African Fintech, Waribei, Secures USD 817K in Pre-Seed Funding
Ivorian fintech startup Waribei has secured €750,000 ($820,462) in pre-seed money to get their inventory financing solution for African small traders developed more quickly.
Co-founder Ladislas Pham confirmed the funding in a statement.
Ladislas Pham and Frédéric Fameni established Waribei in 2023 as a way to formalise access to working capital financing for the purchase of commodities by tying banks, wholesalers, and retailers together.
The platform claims it oversees terms of payment for traditional distribution channels, with bank liquidity providing support for distributors.
Newsng gathered that Mstudio and Saviu Ventures contributed €500,000 ($546,890) and €250,000 ($273,358) to the funding, respectively.
Pham emphasised the company’s early strategy of working closely with retailers and wholesalers, digging into marketplaces to obtain a thorough understanding of their daily issues.
This sympathetic approach enables Waribei to develop solutions that truly resonate with and satisfy the core demands of these stakeholders.
“By bridging the financing gap, we aim to transform the way informal commerce operates in the region and unlock new growth opportunities for retailers and wholesalers.” the fintech revealed.
Mstudio reaffirmed Waribei’s commitment to overcoming the financing accessibility challenges faced by traders in this sector, with a focus on female entrepreneurs who face daily struggles to maintain a consistent inventory due to limited access to traditional financing mechanisms.
“At Waribei, we want to ensure that merchants can grow their businesses without worrying about maintaining stock levels or struggling to get loans, ” Pham explained.
He added that the funding would help fintech expand its interface with financial institutions, allowing it to offer personalised services to local entrepreneurs’ specific needs.
We earlier reported that Rise, a fintech company based in Nigeria that provides its clients with access to specific international assets, has completed the acquisition of Hisa, a startup in Kenya.
