To expand real-time fraud intelligence, SA’s Orca Fraud raises $2.35 M Seed funding

In an oversubscribed seed round, South African startup Orca Fraud, a real-time fraud intelligence platform, raised US $2.35 million to expand its fraud intelligence and transaction monitoring capabilities throughout Africa and other emerging markets.

Orca, which was founded in January 2024 by Thalia Pillay and Carla Wilby, gives compliance officers and fraud analysts at banks and fintechs the resources they need to successfully fight different kinds of fraud.

Financial institutions can make quick, context-aware fraud decisions without impeding legitimate transactions thanks to the company’s direct integration of adaptive intelligence into live payment flows. Orca currently works with major African banks, telecom companies, and payment providers to monitor over US$5 billion in monthly transaction volume across more than 70 countries.

After raising a US$2.35 million seed round of funding and securing a US$550,000 pre-seed in May 2024, it is now prepared for additional growth. OneDayYes, Enza Capital, and CV VC Africa participated in the round, which was led by Norrsken22.

The emphasis is increasing on enterprise-grade infrastructure that can handle high-volume, low-latency environments as digital payments pick up speed and Orca moves into its next stage of expansion. It intends to grow into additional developing markets.

“Payments are moving faster, and fraud tactics are becoming more sophisticated,” said Thalia Pillay, co-founder and CEO of Orca Fraud. “Our mission is to fight fraud with solutions built for each market, not assumptions borrowed from elsewhere. Fraud is contextual. Risk is situational. Financial systems can only scale when safety evolves alongside growth.”

The combination of technical mastery and mission-driven clarity that Pillay and Wilby have created in Orca Fraud is uncommon, according to Sir John Lazar, general partner at Enza Capital.

“Combatting fraud in Africa is no longer just a backend requirement; it is fundamental in an increasingly connected world. By reimagining anti-fraud solutions from the ground up, for a mobile first market, this team is solving one of the most meaningful problems of our continent,” he said.