Through its early-stage technology investment arm Naspers Foundry, Naspers has invested R40 million ($2.5 million) in financial consulting fintech company LifeCheq.
The investment is part of a total R53 million ($3.3 million) series A investment round led by Naspers Foundry, with existing investors funding the remainder.
LifeCheq will focus on new technologies and capabilities to rapidly scale its platform, expedite its partner experience, and expand its customer base with the funds.
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Why The Investors Invested
The startup has garnered great traction since it was founded. The fintech startup is believed to have helped more than 45 000 customers in SA obtain access to financial advice and planning.
According to Naspers, LifeCheq plays a crucial role in advancing financial inclusion in SA by democratising access to financial advice — previously only accessible to high-income individuals.
“We are passionate about supporting entrepreneurs that make a meaningful contribution to society. Through LifeCheq, holistic, personalised financial advice can be made accessible to previously underserved South Africans. LifeCheq is empowering people to take charge of their finances — improving their financial well-being and inclusion in the process. This investment supports our focus of backing purpose-driven technology businesses,” Phuthi Mahanyele-Dabengwa, South Africa CEO of Naspers, said.
“The South African entrepreneurial environment continues to produce high-quality, needs-based businesses as evidenced by our investment in LifeCheq. We look forward to working with the LifeCheq CEO Abu Addae and his highly-experienced team as they strive to broaden access to financial advice through the use of technology. We are excited to support the company’s next phase of growth, ” noted Fabian Whate, head of Naspers Foundry, while pointing out the LifeCheq investment builds on Naspers Foundry’s growing fintech portfolio, which includes Ctrl, Naked Insurance, Planet42 and Floatpays.
Naspers Foundry is an R1.4 billion early-stage business funding vehicle devoted to the expansion of South Africa-centric digital enterprises.
The investment in LifeCheq is Naspers Foundry’s fifth fintech investment in South African technology startups and its eleventh tech transaction since the company’s founding in 2019.
A Look At What The Startup Does
Abu Addae, co-founder and CEO of LifeCheq, launched the company’s artificial intelligence-powered platform in 2018 to help financial advisers improve the client experience and increase efficiency.
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It combines integrated workflows with an online dashboard to give customers a centralized area to manage their personal finances, allowing them to set and track financial goals.
“Existing solutions for quality financial advice practically ignore more than two billion mass affluent clients globally, simply because they’re not wealthy enough. Our mission is to fix that. It is great to partner with Naspers Foundry. They have taken the time to understand our vision and the opportunity in our offering, and we are extremely excited about the journey ahead,” Addae said.
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexperts.com/view_expert/charles-rapulu-udoh