Kenyan-based consumer company, Lipa Later, has raised $12 million in its pre-series A investment funding round.
The company, which runs a buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) business model, and operates in Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda, said the funds would be used to push further expansion of its operations across Africa, especially, Nigeria, Ghana, and Tanzania.
The company also said that the funds would be used to extend its BNPL services to its large pipeline of customers who support Lipa’s unique agreements with top-tier merchants in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The fundraising round had in participation, companies like Cauris Finance, Lateral Frontiers VC, GreenHouse Capital, SOSV IV LLC, Sayani Investments, and Axian Financial Services.
Speaking on the fundraise, Lipa Later co-founder and CEO Eric Muli, noted that:
“We are excited to be working with our investors as we look to grow and expand to more markets in Africa. In the next 12 months, we are looking to grow and double our presence in the existing markets, even as we open in three to five new markets in Africa.”
Lipa Later prides itself as a lending marketplace for high-end items for individuals. The company has exclusive partnerships with retailers across markets, allowing shoppers to pay for products in installments.
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The company’s API integrates into e-commerce platforms, allowing merchants to sell products directly to consumers. Lipa later also allows customers to purchase items in stores.
Some of Lipa Later’s trade partners include: Carrefour, Apple, Tecno, and Samsung, and a couple of other merchants.
Commenting on the fundraise, Ruby Nimkar, Partner at GreenHouse Capital, said:
“Lipa Later is not only changing the consumer credit landscape across Africa, which to date has been largely inaccessible for most, but also catalyzing the future of shopping, e-commerce and payments. They’ve done this in a truly product and customer-led way that benefits both merchants and consumers, and has proven to be incredibly scalable across multiple markets.”
