NAIROBI, Kenya Jan 13- Lipa Later, a buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) startup has raised $12 million(Sh1.3billion) from a consortium of investors to allow it to expand its footprint across Africa.
The funding, which is a mix of equity and debt, will help Lipa Later grow further within its current markets (Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda) and into new markets such as Nigeria, Ghana, and Tanzania.
It will also allow the company to provide its Buy-Now-Pay-Later services to its substantial current pipeline of consumers supporting Lipa’s exclusive partnerships with world-class merchants in Sub-Saharan Africa.
“This round of funding takes Lipa Later one step closer to being the dominant Buy-Now-Pay-Later player on the continent,” said Samakab Hashi, Partner at Lateral Frontier Ventures.
Lipa Later recent round of funding attracted backing from Cauris Finance, Lateral Frontiers Ventures, GreenHouse Capital, SOSV IV LLC, Sayani Investments, and Axian Financial Services.
Other than the traditional offline method of buyers purchasing items in stores, Lipa Later has tapped into the rapidly growing online presence across Africa and built a unique Buy Now Pay Later option API that integrates into e-commerce platforms enabling merchants to sell products directly to consumers and pay for them in affordable monthly installments.
“With formal credit available to only a tiny minority in Lipa Later’s target markets, we are excited to be supporting Lipa Later and its unique capabilities in bolstering consumer credit in the region,” said Azer Songnaba, the Co-Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Cauris.
Ruby Nimkar, Partner at GreenHouse Capital added, “Lipa Later is not only changing the consumer credit landscape across Africa, which to date has been largely inaccessible for most, but also catalysing the future of shopping, e-commerce and payments.”
“In the next 12 months, we are looking to grow and double our presence in the existing markets, even as we open in three to five new markets in Africa,” Eric Muli, the Co-Founder and CEO of Lipa Later remarked.