Kenyan Startup Lipa Later raises $12M

Lipa Later founded in 2018, provides customers with access to affordable and convenient credit by leveraging data analytics.

Its proprietary machine learning and credit-scoring system enable consumers to sign up and get credit within seconds, without the need for a lengthy approval process or bulky documentation.

The startup announced a $12 million grant it secured late last year but had already expanded into Uganda and Rwanda off the back of a funding round at the beginning of last year.

The $12 million was intended to help it expand its current market horizons and also move into new ones such as Ghana, Nigeria and Tanzania. It will also provide its substantial current pipeline of consumers with BNPL services.

The funding, which is a mixture of debt and equity, was secured from Cauris Finance, GreenHouse Capital, Lateral Frontiers VC, SOSV, Axian Financial Services and Sayani Investments.

CEO and co-founder, Lipa Later, Eric Muli, said; “We are looking to grow and expand into other markets in Africa. and we are excited to be working with our investors to see this through.

In the next 12 months, we plan to double our presence in existing markets, even as we make our presence known in three to five new markets in Africa.”

Partner at GreenHouse Capital, Ruby Nimkar explained that Lipa Later was bringing innovation to the consumer credit landscape in Africa, which has been largely inaccessible for most to date.

“Lipa Later has done this in a product and customer-led way which benefits both consumers and merchants and has proven to be ultimately scalable across different markets,” she said.

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