Nigerian communications startup, Termii, raises $3.65 million to fund expansion

Nigerian communications platform-as-a-service (CPaaS) startup, Termii, has raised $3.65 million to expand its product offerings.

The new raise brought the startup’s total funding to $5.05 million having first raised $1.4 million in seed funding in January 2021. Termii’s CEO, Gbolade Emmanuel said the funds are not needed for operational activities but rather to power the company’s expansion initiatives, which include developing and promoting existing and new products in new markets with a priority to Francophone African countries starting with the Ivory Coast and not North Africa as earlier planned.

The startup’s latest funding round had participation from other investors including Fintech Collective, Launch Africa Ventures, Nama Ventures, Aidi Ventures, Ralicap Ventures, Now Venture Partners, Vastly Valuable Ventures, NOA Capital, Assembly Investors, Probability Ventures, Adamantium Fund, MyAsia VC, Uncovered Fund, and Afropreneur Angel Group. Angel investors such as Aubrey Hruby of Tofino Capital and Eamon Jubbawy of Onifido also wrote their way into Termii’s cap table.

Why Temii attracted investors

While noting that not many companies in this space are raising capital, Gbolade said that one of Termii’s propositions that won investors over was Termii Go, the company’s latest product which he described as a “game-changing unified communications app”. Termii Go is a step up from Termii’s usual stealth infrastructure operations. The app aggregates Termii’s extensive network of clients across Africa into the platform, enabling swift, real-time, engagements between businesses and users.

• “So far, we have been successful in serving customers with pure messaging solutions; however, we realized that the demand for customers grew beyond messaging. Most of our financial services customers required one-time verification systems to validate user transactions and identity; hence we introduced this across SMS, calls, emails, and WhatsApp, giving them multiple options and better delivery rates,” Gbolade said.

The startup

Founded in 2017 as a messaging product that allowed businesses to communicate with their users across multiple platforms, Termii has evolved its product suite to function as a one-stop shop that powers interaction between businesses and their users. If you’ve ever waited for an OTP text message when trying to make a payment through a fintech gateway such as Paystack’s, then chances are that you have experienced Termii in operation.

Termii’s infrastructure powers the fast and secure messaging that allows users to interact with about 9,000 fintech, including Moniepoint, Chipper Cash, and Piggyvest. Gbolade believes his startup’s function in the day-to-day activities of African fintech is a prime advantage that is of interest to investors—such as Fintech Collective, the global fintech-focused VC firm that participated in the round.