Kenyan Bnpl Startup Lipa Later Eyes More African Markets After Raising $12 Million
01/13/22, 9:00 AM
Money raised
$12 million
Industry
hardware
Lipa Later, a Kenyan tech-led consumer credit platform, is planning to expand to new markets in Africa after raising $12 million in pre-Series A funding.
Company Info
Additional Info
The startup, a buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) company founded in 2018, is now planning to enter Tanzania, Ghana and Nigeria, and expand in its existing markets, which are Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. The startup is planning to forge more partnerships with merchants in its plan to cover more countries across Africa. The startup has also built a BNPL API that integrates into e-commerce platforms that enables merchants to sell products directly to consumers and makes it possible for consumers to remit monthly installments for items purchased. Lipa Later has exclusive partnerships with retailers across these markets allowing shoppers to pay for products in installments. In its bid to traverse Africa, where opportunities abound as e-commerce and alternative credit sources grow, Lipa Later will have to contend with competition from South Africa’s Payflex (which was recently acquired by Australian BNPL Zip) and PayJustNow, and Nigeria’s PayQart and Carbon Zero. Lipa Later was among five startups that received the funding. Lipa Later is among the leading players in Kenya’s BNPL market, where it competes with Aspira, Miti, Flexpay Technologies and Julla.