African Tech Takes Flight: Klasha Secures $2.4M Seed to Revolutionize Cross-Border Commerce
Klasha, an African fintech company, has secured $2.4 million in seed funding led by Greycroft to enhance its cross-border e-commerce payment infrastructure. The company enables African consumers to pay foreign merchants in local currencies and plans to expand its services to help international businesses tap into Africa's rapidly growing digital economy.
Klasha, a fintech company focused on enabling borderless payments for e-commerce across Africa, has successfully secured $2.4 million in seed funding. This significant investment is earmarked to bolster its technological infrastructure for cross-border commerce on the continent. The funding round was spearheaded by Greycroft, with additional participation from prominent investors including Seedcamp, Berrywood Capital, AVG Basecamp Fund, Practical VC, Plug and Play, First Round VC, Expert Dojo, 2.12 Angels, and MiLA Capital. Angel investors such as Santosh Ankola, former Head of Product at TechCrunch, and Michael Pennington, Co-founder of Gumtree, also contributed.
Founded in 2018 by Jessica Anuna, Klasha addresses a critical challenge in the African e-commerce landscape by allowing African consumers to make payments to foreign merchants using their local currencies. The company boasts a growing user base of 10,000 customers and has already facilitated over 20,000 transactions across Africa, demonstrating an impressive average monthly growth rate of 366%. This new investment will enable Klasha to extend its technology, helping international B2B and B2C businesses like ASOS, Zara, Amazon, and Zoom to seamlessly receive online payments in African currencies from consumers throughout the continent.
Currently operational in Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya, Klasha plans strategic expansion into three more African countries by the fourth quarter of this year. This expansion capitalizes on Africa's burgeoning digital economy, which boasts over 400 million internet users and an e-commerce market projected to reach $29 billion by 2022. Klasha positions itself as a crucial solution to the payment and delivery complexities that African consumers frequently encounter during cross-continental transactions.
Jessica Anuna, Founder and CEO of Klasha, articulated the company's vision, stating, "By 2025, half of the world’s population will live in Africa. At Klasha, we’re building the technology to facilitate frictionless cross-border payments and allow international businesses to scale seamlessly into Africa through our API. Equally, we’re giving consumers in Africa the same access to the global e-commerce economy experienced on other continents. It is imperative that African consumers are able to remain globally competitive, which includes having access to the goods they want without payment or delivery restrictions."
Klasha offers a suite of four distinct business products designed to streamline cross-border payments. Klasha Checkout integrates with any e-commerce platform, enabling international merchants to accept payments from African consumers in local currencies through popular methods such as USSD, mobile money, or bank cards, complemented by efficient and affordable delivery services. The Klasha mobile app allows users to send and receive money free of charge among family and friends within Nigeria, Ghana, or Kenya who also use the app, and also facilitates the creation of fundable virtual cards for transactions.
For small business owners, KlashaWire simplifies making large payments to overseas suppliers, directly from the Klasha dashboard, while simultaneously reducing transaction costs. Suppliers typically receive payments in their dominant currency within two business days. Furthermore, Klasha payment links provide a solution for businesses without traditional storefronts, allowing them to create simple, custom checkout pages directly from their KlashaDash dashboard and share them with customers via email, WhatsApp, or other social media platforms to collect payments effortlessly.
Alison Lange Engel, Partner at Greycroft, expressed enthusiasm for their investment, commenting, "Klasha’s technology allows for seamless cross-border transactions at a time when Africa is rapidly growing and needs both payment and logistics solutions for online commerce. We’re excited to support Klasha and their mission in simplifying borderless payments for commerce in Africa." The investment underscores confidence in Klasha's potential to significantly impact Africa's digital commerce landscape.