Tech in Africa
US and Nigeria-based startup TradeDepot has completed a $110 million equity and debt Serie B funding round. This investment was led by IFC alongside Sahel Capital, Novastar, Endeavor Catalyst, CDC Group, and other existing investors. Partech and MSA Capital also took part in the round. Arcadia Funds led the debt funding part that is linked with p2p and marketplace lending and insurance-linked securities. The startup looks to accomodate more retail stores and further expand its buy-now, pay-later services across Africa.
TradeDepot has a presence in 10 Nigerian cities, as well as in Accra, Ghana, and Johannesburg, South Africa. TechCrunch reports that the equity share part of the investment is $42 million as per SEC filing pegs. In addition to the Serie B, the head of Africa Venture Capital Investment for the IFC, Wale Ayeni, and West Africa director of Novastar Ventures, Brian Odhiambo will join the board of TradeDepot.
Last year TradeDepot raised $10 million in a Serie A in a round aimed at connecting local distributors to global consumer brands. This business model attracted a $3 million investment led by Partech alongside the International Finance Corp (IFC), Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (WEFI), and MSA Capital.
TechCrunch reports that TradeDepot has focussed on building the supply chain with technology and onboarding retailers – one at a time. This year the company has onboarded over 100,000 merchants growing its GMV five times. Clients can receive credit or Buy-Now-Pay-Later offerings from the company’s ShopTopUp platform where retailers can access a credit line for all goods on the application.
Source: TechCrunch
