-stream and sell directly to their audiences. The platform allows shoppers to purchase through live-streams, on-demand videos, or online catalogs. Founded in 2021 by Diana Owusu-Kyereko, former CEO of Jumia Ghana and ex-CCO of Jumia Kenya, Maka originated as an interactive social commerce platform. During the
