Kenyan fintech startup Pezesha, which is building scalable lending infrastructure for SMEs and institutions, has closed a seven-figure seed extension round as it looks to expand further across the continent.
Founded in late 2016, Pezesha has created a holistic digital financial infrastructure that connects small and medium-sized businesses to working capital offered by banks, MFIs, and other financial institutions or networks.
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 seven-figure round is led by GreenHouse Capital, and also includes on-lending liquidity support from GreenHouse Capital’s sister company Venture Garden Group. The funding will support Pezesha’s continued growth across Africa and its mission to expand access to affordable working capital for SMEs, and adds to previous seed investment raised in 2018 from Consonance and last year from Seedstars.
“We are delighted to have GreenHouse Capital join the Pezesha family. We are aligned in vision as well as our commitment to solving the working capital challenges that are preventing African SMEs from achieving their full growth potential,” said Hilda Moraa, founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Pezesha.
“GreenHouse Capital’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. More so, the investment will unlock our vision of building the operating system to power embedded finance in Africa.”
Ruby Nimkar, principal at GreenHouse Capital, said Pezesha was breaking down barriers to SME financing by taking an ecosystem approach to the problem of access to capital.
“Their embedded finance model is truly groundbreaking, and we have full confidence in Hilda and the talented team at Pezesha to take their model into new markets and continuously close the SME financing gap across Africa,” she said.
