Ghana’s Fintech KudiGO Secures USD 450 K Seed Round To Further Penetrate Retail Industry
Accra and Lagos-based fintech firm KudiGo has been shortlisted alongside four others of its kind to receive seed investment from Founders Factory Africa (FFA) and Standard Bank. The startup which creates solutions for the customer retail industry in Ghana and Nigeria, sequel to the development, has raised USD 450 K, being the first known funding for the company.
Tech. Capital. Skill.
KudiGO’s focus is on the informal & micro consumers retail in Africa, an industry which makes up “more than 90 percent” of the consumer retail space on the continent and accounts for “over USD 100 Bn” in annual revenue across the continent. “However, there are the most underserved in terms of access to suable technology, accessible to affordable capital, and overall enabling skill-set to help them grow their business,” the startup said in a statement.
The impact these retailers have on the overall economic outlook of the continent cannot be overemphasized as most of these business owners support at least three people directly and double that number indirectly on average asides the people they employ. “So if you take Ghana and Nigeria as a pilot, where you have over 400,000 of these retailers, the impact of a solution like KudiGo’s will have on them is immeasurable”.
Moving up the value chain, one would discover the FMCG and manufacturers who have no visibility of product movements at the final retail points, leading to the influx of fake products, especially in the pharmaceutical industry. There are as well artificial shortages and price escalations which affect the bottom line revenue and growth of these manufacturers and distributors. “This is the outlook of the industry we are looking to redefine,” Kingsley Abrokwah, KudiGo’s Chief Enabler, told WeeTracker.
Market Fit & Penetration
Being the fintech’s seed round, the funds will be used to achieve full product-market fit and market penetration in the startup’s two primary markets. KudiGo also told WeeTracker that it is trying to spread its tentacles to make inroads into Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda by the end of 2019. The round, according to Kingsley, will hopefully be followed up by a Series A before the end, to champion its lofty ambitions of market expansion.
Founders Factory Africa offers a six-month bespoke accelerator program that enables startups to direct their operations and focus all their attention on what’s essential to the business, compared to what most regular accelerator programs are out to achieve.
“Being selected, we believe, is a great approach and will help us achieve our set goals,” the fintech disclosed. Alongside the investment, KudiGo will have access to global capital, talent and knowledge transfer through the investor’s network – mentorship, investors, corporates, renowned entrepreneurs and startups from Africa, Europe, the UK, and the U.S.
