Founders of a Kenyan-based start-up, Pariti, will be smiling all the way to the bank after securing Ksh320 million funding (US$2.85 million).
The funding round was led by Harlem Capital, A US company with input from Better Ventures, Accelerated Ventures, Diverse Angels, AVG Basecamp and New General Market Partners.
The company, which was founded in 2019, seeks to connect African start-ups with resources such as talents and capital to prosper.
According to Tech Crunch, a tech publication, Pariti has over 880 companies on its platforms that are spread out in over 42 countries.
Five companies have, so far, transitioned to Y-incubator after a stint on Pariti and include the Kenyan Neobank Fingo, a youth centred bank founded by Kiiru Muhoya, Ian Njuguna, Gitari Kirima and James da Costa.
A Y-incubator is a start-up funding system that provides two three-month funding systems where the benefitting start-ups move to the Bay Area for the duration of their cycle.
One of the two co-founders of Pariti revealed that since its inception, it has realised a growth rate of 795 per cent.
“We’re thrilled to be working with Harlem Capital. Their focus on data, process and supporting underserved ecosystems aligns perfectly with our mission and makes them an amazing partner for us to build with.
“The pandemic was a black swan event because we saw a major jump in activity on our platform. Remote staffing and remote investing accelerated tremendously. This was a bet we made a while back but obviously could not anticipate what was coming,” stated CEO Yacob Berhane.
On his profile on the Pariti site, Berhane, who had successfully raised tens of millions for start-ups before co-founding the company, noted that he was driven by providing value by working with founders and investors on problems that seemed to stem from a lack of access to talent and capital.
His co-founder, Wossen Ayele, on the other hand, saw tech and tech-enabled businesses as one of the unique levers the continent has to drive rapid, material economic improvement in Africa.
Several tech players are now making inroads into Africa as it is poised to be on the brink of a silicon revolution.
