American Express Ventures’ first African investment – in Klasha – a technology company transforming African commerce
Klasha, a San Francisco and Lagos-based technology company transforming cross-border African commerce, announces an additional $2.1 million fundraise - to complete its $4.5 million seed round.
The funding round included Amex Ventures - its first investment in an African-focused startup. Klasha’s funding round also included Global Ventures, a leading MEA-focused venture capital firm.
Klasha will use the proceeds to expand into five more African countries in 2022 and re-launch its consumer app - renamed KlashaCart - to allow African consumers to shop from eligible international merchants online.
Klasha’s core checkout technology benefits consumers and merchants. It allows African consumers to pay international online merchants in African currencies and money methods at checkout and then have their goods shipped to the continent. Merchants receive payouts in G20 currencies and are empowered to expand into Africa by equipping them with the requisite payment tools.
The latest funding reinforces Klasha’s commitment to improving commerce for Africans and simplifying cross-border payments so that businesses can expand into a market full of energized consumers.
Launched in May 2021 by a team with combined experience at Amazon, PayPal, Mastercard, Shopify and Net-a-Porter, Klasha’s growth has been rapid. In less than a year, the Company has signed up over 1,700 merchants, processed over 210,000 transactions and is experiencing 15% MoM merchant growth. Klasha’s continued success reflects the substantial market opportunity and readiness of Africans to enjoy the same seamless cross-border transactions experienced internationally, as their economies rapidly develop.
Africa is a vast opportunity for scaling quickly in commerce. It has over 400 million internet users, and the total value of e-commerce is expected to reach $29 billion this year. However, the ability to pay online with African currencies and money methods, including cards, M-Pesa, bank transfers, and mobile money, is challenging for African consumers. Klasha believes they should have technology to facilitate the same frictionless access to goods regardless of geographic location.
Investors that participated in the round include: Amex Ventures, Global Ventures, Greycroft, Seedcamp, Plug and Play, Berrywood Capital and Breega.
Jess Anuna, Founder and CEO of Klasha, said:
“Given the fragmented cross-border commerce infrastructure on the continent, it is imperative for customers in Africa to access the global e-commerce economy seamlessly and without friction. Our latest funding will allow more businesses to seamlessly tap into the African market through our API, while simultaneously giving African consumers the same access to the global e-commerce economy as experienced internationally.
“We are delighted to have Amex Ventures’ investment and be backed by Global Ventures – one of the leading venture capital firms in the MEA region. It is another significant milestone for Klasha, following the first tranche of our seed round. We are excited by the huge market opportunity in Africa and what lies ahead.”
Matt Sueoka, Global Head of Amex Ventures, said:
“We look forward to seeing the company’s innovative solutions help open up commerce for African consumers and facilitate cross-border payments. Klasha has the potential to drive spending by making payments simpler in emerging markets and allows merchants to scale within the continent and abroad.”
Sacha Haider, Partner at Global Ventures, said:
“African consumers want the same thing as consumers everywhere else – access to quality products, at a good price, through a seamless shopping experience. Despite impressive growth, e-commerce only makes up 2-5% of total retail on the continent, highlighting the significant opportunity to provide a better experience for the 520 million digital buyers that are anticipated in Africa by 2025.
“Klasha's end-to-end check-out solution is designed specifically for key friction points faced by the African consumer including payment methods, currency acceptance, and a fragmented logistics landscape. Jess’s global operational experience across e-commerce and logistics uniquely positions her to solve this problem, and we’re so excited to support on her journey.”
Alison Lange Engel, Partner at Greycroft, said:
“Klasha is meeting the rapidly changing need for modern payments and logistics solutions for online commerce, connecting Africa and its global partners. Greycroft is excited to support founders like Jess and her experienced team who are delivering unique, enduring value for merchants and consumers.”
Klasha has built plugin integrations for WooCommerce, OpenCart, BigCommerce, and many others to drive its cross-border commerce goals. Its integration library is rapidly growing to accommodate even more platforms, including Wix, Ecwid, Magneto, and Commerce Cloud.
Klasha has one API distributed through an ecosystem of B2B and B2C solutions that allows for seamless cross-border commerce:
KlashaCheckout, a checkout that can be integrated into any e-commerce platform, website, or app that allows international merchants to collect payments from Africa in local currencies, while the merchant receives the equivalent payout in their chosen currency.
Payment Links, an easy way for international businesses to collect payments from customers in Africa without needing a website, app, or any coding skills. With just a few clicks, businesses can create a simple custom checkout page directly from their Klasha dashboard and share it with their customers.
KlashaCart, an in-app shopping cart that allows you to shop all your online favorite stores at once. This simply means that with a funded Klasha wallet, you can visit your favorite brands in one click and with one cart. Users can also create virtual dollar cards and pay for subscriptions and services internationally.
KlashaWire makes cross-border B2B transactions seamless and secure. With this feature, small business owners can make large payments to suppliers overseas with ease in African currencies while lowering the cost of the transaction directly on the Klasha dashboard. When payments are made, the supplier generally receives it in their dominant currency in three business days.
