Bitmama, a Nigerian fintech startup, has raised $350,000 in pre-seed funding to grow its operational presence, workforce, and expand into other countries across the continent.
Bitmama, which was founded in 2019, offers a secure blockchain infrastructure that allows users in Africa to trade Bitcoin, Ethereum, Celo, and six other cryptocurrencies. Bitmama has processed over US$6 million in transactions this year alone, thanks to its users in Nigeria and Ghana.
Simultaneously, the startup’s payment service Changera allows businesses and individuals in Africa and around the world to make cross-border payments and remittances. Following the acquisition of US$350,000 in pre-seed funding, Bitmama intends to boost both solutions.
Flori Ventures led the round, which included Emergence Capital, Fedha Capital, along with many other VCs and angel investors. Bitmama plans to use the funds to grow its operations and workforce.
“We believe the continent’s crypto landscape will experience massive growth in user base and trading volumes in the next couple of years and we are aiming to build an efficient blockchain infrastructure that is firm and flexible enough to help users navigate complexities and facilitate secure cryptocurrency transactions across the continent,” said Ruth Iselema, founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Bitmama.
“Most importantly, we are thrilled to have strong financial backers with global credibility and track records, who are keen on supporting our mission to ensure crypto and cross-border transactions across Africa are done efficiently and safely for users and businesses.”
Maria Alegre, general partner and co-founder of Flori Ventures, said her firm had partnered with Bitmama to help the startup with its growth journey.
“We are particularly interested in projects that explore universal basic income, community commerce, community currencies, natural-capital-backed currencies, accessible DeFi primitives, earnings platforms, peer-to-peer marketplaces,” she said.
