To digitize offline commerce in emerging markets, SA’s Flood raised $2.5 M

Flood, a “SuperApp-as-a-Service” platform based in South Africa, has raised US$2.5 million in seed money to grow.

Flood, a mobile-first digital commerce platform created by serial entrepreneur André de Wet, is intended to support click-to-mortar retail in developing nations. Telcos, banks, businesses, and SMEs can create and expand marketplace models spanning goods, services, payments, and logistics with Flood’s zero-code, SaaS-based, and API-driven infrastructure.

With features like merchant onboarding, loyalty programs, in-store pickup, discovery, and real-time analytics, the platform connects online and offline commerce. Flood is scheduled to formally launch in a number of markets later this year after quickly gaining traction in markets like South Africa, India, and the Maldives.

The platform, which was created especially for emerging markets, has experienced a notable increase in users, with up to 28% of the population using it every day. In one of its previous engagements, the platform also onboarded 8,000 merchants in just three months. After raising US$1 million in July 2024, it has now raised US$2.5 million in seed funding, which will be used to support the quick onboarding of thousands of offline merchants, expand partnerships with telcos, and speed up market entry.

“Ninety-five per cent of retail in emerging markets is still offline,” de Wet said. “Flood bridges that gap by embedding localised commerce, loyalty and payments directly into the apps people already use, such as telco and banking platforms.”