Kenyan Fintech Zanifu Secures USD 11.2 M Pre-Series A Round

Zanifu, a Kenyan fintech providing inventory financing to micro, small and medium-sized businesses, has raised USD 11.2 M debt-equity funding in a pre-Series A round led by Beyond Capital Ventures and Variant Investments. Founders Factory Africa, AAIC Investment, Google Black Founders Fund, and existing investor Launch Africa also participated in the round. This brings total debt-equity funding raised by the startup to USD 12.7 M.

Zanifu targets businesses that find it hard to access credit from formal financial institutions for lack of structure, accounting books and assets that can be used as collateral. Stock financing varies based on the size of the business, but distributors can access up to USD 10 K, while retailers get goods whose worth ranges from USD 200-USD 500. Retailers borrow through Zanifu’s loan app, where they upload information that includes historical purchase data. The retailers are then assigned a credit limit, after its algorithm scores them, within six hours after signing up. The new funding will enable it to expand its solution to distributors.