To digitise business payments in West Africa, Ivorian fintech Julaya raised $2 M
Established in 2018 by Mathias Léopoldie and Charles Talbot, Julaya has a client basis that comprises brands, such as the Jumia e-commerce firm, from SMBs to major corporations and governmental organisations.
A US$2 million pre-Series A round was raised by the business, which earlier raised US$250.000 in 2018 and US$550.000 in 2019/2020, to help its next growth phase. Investors include Orange Ventures, MFS Africa Frontiers, VC Saviu Ventures, launch Africa Ventures and 50 Capital Partners, and European and African business angels.
Julaya is to utilize the money to further penetrate the Ivory Coast, expand West Africa, beginning with Senegal, and create new products. Lastly, new digital wallets will be integrated with their distribution and upselling services with improved user experience such as their integration with ERP customers.
“Having worked in the nascent mobile money industry, we realised that the large consumer penetration of telecom operators would benefit businesses that wanted to reach the unbanked and make fast payments. Our platform Julaya enables companies to streamline their accounting. They improve their operational efficiency by digitising their payments to workers and suppliers,” Léopoldie said.
The reason behind this strategic investment for Orange Ventures was highlighted by Habib Bamba, director of digital and media transformation at Orange Ivory Coast.
“Fintech’s environment in Africa is distinguished by its competitiveness and strong dynamism. Orange Group, through its technology investment fund, intends to participate in this boom by supporting fintech such as Julaya. The goal is to target local technology champions at the service of the transition to a more digital and responsible world. This funding will allow Julaya to grow and conquer West Africa with the Orange Digital Centre team’s support,” he said.
