By Ashemiriogwa Emmanuel
Provider of borderless payments for commerce in Africa, Klasha, has secured a sum of $2.4 million in a seed funding round to help retailers such as ASOS, Zara, and H&M receive payments from African consumers.
Led by an American venture capital firm, Greycroft, the round saw the participation of investors such as Seedcamp, Practical VC, Plug and Play, First Round VC, 2.12 Angels, MiLA Capital, Berrywood Capital, AVG Basecamp Fund, and Expert Dojo.
Investors Joe Cross of Wise and Michael Pennington of Gumtree also participated in the round as angel investors.
With the fresh funding, Klasha also plans to expand its reach beyond its current position in Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya, with three more African countries to be added before the end of 2021.
The firm, which started as a fashion e-commerce company, was founded in Lagos, Nigeria in 2018 by a team of members who have garnered experience from Amazon, Shopify, Net-a-Porter, and ASOS.
The startup was birthed with the sole focus on positioning Africa at the forefront of experiencing seamless access to the global e-commerce economy just the way it is experienced on other continents.
The solution offered by the firm helps merchants worldwide sell online to Africa and receive payments in local African currencies while enjoying super-fast last-mile delivery to consumers across the region.
Having processed over 20,000 transactions, with a monthly growth rate of 366 per cent, the company also offers end-to-end logistics for retailers, tackling the complex maze of last-mile logistics in Africa.
Their revenue is derived mainly from sales commissions and subscriptions paid by retailers who make use of its platform.
With the Klasha app, consumers can generate virtual foreign currency cards to shop online or pay bills like international school fees or online subscriptions like Netflix, CopyAI, Spotify, and many more.
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