The fintech business has recently been snatching up a lot of cash to improve its incredible technologies.
Many financial businesses have positioned themselves to take advantage of these prospects. Zanifu is an example of a fintech that is raising funding to improve its products.
Zanifu just acquired $1 million in seed funding to improve its platform and expand the number of micros, small, and medium businesses using it (MSMEs).
Saviu Ventures, which invested in the startup’s pre-seed round in early 2020, Launch Africa Ventures, Sayani Investments, and a number of Kenyan and Nigerian angel investors were among those that took part.
This current round of funding takes the startup’s total funding to $1.2 million.
Zanifu offers MSMEs in Kenya with short-term stock financing of up to $2,000 and plans to include 15,000 FMCG shops in the next year.
Steve Biko, co-founder, and chief operating officer of Zanifu, noted that the company helps FMCG retailers, particularly those who are too small to obtain standard bank financing.
The only choice available to these SMEs has been digital consumer loans, which are not necessarily appropriate.
Zanifu is addressing a vital gap in the market for equity financing, allowing small businesses to increase their revenue by more than 40%.
Techbuild’s Take
Many fintech companies are creating innovations to help improve small enterprises in Africa knowing that these small businesses play a big role in impacting the continent’s economy.
With fintech such as Zanifu, there is hope that small enterprises will grow beyond what is anticipated.
The focus is not just big companies and because numerous fintech companies are doing this, small firms in Africa may readily obtain financing and help in improving the economy of Africa knowing small and medium businesses (SMBs) are the sole factors that propel economic growth in Africa.
Creating jobs, employment, taxation, and contributing to Gross Domestic Product, these startups account for over 90% of businesses in the continent.
The startup is playing its role in bridging the $20 billion (as estimated by the World Bank) MSME financing gap in the country experienced by 5 million small businesses, most of which are informal.
Though these businesses are an important aspect of the African economy, the majority of them struggle with getting loans but thanks to these innovations will go a long way to assist their growth.
Zanifu has launched products that are specifically designed to meet the financial needs of small businesses.
Retailers take loans using Zanifu’s loan app, which allows them to provide information such as purchasing history.
Within six hours of joining up, the businesses are given a credit limit based on the algorithm’s score. Retailers are given up to a month to pay back the loans, which have interest rates ranging from 3.5 to 5%.
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