Kwik, a French-Nigerian B2B startup that delivers Software as a Service (SaaS) logistics services to African social vendors and e-commerce platforms, has raised $2 million in its Series A round.
The new funding will allow the business to expand its focus on building digital services for the three core pillars of last-mile delivery, e-commerce and fulfillment, and financial services, with the goal of digitizing informal African trade from logistics to financial services.
XBTO Ventures, a digital asset and fintech investor, led the round, which also included investments from several new and existing owners, including venture capital firm Humla Ventures, Nabuboto, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot, and Pulse Africa founder Leonard Stiegeler.
Kwik, a digital platform connecting delivery partners and corporate customers in large African cities and offering digital solutions for e-commerce payment and fulfillment, was launched in July 2019 after the startup raised initial funding, and it has had rapid uptake.
It secured more seed funding in 2020 and finalized a pre-Series A deal for US$1.7 million in March of last year from institutional and high-net-worth investors to fund its next phase of expansion. Kwik continued to grow fast for the rest of the year, both in terms of customer base and services, with GMV and revenue increasing by 400% in 2021.
The startup is now focusing on building digital services for the three key pillars of last-mile delivery – e-commerce and fulfilment, and financial services.
“Our goal is for Kwik to become the prime app choice for African social vendors and for traditional merchants going digital. Integrating delivery, payment and e-commerce tools seamlessly in one easy-to-use mobile app is a catchy proposition,” said Romain Poirot-Lellig, Kwik’s founder and CEO. “This financing round will enable us to expand across all three key verticals and in select geographic areas.”