Kenyan fintech startup Pezesha designed to create digital financial that connects small and medium-sized businesses to working capital offered by banks, MFIs, and other financial institutions or networks has announced a seven-figure growth funding round led by GreenHouse Capital (Africa’s first fintech focussed fund).
As part of the investment, GHC received on-lending liquidity support from Venture Garden Group – (GHC’s sister company). The new funds add to the previous raises from Consonance and Seedstars.
Founded in 2016, Pezesha is working hard to solve the continent’s $82 billion in working capital and trade finance access while enabling non-traditional finance institutions while offering working capital to SMEs working on its lending infrastructure. The company shall then build robust APIs that originate quality SMEs and run original credit scoring methods which allow capital to freely flow efficiently and productively.
The startup has gained regulatory approval from the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) and also became the first Kenyan company to successfully exit the CMA sandbox with a letter of no objection to operate in Kenya. Currently operational in Kenya, Ghana, and Nigeria, Pezesha is launching in Uganda this month and plans further expansion after raising a seed extension round.
The partnership with VGG will expand the capital available for Pezesha and its institutional partners to lend out to SMEs. Commenting on the press release, Pezesha CEO Hilda Moraa said she was “delighted to have GreenHouse Capital join the Pezesha family.” She further pointed out how GHC’s investment will “catapult our growth by enabling us to scale our existing partnerships with the likes of Twiga Foods, Jumia, Marketforce, and Popote Pay, among others.”
Ruby Nimkar, the Principal at GreenHouse Capital mentioned how Pezesha is “breaking down barriers to SME financing.” Thus far, Pezesha has scaled its fintech lending infrastructure to Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria, while working towards a September launch in Uganda. Last year, the company received regulatory approval from the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) making it stand out as the first Kenyan company to successfully exit the CMA sandbox.
