Chippa Cash and Andela chase unicorn Flutterwave
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Chippa Cash and Andela were at the top end of startups in Nigeria that raised a combined $1.25 billion in seed and series funding in 91 deals in 2021, with techies amassing the greater slice.
Fund raised in 2021 was far higher than in the previous year, signposting impressive deal making by Nigerian corporates. The number of deals jumped 152 per cent against 2020.
The $1.25 billion raised in 2021 rose 142 per cent above $517 million garnered in 2020; even as the sum raised in 11 deals was not publicly disclosed.
Nigerian startups had an estimated $8.88 billion (N3.65 trillion) deals across 177 transactions in 2021, an uptick over 106 deals valued at $4.3 billion in 2020.
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Fund leaderboard
Below is the breakdown of the top fund rounds secured by the startups in 2021, reported by Nairametrics:
Chippa Cash – $250 million
Chippa Cash – African cross-border payments firm based in the United States – got $150 million in a Series C extension round following a $100 million initial round in May 2021.
The second raise in November increased the valuation of Chippa Cash to $2 billion, and its total to $305 million.
The first round funding was led by SVB Capital, the investment arm of US hitech commercial bank, Silicon Valley Bank.
Others participants in the first round included existing investors – Deciens Capital, Ribbit Capital, Bezos Expeditions, One Way Ventures, 500 Startups, Tribe Capital, and Brue2 Ventures.
The recent funding was led by Sam Bankman-Fried’s cryptocurrency exchange platform FTX. SVB Capital, as well as other previous investors such as Deciens Capital, Ribbit Capital, Bezos Expeditions, One Way Ventures, and Tribe Capital.
Andela – $200 million
Andela, a global tech-recruiting company that aids tech companies in building remote engineering teams, raised $200 million Series E funding in September 2021 at a $1.5 billion valuation, bringing its total to $381 million.
The funding was led by Softbank Vision Fund 2, the venture capital arm of the Japanese conglomerate, SoftBank. Other investors included Whale Rock, Generation Investment Management, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and Spark Capital.
Flutterwave – $170 million
African-focused payments firm Flutterwave, based in Lagos, announced in March 2021 the close of a $170 million Series C round. It raised its value to $1 billion and gave it a unicorn status.
The funding round was led by private investment firm Avenir Growth Capital, based in New York, and US hedge fund and investment firm Tiger Global.
New and existing investors who participated included DST Global, Early Capital Berrywood, Green Visor Capital, Greycroft Capital, Insight Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, Tiger Management, and Worldpay FIS 9yards Capital.
FairMoney – $42 million
Nigerian fintech startup FairMoney raised $42 million in a Series B round led by US hedge fund and investment firm, Tiger Global. Existing investors that participated included DST Partners, Flourish Ventures, Newfund and Speedinvest.
The recent investment follows the €10 million Series A round two years ago and €1.2 million seed in 2018.
Ventures Platform – $40 million
Ventures Platform announced the first close of its $40 million fund in December 2021 to back up its mission as an early-stage investment fund that supports innovative companies solving problems in Africa.
The participants included Paystack CEO Shola Akinlade, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), UAC Nigeria, VFD Group, Y Combinator CEO Michael Seibel, and Adam Draper.
Other fundraisers
- Daystar Power – $38 million
- MAX – $31 million
- Magic Fund – $30 million
- Kuda Bank – $25 million
- 54gene with – $25 million
Dealmaking pace
Nairametrics says Nigerian startups continue to demonstrate significant deal making pace, as venture capitalist and several angel investors stake their investments in especially techies to drive home their vision or expand their operations.
US Ambassador to Nigeria Mary Beth said at a tech summit last year that Nigerian firms attracted 60 per cent of total money raised by tech startups in Africa in 2021, with the inflow estimated at $1.7 billion.
She noted that three tech unicorns – OPay, Flutterwave, and Interswitch – were born and bred by Nigerian talents, and with proper support, they have enormous potential to do more.
