Female startups rising in recognition after years of being sidelined
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Nigeria’s female-led startups are rising in recognition, with six of them raising $16 million in 2021, a small slice of the total $1.7 billion that flowed into the country, yet significant after years of women being sidelined in a male environment.
The six leading female startups based in Nigeria – Shuttlers, Bankly, Klasha, Reelfruit, Okra, Edukoya – raised more than $1 million each in a single round. Okra and Edukoya both led the pack with $3.5 million each.
African tech startups as a whole raised a record $4.2 billion in 2021, surpassing the total in 2019 and 2020 combined.
And compared with previous years, more female-led startups raised $1 million or more on the continent.
Only 3 per cent of capital invested in African startups between 2013 and 2021 went to female-owned startups, according to research by Briter Bridges in mid-2021, titled “In Search of Equity: Exploring Africa’s Gender Gap in Startup Financing.”
But Nairametrics reports that more female-led startups raised greater funding in the second half of the year, showing that more venture capitalists are looking out for female-led teams to invest in.
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Shuttlers
Shuttlers, a tech-enabled scheduled bus-sharing company founded by Damilola Olokesusi in 2016 that provides businesses with improved transportation alternatives for their employees. Raised $1.6 million in seed funding to grow beyond Nigeria.
The deal allows Shuttlers to grow within and outside Nigeria by digitising the transportation sector previously defined by a large number of individuals utilising public transportation to go to their workplaces and destinations.
Bankly
Bankly, a fintech startup founded in 2018 by Tomilola Adejana and Fredrick Adams to digitise cash for the unbanked. Raised $2 million in a seed round.
It digitises financial services for people in the informal sector, mostly small-scale traders who save through rotating savings and credit unions referred to in Nigeria as “ajo” or “esusu.”
Bankly seeks to solve some of the issues in the offline group savings.
Klasha
Klasha, a cross-border tech firm based in San Fransisco founded by Jess Anuna. Raised $2.4 million in seed funding to build tech infrastructure for cross-border commerce in Africa.
Klasha plans to develop its technology to assist worldwide B2B and B2C businesses such as ASOS, Zara, Amazon, and Zoom in receiving payments in African currencies from customers all over the continent.
Reelfruit
Reelfruit, a premium dried fruit company founded by Affiong Williams and recognised for its high-quality healthy snacks. Raised $3 million in a Series A investment.
Reelfruit distributes in Nigeria, West Africa, and outside Africa its nutritious dried fruit and nut snacks made from mangos, coconuts, cashews, and other fruits.
It plans to use the funds to expand production, develop new products, and grow exports 10 times to 15 metric tonnes in 2022.
Okra
Okra, a fintech API. Raised $3.5 million in a seed round.
Founded in 2019 by Fara Jituboh and David Peterside, Okra empowers companies and developers to build products with seamless access to inclusive financial data and secure payments.
Okara says it will use this new investment to develop its data infrastructure across Nigeria and to carry out African expansion starting with Kenya and South Africa.
Edukoya
Edukoya, an online learning platform centered on Africa founded by Honey Ogundeyi in December 2021. Secured $3.5 million in a pre-seed round, the most funding an African Edutech platform has ever raised in a pre-seed round.
Edukoya will utilise the funds to move from beta to live launch in 2022, as well as hire more people, grow its user base, and improve the technology behind its learning platform, including support for its pan-African and European developer hubs.
