Nigerian fintech platform and Open Finance pioneers, Okra, have secured a $3.5m Seed raise. The round was led by US-based Susa Ventures, with participation from existing investors TLcom Capital, newly joined Accenture Ventures and a further three super angels. This comes just under a year from closing its $1m pre-Seed round with only TLcom Capital participating. Bringing Okra’s total funding at seed to $4.5m.
Founded in January 2020, Okra’s platform is the digital transformation tool for businesses in Africa and its API enables developers and businesses to build personalized digital services and fintech products for customers. Since launch, the fintech company has provided services to high calibre financial institutions, startups, and government agencies including Interswitch, Access Bank, uLesson, Aella App and over a 100 digital-first platforms.
On closing the funding Fara Ashiru Jituboh, Okra co-founder and CEO/CTO says, “We build the tools that businesses need to achieve full digital transformation and we are excited to be welcoming some highly strategic global investors as we scale our Open Finance-as-a-Service operations.”
David Peterside, Okra co-founder and COO says, “The companies that will dominate the business landscape over the next decade are prioritizing a digital-first experience for their customers today. We share the same vision on Open Finance in Africa and are excited to be working closely with the team at Susa. Having Accenture Ventures join us at Seed stage speaks volumes about our team’s ability to execute at a global scale.”
Leading the round, San Francisco-based Susa Ventures is known as one of the premium seed stage funds in Silicon Valley with notable early investments including Robinhood, Flexport, Andela and Fast. Susa is also known for co-investing with top tier firms like Peter Theil’s Founders Fund, Index Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, GV (Google Ventures), General Catalyst, Andreessen Horowitz, & Accel Partners.
Seth Berman, General Partner at Susa commented, “We’re thrilled to partner with Okra as they enable developers across the African continent to transform digital financial services. We’re blown away by the quality of Okra’s team, pace of development, and the excitement from the customers building on their API.”
Omobola Johnson, Senior Partner at TLcom Capital says, “We have consistently been impressed with Fara’s technical depth and expertise, which when combined with the entrepreneurial acumen she and David bring to the company. TLcom is delighted to continue partnering with Okra.”
Consumer behaviour in Africa is changing and consumers are demanding full digital experiences of all services — including financial services. Across the business landscape, the number one priority across every board room is digital transformation and Okra is the go-to platform for developers and businesses to build end-to-end personalized digital experiences for consumers in Africa.
Africa Money and DeFi Summit
The Africa Money & DeFi Summit will connect Africa fintech leaders, global platforms and thought leaders on the new opportunities in Decentralized Finance (DeFi) at the fourth Africa Tech Summit in Nairobi. An array of keynotes, panels and breakout sessions will deliver key insights and offer opportunities to connect, network and do business across the African fintech and DeFi landscapes
