Pezesha, Kenyan Fintech Startup Closes $11 Million in Pre-Series A Round for Expansion
Pezesha, a Kenyan fintech startup, has raised $11 million in pre-Series A equity debt and expanded into Nigeria, Rwanda, and Francophone Africa.
The equity round was led by Women’s World Banking Capital Partners II, with participation from Verdant Frontiers Fintech Fund, cFund, and Cardano blockchain builder Input Output Global (IOG). Talanton and Verdant Capital Specialist Funds contributed $5 million to the pre-Series A funding.
Pezesha is an embedded finance startup founded in 2017 by Hilda Moraa that enables traditional and non-traditional financial institutions to provide working capital to micro, small, and medium-sized businesses (MSMEs).
Pezesha’s pre-Series A funding plans
Pezesha intends to expand its embedded finance offering beyond its current markets of Uganda and Ghana in order to close the financing gap that affects millions of MSMEs.
According to Pezesha, it collaborates with over 20 partner companies, allowing it to lend to over 100,000 businesses.
It also expects the figure to rise before 2022 as it integrates up to ten companies into its infrastructure.
By collaborating with local and international banks, high-net-worth individuals, and decentralized finance, Pezesha hopes to create a $100 million financing opportunity for businesses each year.
It also intends to increase lending opportunities for women entrepreneurs.
“The investment will allow Prezeha to broaden its range of financial products, particularly for women-owned MSMEs,” says Christina “CJ” Juhasz, Chief Investment Officer at Women’s World Banking Asset Management.
