The round was led by Mercy Corps Ventures and Chui Ventures, with participation from investors such as Digital Currency Group, SOSV, Resilience17, growX ventures, Orbit Startups, Reflect Ventures, and angel investors/advisors from global tech giants like Google, Salesforce, and Zendesk.

Founded in 2022 by Kenfield Griffith (CEO) and Louis Majanja, tappi addresses the challenges faced by SMEs, which contribute significantly to Africa’s GDP and employment. The platform focuses on digitizing these businesses by streamlining the creation and management of online profiles, providing a hassle-free way for SMEs to showcase products, interact with customers, and facilitate payments.

The funds secured in this round will be used for tappi’s expansion, concentrating on talent acquisition, brand building, and solidifying its presence in current markets. SMEs often struggle with the digital transition, and tappi aims to bridge this gap by offering an intuitive platform that allows businesses to establish an online presence within minutes.

One of tappi’s standout features is its ability to generate SEO-optimized websites within two minutes, significantly enhancing the visibility of small businesses. The platform has successfully indexed thousands of business pages on Google, amplifying the online presence of these enterprises.

To tackle payment hurdles faced by SMEs, tappi has partnered with mobile network operators, currently working with MTN, to facilitate ad purchases using airtime. This addresses a common challenge where businesses encounter obstacles in paying for ads with traditional credit cards.

Kenfield Griffith emphasized tappi’s commitment to helping businesses achieve visibility, stating, “Our goal is to help businesses achieve visibility.” He added that tappi’s AI feature aids businesses in crafting effective ad copies, an important aspect often overlooked by resource-constrained SMEs.

While not yet profitable, tappi is on a trajectory toward profitability, buoyed by a growing subscriber base with plans ranging from $2 to $100. Griffith highlighted the startup’s substantial growth in business ads and data bundle subscriptions, with a notable surge in subscribers within the $2–$19 range.

Expressing gratitude for the support from investors, Griffith noted tappi’s mission to tap into the untapped potential within Africa’s informal SME markets. The startup aims to empower businesses in overlooked service industries such as food services, fashion, agriculture, health, and beauty, providing them with a trusted online identity to connect with customers.

These strategic investments mark a milestone for the Fund as it expands its total to five funds, solidifying its commitment to fostering impactful investments for sustainable economic growth across Africa.  

“We are excited to welcome Chui Ventures, Vested World, and SME Impact Fund to our expanding family of investment vehicles,” says Samuel Akyianu, Managing Director of the  Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund. “These strategic partnerships represent our ongoing commitment to fostering sustainable development in Africa through impactful investments. Stay tuned for more developments in the very near future.”

In the past twelve months, the Fund has also invested $2.2 million in Aruwa Capital Management of Nigeria, and another $5 million in Inua Capital – a Ugandan first-time fund manager aiming to provide catalytic risk capital to more than 30 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The investment plan with Inua is to develop Uganda’s market leaders. Inua Capital prioritizes gender inclusivity, creating jobs with respectable wages, and building a sustainable investment ecosystem.

African-owned and domiciled funds are perceived as risky, limiting both their ability to secure financing to scale and their potential to drive growth and employment. African IVs therefore need to be catalytic to address economic challenges, promote entrepreneurship, and leverage sustainable growth. As a pioneer Fund of Funds, the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund’s investments in IVs lower the risk and serve as a pivotal player in driving continental economic transformation.  

“This investment validates our effort to drive African innovation and entrepreneurship, and we are eager to unlock the potential of these promising ventures,” says Joyce Ann Wainaina,  Managing Director of Chui Ventures. “It will be a game-changer for exceptional African startups, enabling Chui to supply what they need to flourish. Our experience in global corporate  banking, private equity, and wealth management makes us well-equipped to guide these  startups through early growth stages.”

Chui Ventures is led by Joyce-Ann Wainaina, a first-time fund manager who is dedicated to backing gender-inclusive startups in Kenya and Nigeria; the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund is anchoring this fundraise with a $9 million commitment that will help the fund reach its $20 million target.

“We are excited to partner with the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund. The deal will strengthen high-potential African start-ups and provide them with what they need to succeed,” says Nneka Eze, General Partner and Managing Partner of VestedWorld. “Together, we aim to  drive economic transformation and unlock the immense entrepreneurial talent across the  continent.”

Focused on burgeoning industries, VestedWorld is a Venture Capital Fund that targets investments in Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria. The fund has received a commitment of $10 million from the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund that will be deployed in early-stage, high-potential companies. The Fund will be providing the first institutional investment to this fund. VestedWorld aims to create meaningful jobs, ensure fair wages, and stimulate broad-based economic progress across communities and regions.

Based in Arusha, Tanzania, the SME Impact Fund will receive a commitment of $8 million. Its philosophy is that addressing the financing challenges of smallholder farmers and SME food processors unlocks smallholder farmers’ commercial agricultural potential.

