Kenyan Fintech Zanifu Secures $11.2 Million to Expand Inventory Financing Services

Zanifu, a Kenyan fintech startup, has successfully raised $11.2 million in a funding round focused on debt-equity financing. The funds will be used to expand its platform that offers inventory financing solutions to micro, small, and medium-sized businesses.

The funding round was led by Beyond Capital Ventures and Variant Investments, with participation from investors like Founders Factory Africa, AAIC Investment, Google Black Founders Fund, and Launch Africa, as reported by TechCrunch.

Zanifu’s Android app is designed to empower small retailers by enabling them to procure inventory from suppliers and pay for it once the goods are sold. Notably, the platform doesn’t require users to provide collateral or possess a credit history; instead, an established relationship with the supplier is sufficient.

CEO Steve Biko explained to TechCrunch that approximately 13,000 micro-firms have already utilized the platform, benefiting from interest rates ranging between five and six percent per month. Impressively, the repayment rate stands at an impressive 99.2%.

The fresh funding injection will play a pivotal role in Zanifu’s plans to extend its services to distributors and to scale its operations throughout Kenya.