Headquartered in Lagos, the company works with banks, fintechs and other lenders to acquire and manage non-performing retail and SME loans. 

The latest round drew support from several African private equity and venture capital firms, including AfricInvest through its Financial Inclusion Vehicle fund, as well as Algebra Ventures, which made its first investment in a Nigeria-headquartered business through the deal.

Existing investors, including Capria Ventures, VestedWorld, Axian CVC, Angaza Capital, 4Di Capital and DotExe Ventures, also returned for the round.

BFREE said the new investment will help it pursue larger acquisitions of bad debt portfolios while strengthening long-term agreements with financial institutions that regularly offload non-performing accounts.

Having raised $3 million in funding in 2024, the company started as a technology-driven debt collection business before shifting into direct acquisitions of distressed unsecured loans, ranging from nano credit to SME facilities. 

Since launch, BFREE has completed more than 35 transactions and now manages over 11 million borrower accounts across several African countries.

Chief Executive Officer Julian Flosbach said the company now plans to operate at a larger scale.

“The market opportunity is significantly larger than the infrastructure historically available to address it. This round puts us in a position to pursue substantially larger portfolio acquisitions, engage a broader range of institutional partners, and do so with the speed and certainty of execution that serious counterparties demand,” he said.

Rather than handling one-off recoveries, BFREE works through forward flow arrangements. Under those deals, lenders agree to sell newly non-performing loans to the company on a recurring basis.

BFREE said its collection model avoids intimidation and public shaming, practices that have long attracted objection in parts of Africa’s digital lending sector. Instead, it focuses on repayment structures that borrowers can realistically manage.

Patrick Herrmann, partner at AfricInvest, said the company is filling an important gap in Africa’s fast-growing digital credit market.

“BFREE’s approach to credit management, based on a unique set of proprietary data and a technology-enabled collection platform, closes an essential gap in the digital lending value chain. 

“High-velocity digital lending has become a core product across markets, with financial institutions, banks and fintechs alike requiring effective ways to manage small-ticket non-performing loans. 

“BFREE’s execution-driven team has brought the platform to an inflexion point, which will enable them to purchase larger portfolios and become a prime partner for banks and fintechs across African markets,” he said.

For Omar Khashaba, general partner at Algebra Ventures, the investment shows encouraging interest in Africa’s distressed debt market, where lenders still struggle to resolve billions of dollars in unpaid retail and SME loans every year.

“Billions of dollars in African retail and SME credit go unresolved every year because the institutional infrastructure to clear them simply does not exist. Healthy credit markets need a disciplined buyer for distressed debt. 

“The founders Julian, Moses and Chukwudi have built a platform that combines rigorous portfolio pricing, risk management, and deep data infrastructure to clear distressed retail and SME debt at scale. We are backing BFREE together with AfricInvest to scale them across Africa and beyond,” he said.

BFREE did not disclose the size of the investment round. However, the company said the capital will support expansion in both existing and new African markets where demand for distressed debt solutions continues to grow.

The startup has secured a $6 million seed investment, backed by Algebra Ventures and Quona Capital, to build a solid infrastructure that bridges the gap between banks, fintechs, and merchants.

Enza is a payment processor that presents itself as the missing link in Africa’s financial sector. While established giants like Flutterwave and Moniepoint have focused on merchant acquiring, Enza is targeting both sides of the transaction—helping banks issue payments while also enabling merchants to accept them seamlessly. The startup’s first markets are Egypt, Nigeria, and South Africa, three of Africa’s biggest financial hubs.

The company’s strategy includes making transactions more accessible and helping banks and fintechs build lasting relationships with small businesses. Once those businesses are plugged into the system, banks can offer additional services—loans, savings, insurance, and more.

“Payments are the gateway,” says Andrew Key, an executive director at Enza. “But the value is in the data and the services you can layer on top.”

This approach comes at a time when African banks are realising they have surrendered too much ground to fintechs. For years, startups have taken the lead in serving small and medium-sized businesses, leaving traditional banks struggling to catch up. Now, Enza wants to provide banks with the technology they need to reclaim their competitive edge.

“Banks have realised they gave up too much ground to fintechs,” Houston said. “We want to give them the tech to compete and win it back.”

One of Enza’s key advantages is its deep integration with both local and global payment networks. The company’s system connects with regional card schemes like Nigeria’s Verve, Egypt’s Meeza, and Africa-wide AfriGo, alongside international giants Visa and Mastercard. It also links to real-time payment networks such as NIBSS (Nigeria), PayShap (South Africa), and InstaPay (Egypt), as well as mobile money platforms, QR codes, and buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) services.

Transparency is another huge focus. Many banks find it hard to monitor what their payment aggregator partners or downstream merchants are doing. Enza claims its platform will give banks better oversight of their payment ecosystems, ensuring compliance while allowing them to scale.

