TradeDepot, a Nigerian retail tech startup, has raised $110 million in Series B funding

TradeDepot, a B2B e-commerce and embedded finance platform based in Nigeria, has raised US$110 million in an equity and debt Series B funding round to support the delivery of buy-now-pay-later services to five million SME retailers as well as the further expansion of its merchant platform across the continent.

TradeDepot, which was founded in 2016, connects African consumer goods brands directly to a target market of several million retail outlets across the continent. The startup, through its ShopTopUp platform, provides a wide range of consumer goods to SME retailers in its network, as well as credit lines to allow these retailers to access inventory and pay in installments as they sell to their own customers.

TradeDepot leverages its data, technology, and robust logistics operations to connect retailers with suppliers and unlock financing to fund inventory purchases for retailers, enabling increased sales, higher margins, and other value-added services for all parties.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) led its US$110 million Series B equity round, with participation from Novastar, Sahel Capital, CDC Group, Endeavor Catalyst, and existing investors, Partech and MSA Capital. Arcadia Funds led the debt financing.

The funding will be used to accelerate the delivery of its buy-now-pay-later service to more retailers, increasing consumer goods brand penetration and driving prosperity in one of the continent’s most critical sectors.

“We continue to be laser-focused on making digital commerce and financing accessible and affordable to neighborhood retailers in Africa’s key cities.” “We are thrilled to be joined by an elite group of new investors, including IFC’s Wale Ayeni and Brian Odhambo of Novastar, to support us on this journey to drive growth and prosperity across the continent,” said Onyekachi Izukanne, CEO and co-founder of TradeDepot.

TradeDepot has built a network of leading consumer goods brands and SME retailers across Africa, as well as a proprietary risk scoring engine that predicts creditworthiness based on retailers’ purchase history, previous repayment performance, and other related data points. This financing model, combined with industry-leading logistics technology, has resulted in a 200 percent increase in transaction volumes for retail store owners.

“The informal sector is a large and critical part of Africa’s economy, accounting for roughly 80% of jobs in the region,” said IFC managing director Makhtar Diop. “We are thrilled to be collaborating with TradeDepot to use technology to help small businesses across the continent, particularly the many retailers led by women, gain access to the resources they require to grow and scale.”