Google’s Black Founders Fund Invests in Three Greenhouse Capital Portfolio Companies
Lagos, Nigeria- October 8th, 2021: GreenHouse Capital (GHC) is proud to announce that three of its portfolio companies, Pezesha, MarketForce, and CredPal, were among the startups selected for funding from Google for Startups’ Black Founders Fund in Africa.
The Black Founders Fund was developed to bridge the fundraising gap for startup founders in Africa’s fast-growing technology landscape and provide non-dilutive investments. This is a laudable milestone for the African tech ecosystem and a testament to the regional venture capital players incubating and accelerating some of Africa’s best fintech and tech startups.
The companies will be receiving up to $100,000 in funds, mentorship from Google experts, and Google platform credits as part of the investment. Each company is in a unique stage of growth, yet they all share the potential for solving problems facing Africans every day:
Pezesha: Pezesha is a Kenyan startup solving Africa’s $82 billion working capital and trade finance access problems by enabling non-traditional finance institutions to offer working capital to SMEs using Pezesha’s lending infrastructure. GHC led Pezesha’s recently completed seven-figure growth funding round and provides on-lending liquidity support through GHC sister company Venture Garden Group.
CredPal: Credpal is an innovative fintech company enabling businesses and individuals to buy anything and pay for it in instalments across online and offline merchants by providing them with instant access to credit at the point of checkout. GHC participated in CredPal’s 2020 round, which saw $1.5 million raised from investors, including YCombinator, of which CredPal is an alumnus.
MarketForce: MarketForce empowers consumer brands to manage their field sales activities and grow their distribution channels in Africa and other emerging markets. The company is a YCombinator alumnus working with 20,000+ retailers, and has processed over $500 million through their platform. GHC invested in MarketForce’s $2.5 million seed round alongside leading investors like Future Africa and Launch Africa.
Bunmi Akinyemiju, Founding Partner of GHC, commented, “the world is coming to Africa, and we are proud that three of our portfolio companies have been recognized by Google, an incredible force in the tech world as high-potential startups. The passion, quality, and dedication of these three companies represent the types of founders GHC invests in, and more broadly, the types of companies making Africa a leading tech market. It is also remarkable to see that one of our female-led portfolio companies was among the three selected. The selected portfolio companies is a validation of our tech diversity and inclusion ethos at GHC.”
Ruby Nimkar, Principal at GreenHouse Capital, added, “we are thrilled, but not surprised, that three of our portfolio companies rose to the top of the crowded African tech startup space to be targeted for investment by Google. At GHC, we believe in founders-backing-founders, so we are delighted that Google has mirrored this theory to support Black founders on the African continent. We look forward to seeing these companies expand with this new support from Google.”
About GreenHouse Capital
Founded in 2014, GreenHouse Capital (GHC) is a leading African fintech investment fund and platform focused on supporting early-stage companies and world-class emerging market entrepreneurs building the next wave of innovative technology companies. GHC is Africa’s largest fintech fund by portfolio size and has invested in leading companies like Flutterwave, Max, and Wallets. GHC believes in “founders backing founders” and is home to Africa’s leading accelerator programs for women-led and fintech startups. GHC is using its experience, know-how, and track record to expand into emerging markets including the Middle East where it will continue its approach of putting the entrepreneur first and empowering innovation while delivering returns.
info@greenhouse.capital