Despite launching operations just last year, Enza has already secured over 10 million monthly transactions across six African markets: Rwanda, Nigeria, Ghana, Egypt, Uganda, and South Africa. The company’s transaction volume is growing at an impressive 35% to 40% per month, with expectations to double within two years.

Enza’s founders aren’t newcomers to the industry. Fekry previously served as chief commercial officer at Emerging Markets Payments (EMP), which was acquired by Network International, where he later became managing director. Between them, the Enza leadership team has worked with nearly 200 banks, but this time, they’re focusing on quality over quantity.

“We’re not trying to replicate that scale,” Houston explained. “We’re targeting 30 to 40 high-quality bank relationships.”

The startup was self-funded in its early days before turning to external investors. Rather than chasing widespread interest, the founders opted for a more strategic funding approach, bringing Algebra Ventures and Quona Capital on board.

“The Enza leadership team has an impressive track record of starting, growing, and exiting fintech businesses across the continent,” said Tarek Assaad, managing partner at Algebra Ventures.

The funding round was led by Algebra Ventures, with participation from existing investors like Silicon Badia and SANAD Fund for MSME. Camel Ventures and GlobalCorp contributed to the debt portion. 

With the capital, Cartona seeks to bolster its market presence in Egypt’s FMCG and HORECA sectors, while also exploring possible expansion into Saudi Arabia.

Cartona’s platform bridges retailers with FMCG suppliers and wholesalers, providing a streamlined, digital marketplace. In leveraging an asset-light model, Cartona enhances traditional supply chains rather than disrupting them. 

The platform enables retailers to browse and purchase products efficiently, offering real-time insights and inventory management. Cartona’s digital approach addresses inefficiencies in the conventional marketplace, supporting over 180,000 retailers across 17 cities that now handle over 40,000 SKUs.

Partnerships are key in Cartona’s strategy. Collaborations with major FMCG companies and local suppliers enable Cartona to provide a one-stop shop for retailers. 

This approach improves sales efficiency and also enhances market intelligence through real-time data insights. Notable partnerships include collaborations with Unilever and Talabat, the latter focusing on simplifying restaurant supply procurement.

Cartona’s focus on financial inclusion is seen through its adoption of BNPL (buy now, pay later) financing and embedded finance solutions. These initiatives help retailers manage working capital and inventory financing more effectively. 

Currently, over 90% of Cartona’s credit orders are financed through local currency facilities, showing a shift from equity-based financing.

Despite a competitive industry, Egypt’s retail market remains largely untapped, with B2B e-commerce platforms covering just a fraction of it. 

Cartona’s CEO, Mahmoud Talaat, points to the wide potential for growth, as the offline market still dominates transactions. The company’s success lies in its ability to support local partners, enhancing operational capabilities with technology while maintaining an established strength in supply chain management.

Cartona’s is leveraging its technology-driven model to penetrate deeper into existing markets and explore new opportunities. 

The Egyptian retail sector, valued at $120 billion, offers room for growth, and Cartona is well-positioned to capture a huge share in driving the digital modification of traditional trade practices.

The funding round was co-led by Egypt-based venture capital firms DisrupTech Ventures, Algebra Ventures, and Lorax Capital Partners, with participation from One Stop Capital and MDP.

Connect Money, launched earlier this year, aims to capitalize on the growing popularity of Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) platforms by enabling trade companies to issue white-label debit and credit cards. 

These cards provide customers with access to various financial services, including payments and credit, without the need for businesses to develop their own technology infrastructure or navigate complex regulatory approvals.

Co-founded by Ayman Essawy (CEO), Wadi Jalil (CTO), and Abdelaziz Sarhan (COO), Connect Money seeks to help businesses effectively bank their customers. “We have seen this in Amazon with payment services and in many other digital platforms. We believe that even traditional businesses are capable of banking their customers and increasing consumer stickiness, to eventually become real banks,” said Essawy. 

The platform offers a one-stop solution for both traditional and digital businesses, allowing them to avoid substantial capital expenditures. Instead, businesses pay a subscription fee per card per month, while Connect Money manages the backend operations. 

The company’s services include card issuance, Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures, customer support, and mobile banking app development.

Essawy, who previously co-founded the consumer app LuckyOne and was involved in launching the loyalty platform DSquares, highlighted several use cases for Connect Money’s platform.

In the agricultural sector, for example, supply chain companies can use white-label cards to become banks for farmers, facilitating embedded finance solutions that connect businesses to cash users.

The BaaS market is projected to grow greatly, with a recent Allied Market Research report estimating its value to reach $22.6 billion by 2032, driven by a 19.3% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). 

Connect Money’s entry into this space aligns with global trends where businesses increasingly adopt BaaS platforms to enhance their financial service offerings, grow revenues, and improve customer experience and retention.

Connect Money joins a nascent but growing list of African fintechs in the BaaS sector, including Nigeria’s Anchor, Maplerad, and Bloc. These platforms are making financial services more accessible by enabling businesses to provide tailored financial solutions to their customers.

