In September, we reported that Nairobi-based technology firm Africa’s Talking had received KES 612 million from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to heighten the start-up’s service offerings to a wider customer base, especially in continental Africa.
Turns out the funding venture was not closed as the firm has announced new developments as far as its expansion plans are concerned.
Specifically, the funding from IFC (KES 612 million) has been boosted to KES 860 million (USD 8.6m). The extra $2 million was added by Orange Digital Ventures. As of now, the process has been finalized.
As a recap, Africa’s Talking is a communication-as-a-platform (cPAAS) API company. Its cloud-based software platform allows the virtualization of telco infrastructure across Africa. Also, it offers unified access to more than 20,000 developers across its markets via APIs. What’s more, it is supporting more than 1000 digital companies that specialize in the creation of different, real-world applications.
“Africa’s Talking’s platform democratizes access to critical digital infrastructure that African start-ups and businesses need to scale,” said Oumar Seydi, IFC Director for sub Saharan Africa.
Nikunj Jinsi, IFC Global Head for Venture Capital, said: “IFC’s investment will help Africa’s Talking expand its integrated solution to new markets across Africa, filling a crucial gap and helping fuel the digital economy across the continent.”
“Africa’s Talking enables developers in Africa transform their community through technology and leveraging on IFC’s breadth of experience in Africa, we will work together to catalyze our expansion and build innovative products. Together, we believe that we can build the foundation and environment that developers need to build successful African businesses,” said Samuel Gikandi, CEO and Co-Founder of Africa’s Talking.
What the investment means for the firm
Africa Talking has operations in 7 African states 7 (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Malawi and Rwanda). The funds will be used to expand to more countries.
With more than 20,000 developers under its umbrella, the firm looks forward to adding more talent to this group as it gears to building more products.
Perhaps the most interesting purpose of the investment is opening of a tech space that will be christened ‘AT Studio.’ Think of it as a space that talented developers will leverage to explore their ideas using the firm’s resources.
Lastly, the firm will be celebrating its 8th anniversary in the course of the month.
