KENYA – Nairobi-based influencer marketing platform, AIfluence Inc, has closed US$1 million in Seed funding round led by Dubai-based EQ2 Ventures, and joined by Antler East Africa, Nigerian VC OUI Capital, ArabyAds and a European family office.
AIfluence was part of Antler’s inaugural Nairobi cohort in 2020.
The startup says the funds will be used to expand into the rest of Africa, the Middle East & Asia by the end of 2021, and to further invest into AIfluence’s tech and SaaS platform.
AIfluence leverages advanced machine learning algorithms to match influencers with a target demographic through its audience-first strategy.
The platform further allows advertisers to onboard and coordinate hundreds to thousands of micro and nano influencers per campaign, generating authentic peer-to-peer conversations and superior conversion. AIfluence’s data-driven approach is used by regional and global advertisers across FMCG, banking, travel and electronics in 13 countries in Africa and Asia.
According to Patrick Thiriet CEO of EQ2 Ventures “People are the new media in today’s digital world, and AIfluence is uniquely positioned to turn this reality into tangible results for advertisers. We’ve been impressed by the team’s obsession to use data in order to spread authentic and relevant messages to the right audience. This is what advertising should always be. We’re looking forward to AIfluence’s journey ahead.”
Melalite Ayenew, Antler East Africa’s Partner added “We are excited to see local founders with deep expertise in the African market take a global problem head-on, and in a short time demonstrate a tech solution that is fast attracting demand in Africa and beyond”.
“People are the new media in today’s digital world, and AIfluence is uniquely positioned to turn this reality into tangible results for advertisers”
Patrick Thiriet – CEO, EQ2 Ventures
On his side, AIfluence Co-founder and CEO Nelson Aseka, remarked “We are at the cusp of a revolution, globally the way marketing works is changing. We find ourselves at an intersection of advanced technology and the fastest-growing region in the world in terms of digital and social media penetration.”
“We simply enable such stories to be shared between peers who know and trust each other and can place our brand messages into the heart of this communication ecosystem. We believe anyone can be an influencer. Our guiding philosophy is that influence is not a profession, it’s an outcome
“We’ve been impressed by the team’s obsession to use data in order to spread authentic and relevant messages to the right audience. This is what advertising should always be. We’re looking forward to AIfluence’s journey ahead,” he said.
AIfluence was founded by Nelson Aseka (CEO), George Issaias (CMO), Lamusia Anzaya (COO) and Ankit Jindal (CTO) and leverages advanced machine learning algorithms to match influencers with a target demographic through its audience-first strategy.
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