Klasha raises $2.4m seed fund to build cross-border commerce infrastructure in Africa

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Klasha, a Fintech company building borderless payments for e-commerce in Africa has announced that it has raised $2.4 million in seed funding to build technology infrastructure for cross-border commerce in Africa.

The round was led by Greycroft with participation from Seedcamp, Berrywood Capital, AVG Basecamp Fund, Practical VC, Plug and Play, First Round VC, Expert Dojo, 2.12 Angels, MiLA Capital and angel investors such as Santosh Ankola, Ex-Head of Product at TechCrunch and Michael Pennington, Co-founder of Gumtree.

Founded in 2018 by Jessica Anuna,  Klasha enables African consumers to pay foreign merchants using their local currencies.

The Klasha team claims to have 10,000 customers and has already processed more than 20,000 transactions across Africa with an average monthly growth rate of 366%.

With this investment, Klasha will expand its technology to help international B2B and B2C businesses such as ASOS, Zara, Amazon or Zoom to receive payments seamlessly online in African currencies from consumers across Africa.

Klasha is currently available in Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya and will invest in driving more revenue, growing its customer base, and expanding into new markets in 3 more African countries by the fourth quarter of this year.

There are more than 400 million internet users in Africa, and the total value of e-commerce is expected to reach $29 billion by 2022. Klasha proffers solutions to the payment and delivery hassles African consumers face during continental transactions.

By 2025, half of the world’s population will live in Africa. At Klasha, we’re building the technology to facilitate frictionless cross-border payments and allow international businesses to scale seamlessly into Africa through our API. Equally, we’re giving consumers in Africa the same access to the global e-commerce economy experienced on other continents. It is imperative that African consumers are able to remain globally competitive, which includes having access to the goods they want without payment or delivery restrictions.”

Jess Anuna, Founder and CEO of Klasha.

Klasha offers four business products that seek to simplify cross-border payments for commerce in Africa. Klasha Checkout works with any e-commerce platform so international merchants can receive money from African consumers in local currencies using familiar means such as USSD or mobile money or bank cards. Customers can also enjoy cheap and fast delivery of their goods.

Klasha mobile app allows users to send and receive money from family and friends in Nigeria, Ghana or Kenya who use the app without charges. Users can also create a virtual card that they can fund when making transactions.

With KlashaWire, small business owners can make large payments to suppliers overseas with ease while lowering the cost of the transaction directly on the Klasha dashboard. When payments are made, the supplier generally receives it in their dominant currency in two business days.

Klasha payment links allows businesses without stores to create a simple custom checkout page directly from their KlashaDash dashboard and share it with their customers via email, WhatsApp or other social media platforms to receive payments.

Speaking on the investment, Alison Lange Engel, Partner at Greycroft expressed their excitement in investing in Klasha.

”Klasha’s technology allows for seamless cross-border transactions at a time when Africa is rapidly growing and needs both payment and logistics solutions for online commerce. We’re excited to support Klasha and their mission in simplifying borderless payments for commerce in Africa.”

Alison Lange Engel, Partner at Greycroft

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