Black-owned San Francisco-based and Lagos-based firm Klasha has raised $2.4 million in seed funding to build technology infrastructure for cross-border commerce in Africa. Klasha helps Africans buy from merchants across the globe, make payments in their local currencies, and have the product(s) delivered to them regardless of their location, TechCabal reports.
The service is available in Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya with plans to add three new countries in the fourth quarter of this year to add to the customer base of 10,000 people.
With the new money, Klasha will “expand its technology to help international B2B and B2C businesses such as ASOS, Zara, Amazon or Zoom to receive payments seamlessly online in African currencies from consumers across Africa,” according to TechCabal.
“By 2025, half of the world’s population will live in Africa,” Klasha Founder and CEO Jessica Anuna said in the company announcement. “It is imperative that African consumers are able to remain globally competitive, which includes having access to the goods they want without payment or delivery restrictions.”
The funding round was led by Greycroft while Seedcamp, Berrywood Capital, AVG Basecamp Fund, Practical VC, Plug and Play, First Round VC, Expert Dojo, 2.12 Angels, MiLA Capital, and several angel investors.
Klasha was founded by Anuna in 2018 as an online fashion retailer. Since relaunching five months ago, Klasha has processed more than 20,000 transactions across Africa, growing at an average rate of 366% from month to month.
Recently, the company expanded to Ghana with functionalities that include instant transfers of money between the country and Nigeria. The startup also has a multi-currency wallet, which gives users the option to send and receive money in different currencies for free.
Klasha comes at a time when international online and offline businesses face the challenge of accepting online payments from Africa.
“Our solution will simplify the process, removing payment and last-mile delivery barriers, making it easier and faster for retailers to collect online payments in Ghana, manage payouts and expand seamlessly,” says Anuna, according to Daily Graphic.
