Financial IT: Klasha closes a $4.5 million seed fundraise, with an additional $2 million raised

Klasha, a San Francisco and Lagos-based technology company transforming cross-border African commerce, announces an additional $2.1 million fundraising - to complete its $4.5 million seed round. 

The funding round included Amex Ventures - its first investment in an African-focused startup.  Klasha’s funding round also included Global Ventures, a leading MEA-focused venture capital firm.

Klasha will use the proceeds to expand into five more African countries in 2022 and re-launch its consumer app - renamed KlashaCart - to allow African consumers to shop from eligible international merchants online. 

Klasha’s core checkout technology benefits consumers and merchants. It allows African consumers to pay international online merchants in African currencies and money methods at checkout and then have their goods shipped to the continent. Merchants receive payouts in G20 currencies and are empowered to expand into Africa by equipping them with the requisite payment tools. 

The latest funding reinforces Klasha’s commitment to improving commerce for Africans and simplifying cross-border payments so that businesses can expand into a market full of energized consumers. 

Launched in May 2021 by a team with combined experience at Amazon, PayPal, Mastercard, Shopify and Net-a-Porter, Klasha’s growth has been rapid. In less than a year, the Company has signed up over 1,700 merchants, processed over 210,000 transactions and is experiencing 15% MoM merchant growth. Klasha’s continued success reflects the substantial market opportunity and readiness of Africans to enjoy the same seamless cross-border transactions experienced internationally as their economies rapidly develop.

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