Ivory Coast-Based Payments Fintech Secures $5M From Its Pre-Series A Funding Round – Fintech Bitcoin News
Ivorian payment technology (fintech) startup Julaya recently closed its pre-Series A round with an additional capital raising of $5 million. This brings to $7 million the total capital the fintech startup, which specializes in business-to-business payments, has raised in this series.
Senegalese footballer Édouard Mendy is participating in the series
An Ivory Coast-based payments fintech startup, Julaya, recently closed its pre-Series A funding round with an additional $5 million, a report said. With this latest capital raising, Julaya has now raised $7 million in this funding round.
The financing round was led by a European venture capital fund Speedinvest with the participation of EQ2 Ventures, Kibo Ventures plus the angel syndicates Unpopular Ventures and Jedar Capital. Existing Julaya investors who also participated in this round include Orange Ventures, Saviu and 50 Partners. Senegal and English football club Chelsea’s goalkeeper, Édouard Mendy also participated in the round.
Goes beyond normal card services
According to his comments published by Techcrunch, Julaya’s co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO), said the fintech startup’s use of standard card services for mobile money users in West Africa has made a difference. However, Léopoldie shared his thoughts on why it was important for Julaya to offer services beyond normal card services.
“Our meaning or strategy with the cards is to offer a complete range of services. Because if you only have cards, I don’t think you can build a great startup with a lot [of] grip that you want, for example in the USA. The card payment industry, apart from South Africa, maybe Nigeria and a bit in Egypt, is developing and while you might be able to grow a business on it, it’s almost impossible in our region [Francophone Africa]”, Léopoldie reportedly said during an interview with Techcrunch.
As for Mendy’s participation in Julaya’s pre-Series A round, Léopoldie said he thought it showed just how “ahead of the curve” this goalkeeper is. According to the CEO, Mendy’s being Senegalese also helps because it inspires other Africans to follow in his footsteps and become investors.
Register your email here to get a weekly update on African news delivered to your inbox:
What are your thoughts on this story? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
Image credit: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, Editorial Image Credit: Agre guy thony roger / Shutterstock.com
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or an endorsement or recommendation of products, services or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is directly or indirectly responsible for damages or losses caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on content, goods or services mentioned in this article.