With the investment, YoLa Fresh aims to enhance the efficiency and sustainability of agricultural operations by leveraging advanced technology.

Leading the funding round was Al Mada Ventures, supported by other investors including Algebra Ventures, E3 Capital, Janngo Capital, and the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank (FMO). These investors recognize the huge prospects of YoLa Fresh to address growing challenges in the agricultural sector.

Co-founded by Larbi Alaoui Belghiti and Youssef Mamou, YoLa Fresh directly connects smallholder farmers with traditional retailers of fruits and vegetables. Through the elimination of intermediaries, the platform enables retailers to purchase produce at lower costs while ensuring farmers receive higher profits quickly. 

This direct connection also helps synchronize supply and demand, reducing food waste and improving overall efficiency.

YoLa Fresh’s platform employs data analytics, machine learning, and AI to create predictive algorithms for demand and supply, pricing dynamics, and other variables in the highly perishable produce supply chain. The technology simplifies the supply chain and also offers visibility into harvests and access to financing for farmers.

Larbi Alaoui Belghiti, with a background in leading tech ventures such as Jumia Express Logistics and Avito.ma, brings a wealth of experience to YoLa Fresh. Youssef Mamou, former CEO of Careem North Africa and managing partner at 212 Founders, complements this with his expertise in tech-driven business solutions.

Within its first year, YoLa Fresh has established partnerships with over 1,000 retailers in Morocco and achieved a monthly gross merchandise volume (GMV) of up to $1 million. The company’s rapid growth and the proven effectiveness of its solutions have drawn investor interest.

The investment will be used to expand YoLa Fresh’s operations within Morocco and into other African markets. The company focuses on ensuring high-quality produce, reducing wastage, and providing financing opportunities for farmers. 

Its cash offering on delivery and working closely with farmers enables YoLa Fresh to capture more market share and improve unit economics.

YoLa Fresh also plans to leverage this funding to enhance its technology, expand its customer base, and prepare for broader market penetration. The startup projects an annualized top line of $40 million to $50 million by 2026, with plans to expand into sub-Saharan Africa, where competition includes companies like Vendease and Complete Farmer.

Omar Laalej, managing director at Al Mada Ventures, is confident in YoLa Fresh’s ability to deliver huge benefits to its customers in Morocco and across Africa. 

Tarek Assaad, managing partner at Algebra Ventures, noted the positive impact of tech solutions in the agricultural sector and YoLa Fresh’s unique position to lead this change.

The funding was led by Algebra Ventures, an Egypt-focused venture capital firm, with participation from Dutch Founders Fund (DFF), Aditum Ventures, LoftyInc Capital, and various local and global angel investors.

Founded by Mohamed Maged in April 2022, Mtor aims to streamline the auto parts supply chain, addressing inefficiencies and fragmentation. Maged, drawing inspiration from his experience in the German automotive sector, identified a gap in the Egyptian market regarding distribution, information, and technical knowledge of spare parts.

Initially focusing on supplying spare parts to local workshops and managing logistics, Mtor has expanded its operations over time. The company formed strategic partnerships with importers, and now facilitates the distribution of auto parts in a market with thousands of local service providers and an extensive fleet of 8 million vehicles.

The Egyptian automotive after-sales market, valued at over $5 billion, presents a vast opportunity for Mtor. With an aging vehicle fleet, car owners spend an average of $600 annually, highlighting the considerable potential within the market. Mtor aims to address pain points for local workshops, such as fitment data inaccuracies, logistics challenges, parts availability, and price transparency.

One of Mtor’s key differentiators is its role as an intermediary, connecting local workshops directly with importers through its tech platform. By doing so, Mtor seeks to bridge the gap between official dealerships, where prices are higher, and local workshops that offer more affordable options, albeit with potential compromises in quality.

The startup operates on a margin model tied primarily to the parts themselves, ensuring standardized pricing and providing free delivery. In the past 18 months, Mtor has successfully served over 2,500 workshops, fulfilling more than 70,000 orders. The business has established partnerships with over 60 importers.

Mtor’s Mechanic app enhances efficiency and collaboration within the automotive aftermarket. The app facilitates ordering, provides insights into compatible aftersales parts, and manages the redirection of parts between Mtor’s inventory and importers, creating a robust feedback loop.

Unlike some platforms in the market, Mtor focuses on B2B customers, specifically targeting mechanics rather than connecting car owners with service providers. Maged notes that while other B2C players in the market complement Mtor’s model, the startup doesn’t see them as direct competitors.

Mtor plans to utilize the newly acquired funding to strengthen partnerships with major importers and parts suppliers. The startup’s unique visual and voice interface, coupled with a sophisticated fitment and parts matching engine, has garnered support and enthusiasm from investors.

Karim Hussein, Managing Partner at Algebra Ventures, expressed excitement about supporting Mtor’s expansion in Egypt and beyond, recognizing the innovative solutions it brings to mechanics, auto parts suppliers, and vehicle owners.