Nigerian investment tech startup, GetEquity has expanded into Kenya. With this, it plans to connect more African startups with funding opportunities. Companies like this are essential to Africa’s startup growth considering the tough challenges that African tech startups face. Without them, finance will remain a serious problem for startups.
The East African growth is led by Eve Mumbi. She is of the opinion that providing knowledge-sharing opportunities was top on GetEquity’s agenda. She further stated that the company is currently making expansion plans in the market.
“Businesses do not exist in a vacuum, therefore having first-hand knowledge of market realities within the East African context is crucial for companies targeting exponential growth. As we expand our network within the region, we are investing in personnel, research, and knowledge-sharing opportunities for our founders,” she said.
“These efforts are aimed at ensuring that even as we help organizations get equity to escalate their growth, they have additional insights to make the best of it.
So far, we have on-boarded MyWagePay and Zemo Card and as we continue with our market visits within the region, we look forward to on-boarding more partners in the next few months.”
A Little Backstory
GetEquity was founded in 2020 by Jude Dike, William Okafor, and Temitope Ekundayo. The trio are blockchain engineers who met during the Mozilla Accelerator and decided to “merge forces” and build one of the most innovative products in Africa.
GetEquity is a fundraising and venture portfolio management company. It aims to reduce the startup problems for founders and their access to a wide range of funding options.
Startups can list themselves on the GetEquity platform and market to institutional investors and public users. GetEquity enables anyone to buy equity in a listed startup for as little as US$10.
The startup launched in 2021 after raising a six-figure pre-seed funding round led by GreenHouse Capital.
“We are democratizing access to the startup funding space – both for investors seeking to grow their money in companies with high growth potential and for startups seeking to raise capital to accelerate business growth. Our private marketplace is open to individual and institutional investors alike,” said Dike.
GetEquity Director of Growth/Co-Founder Temitope Ekundayo previously underscored the importance of connecting directly with founders. He says the company is committed to maintaining its hands-on startup support approach as they expand in the region.
He pointed out that most venture capital firms focus on firms at advanced growth stages. However, his team is committed to also offering budding firms the support they need to develop and scale.
“Early-stage support involves a bit of hand holding. Fortunately, we have a lot of startup superstars on our team – people who have started companies and scaled them, so they have practical insight into the real challenges founders face,” said Mr. Ekundayo.
“So, to support our partners we check in on them month. We also assist them in problem-solving using the insights they share with us.”
In Summary
GetEquity will be kicking off a series of Masterclasses and funding round-tables in the second half of 2022. It is also planning market visits across Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia, and Tanzania.
African tech startups are the next big thing for both African and international investors. They are betting on Africa to become one of the biggest global markets and with expansion strategies like this. It is only a matter o time before dreams becomes a reality.
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