“Smallholder farmers are the backbone of African agriculture, and their potential remains largely untapped due to financial constraints,” says Allert Mentink, Chief Executive Officer of SME Impact Fund. 

“Our partnership with the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund is a significant step towards addressing them. By funding agribusiness SMEs, we’re helping the agricultural sector and empowering the farmers themselves. This collaboration proves our commitment to transforming the lives of smallholder farmers and driving sustainable agricultural growth across the continent.

“The Africa Growth Fund is an initiative of the Mastercard Foundation, managed and implemented by Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) along with a strategic consortium of partners. This consortium is composed of key entities, each playing a unique and crucial role in the success of the Fund. Our partners include Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P) as the Fund Advisor, ESPartners (ESP) as the Business Development Services (BDS) provider,  Criterion Institute as the Gender Equity Diversity and Inclusion Partner, Genesis Analysis as a  Measurement, Evaluation, Reporting and Learning Partner, and Africa Communications Group as a Communications and Public Engagement Partner.”

Building on its successes with Aruwa Capital Management and Inua Capital, the Fund anticipates further expansion of its reach and impact with the addition of Chui Ventures, VestedWorld, and SME Impact Fund; ultimately demonstrating investment as a catalyst for change and solidifying the Fund’s commitment to sustainable development of the continent.

The funding round was led by Chui Ventures, with participation from Launch Africa, Roselake Ventures, and Logos Ventures. 

Notable angel investors, including Kendall Tang (CEO of RT Knits), Ben Munoz (co-founder and CEO of Nadine West), Sumit Bhasin (Estee Lauder Inc), Patricia Ithau (CEO of WPP Scangroup), and Peter Njonjo (co-founder and CEO of Twiga Foods), also joined the round.

With this fresh capital injection, ShopZetu is poised to scale regionally and attract international fashion brands. The company aims to broaden its portfolio by adding beauty and home décor categories to meet the growing demands of young, fashion-forward women across Africa.

By diversifying its offerings, ShopZetu seeks to position itself as a leading lifestyle platform, providing a one-stop-shop experience for its customers.

To facilitate its regional expansion, ShopZetu plans to conduct trial deliveries in Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda, marking a significant step beyond its initial launch in Kenya in 2021. The startup also has ambitious goals to expand its vendor base, aiming to triple the number of vendors on its platform to reach 1,000.

ShopZetu was founded by Marvin Kiragu, CEO of the company, and Wandia Gichuru, Co-founder of the popular Kenyan fashion brand Vivo. Recognizing the challenges posed by a highly fragmented fashion industry with numerous offline and online sellers, Kiragu aims to streamline the shopping process, improve price visibility, and foster customer trust.

Through aggregation of the vast supply of fashion and lifestyle products under one virtual roof, ShopZetu aims to simplify and enhance the online shopping experience for consumers.

At present, ShopZetu boasts over 300 vendors, encompassing both large and small local manufacturers, as well as traders specializing in imported fashion goods. The platform already features an extensive range of more than 20,000 products, and vendor onboarding is free. 

However, vendors are required to pay a commission for sales generated through the platform, as well as fees for additional services such as delivery.

ShopZetu further supports vendors by providing various services, including content creation, digital marketing, warehousing, last-mile delivery, and returns management, at subsidized costs to ensure their success online.

Over the past two years, ShopZetu has served more than 30,000 customers and facilitated the sale of over 100,000 products. 

Since January 2021, the company has witnessed a remarkable 400% increase in monthly orders. As the sub-Saharan African fashion industry is predominantly dominated by second-hand clothing, ShopZetu aims to tap into the growing demand for affordable new clothing options. 

With an increasing population of fashion-conscious and tech-savvy individuals, the startup believes that online fashion retail will surpass traditional retail to become the largest e-commerce category in Africa. ShopZetu’s mission is to cater to this evolving market and become a key player in shaping the region’s fashion landscape.

Investors who participated in the round were 4Di Capital, Chandaria Capital, Chui Ventures, PANI, Samurai Incubate, and Verdant Frontiers Fintech. It also includes Cellulant co-founder Ken Njoroge, and Google executive Charles Murito.

The operating system for supply chain and logistics present in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe, leverages artificial intelligence to help businesses reduce the cost of moving goods and improving service delivery.

Focused on sectors such as FMCG, food & beverage, agriculture, apparel, pharmaceutical and NGOs, Leta operates in five countries and affirms to have optimised over 500,000 deliveries, with more than 22,000 tonnes delivered and managed 2,000+ vehicles.

Leta was founded by Nick Joshi and is backed by Verdant Frontiers, Chandaria Capital, Chui Ventures and others.

The company seeks to launch a transport marketplace where clients can request additional delivery vehicles due to insufficient fleets. It also tracks things like utilisation and matches distributors with the best of the available suppliers, rather than renting a truck to a customer for one service, hence, leveraging load utilization ability.

Leta further plans partnership with financial providers to offer asset-financing to help clients expand their fleets.