A new Nigerian VC firm, Tekedia Capital, has led a $1 million funding round in Lagos-based startup ecommerce payments solution, OurPass. Joining the venture capital firm is a host of angel investors from Fortune 500 companies, according to a statement from OurPass.
“I watched my mother struggle to shop online where I saw her set up multiple accounts on different platforms while going through a rigorous checkout process,” founder and CEO Samuel Eze, said. “In many cases, she ended up dropping the card and moving on to a different online store. Seeing the same pattern happen with other friends and family, I had to dive into it and found that it was actually a major headache for consumers and online retailers.”
Using the funding, OurPass will enhance its technology and grow its team to up to 200 employees by the end of next year, according to Eze.
Why The Investors Invested
Investors appeared to have trusted OurPass, mostly because of the traction it has generated so far. Barely a year-old, OurPass claims to have done $500,000 in transaction value and it believes that continued expansion would see it become the go-to platform for consumer checkout in Nigeria by 2023.
It has also attracted a number of retailers on its site. The majority of its customers are small businesses that use Storemia, a recently acquired online storefront provider by OurPass. In the future, the firm intends to work with merchants on e-commerce platforms such as WooCommerce, Magento, Squarespace, and Shopify, as well as social commerce platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram.
Citizens, groups, and organizations can co-invest in innovative startups and emerging firms in Africa through Tekedia Capital’s specialist investment vehicle (or investment syndicate). These investment entities’ capital is pooled and then invested in a certain company or companies. The firm’s focus is on companies who have their major operations in Africa, regardless of whether they are officially domiciled in or outside of the continent.
A Look At What OurPass Does
Founded June, 2020, OurPass by the trio of Gbeminiyi Laolu-Adewale, Rogers Mugisa and Samuel Chukwunonso Eze, OurPass is a mobile app that allows customers to shop with just one click, resulting in fewer abandoned carts and more sales for retailers who have installed the OurPass API on their platforms.
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Consumers simple input their names, email addresses, and shipping addresses the first time they sign up for the OurPass platform. Then, for each customer, OurPass creates an identity that is shared across all of their online stores.
Customers can take advantage of OurPass’s one-click checkout as well as free shipping on all orders. On this front, the company collaborated with logistics firms such as MAX.ng and Gokada.
The one-year-old startup charges 0.8 percent each transaction, with a ceiling of N1,000 ($2) for merchants and a 5% fee on every goods sold; Eze also hinted at the possibility of subscriptions.
OurPass ecommerce Tekedia Capital OurPass ecommerce Tekedia Capital
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer