Africa-Focused Deals Platform Orbitt Gets Investment From GTR Ventures
GTR Ventures; an investment firm and venture-building platform in the trade and supply-chain sector, has announced an undisclosed amount of investment in Orbitt – a fintech deals platform that is focused on Africa.
Through its smart-matching technology, Orbitt has set out to link up investors with trade and investment opportunities. And in that regard, the company claims to have facilitated more than USD 100 Mn of equity, debt and trade finance transactions since its establishment in 2016. It also has its sights trained on digitising the African investment ecosystem.
Under the development, Orbitt becomes the first Africa-focused investment made by GTR Ventures. More so, with this move, Orbitt becomes the latest addition to GTR Ventures’ burgeoning portfolio of tech-driven companies that are serving up products and solutions to meet the needs of the global trade and investment community.
While already boasting a presence in cities such as London, Singapore, and Hong Kong, GTR Ventures will be looking to collaborate with Orbitt to bolster its trade finance capabilities with an emphasis on product and innovation. Also, the investment is aimed at fostering meaningful relationships between the platform and key players in the global marketplace of traditional and digital trade finance.
In a statement published on GTR Ventures’ website, Lanre Oloniniyi, Co-Founder of Orbitt, can be quoted as saying; “Our partnership with GTR Ventures comes at an exciting time for us. GTR Ventures’ network of trade and export organisations will be important in helping us attract major banks and funds across Asia, Europe, and the Middle-East, to increase trade finance lending and investment into Africa.”
The announcement of the investment appears to have coincided with this year’s Global Trade Review (GTR) Africa Trade and Investment Conference which took place in London. The event can be thought of as an important annual gathering for professionals in such spheres as international trade, export, and project finance, especially those who are keen on exploring the potentials of the African continent. Such names as Afreximbank, Ecobank, Standard Chartered, SMBC, and BACB, were amongst key financial institutions who were represented at the event.
“Africa-Asia trade today stands at USD 500 Bn, annually. However, capital providers to Africa remain hampered by the lack of financial tools and access to data. Orbitt’s technology can help lenders manage their risks, and to complete timely transactions in otherwise disconnected markets. We welcome partnerships with all stakeholders to improve credit transparency on the continent. Collectively, our vision is to enhance the bankability of every firm, SME, and transaction in Africa,” remarked Kelvin Tan, Chief Investment Officer of GTR Ventures.
Also on the development, Peter Gubbins, Managing Director of GTR and Co-Founder of GTR Ventures, enthused; “Although the continent has a trade finance gap of over USD 100 Bn, we see an increasing amount of institutional and impact capital keen on doing more with Africa. Leveraging GTR’s African footprint – Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia, and South Africa, we see Orbitt working alongside our partner banks and funds to bridge this gap.”
Feature image credit: gtrventures.vc
