Pariti, a Kenya-based community-led marketplace that is building digital infrastructure for emerging market startup ecosystems, has raised $2.85 million in seed funding to build SaaS workflows to aggregate multiple forms of raising capital, from traditional equity and debt to DeFi solutions.
The startup also intends to improve its talent marketplace, develop a custom solution for investors wishing to invest in and support founders, hire talent, expand into new markets, and build larger communities.
Harlem Capital, based in the United States, led the round. Better Ventures, Accelerated Ventures, Diverse Angels, AVG Basecamp, and New General Market Partners were among the other investors who took part.
Yacob Berhane and Wossen Ayele founded Pariti in 2019. The company has grown 795 percent in the last year, according to CEO Berhane, who attributes this success to the pandemic and how the African tech ecosystem has hit an inflection point, minting half a dozen unicorns in the process. Pariti currently has over 880 companies on its platform, spread across 42 countries, up from 500 earlier this year.
The Recommendation Engine is Pariti’s main product, which allows entrepreneurs to submit their businesses for assessment and evaluation from Pariti’s experts. In areas where the company requires assistance, the engine then recommends customised next steps for the founders.
The Kenya-based marketplace also helps talent in monetizing their skills, as well as venture capitalists and angel investors in locating, vetting, and closing transactions.
