Nabilah Safira
TechInAfrica – AlphaCode, the incubator, accelerator, and investment vehicle has disbursed R23 million of loans to 3 fintech startups, which are Zande Africa, Bright on Capital and Livestock Wealth.
Zande Africa provides trade and merchant finance to spaza shops, enabling owners to purchase stock. The firm currently employs 71 staffs aFnd R17 million in turn over.
Bright on Capital offers peer-to-peer lending services for small suppliers that demonstrate durable growth prospects.
As the name suggests, Livestock Wealth presents a way to invest in livestock – particularly in cows. The startup currently manages 2 000 cows valued at over R40 million on its books.
According to Dominique Collett, the head of AlphaCode, the company has granted Zande and Bright, which are Alphacode’s long associate of 4 years, for R10 M in each supplier development loans, while Livestock Wealth received R2 M.
“Businesses like these don’t always get the funding they require to grow from commercial funders but as part of our commitment to partner and grow financial services startups, we’ve leveraged our supplier development spending to support them,” Collet further elaborated.
This will not be the first time the startups have reach out to AlphaCode, as the three firms have received funding from the company in the past.
For over 3 years, AlphaCode has provided significant support for Bright On Capital, in addition to this loan, as stated by the founder, Tsepo Headbush.
Tsepo explained, “In 2016, we were provided a grant of R500 000. At that stage, the grant was a critical source of seed capital which enabled us to expand our technology and provided us the necessary financial support to further develop the business. In 2017, AlphaCode provided us access to its office space in Sandton, where we could house our growing team.”
Ntuthuko Shezi, the Chief Executive Officer at Livestock Wealth said that the loan will be utilized in building the startup’s team, adding that previous assistance from AlphaCode helped them build the scope and the revenue of the firm. He admitted that their platform had grown beyond livestock management, now connecting farmers with investors who own real, high value, agricultural assets.
“These assets grow in the farmer’s care and earn profits when the products are sold at maturity,” said Shezi.
Source: Htxt.co.za
