GHANA – Ghanian fintech startup OZÉ has raised US$3 million pre-series A funding for expansion of its digital recordkeeping platform capabilities.
The pre-series round was led by Speedinvest and participated in by other investors including Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund, and Savannah Fund.
Founded in 2018, OZÉ is a mobile app designed to help small businesses record their sales, expenses, payables, and receivables.
Data aggregated from sales records provide specific reports that can be used to predict a business’ credit risks and make recommendations for affordable capital from its banking partners.
“There is even greater demand for solutions to financial challenges like accepting payments, understanding cash positions and securing loans,” OZÉ co-founder Dave Emnett said.
To meet this demand, the OZE app provides readily available flexible and short-term working capital instead of long expensive loans.
In the past months, OZÉ has recorded a significant growth of 1,200 percent of monthly active users. The number of loans granted has also increased by 200 percent.
The startup intends to expand its platform capabilities to increase access to affordable finance in Ghana and Nigeria through its partnership with commercial banks.
This will solve the cash flow problem experienced by small to medium businesses in these sub-Saharan African countries.
Float raises US$17m to enhance access to credit
As demand for fintech services rise in Ghana and across the continent, startups in this field have been receiving financing from investors to meet this demand.
Earlier, Ghanaian startup Float which provides credit lines for businesses raised US$17 million, funding that it will be using to bolster its offerings and expand geographically.
The seed round was a mix of US$7 million equity and $10 million debt. While Cauris provided debt financing, Tiger Global and JAM Fund, co-led the equity bit.
Other VC firms involved in the equity round include Kinfolk, Soma Capital, Ingressive Capital and Magic Fund.
Float provides credit to some of these businesses that find it challenging to get from traditional banks.
In addition to flexible credit lines for businesses to cover cash flow gaps, Float also has software tools for businesses to manage accounts and wallets in one dashboard, as well as automate bills, vendor or supplier payments, and invoice collections.
The company aims to serve as the “financial operating system” for Africa’s small and medium businesses.
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