For women entrepreneurs in Southern Africa, Enygma Ventures is proving a major source of hope at the end of the tunnel. Coming out of its 2020 cohort — that saw participation from 11 inaugural women-led companies such as Play Sense, WAKA, ohbabyco, Black Mamba, Lupiya, WidEnergy Africa, MsLondon Cosmetics, The Throne Agency, Spoon Money and Educartis — is funding for Zambia’s microfinance startup Lupiya. The VC has announced investment of US$1 million in latest funding round into the startup to help it continue to scale and roll out its services that ensure Zambians, especially women, are able to participate in the economy through its financial inclusion strategy.

“We are thrilled with this investment, it has come at the right time in the interesting financial climate many businesses are experiencing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Lupiya chief executive officer (CEO) and co-founder Evelyn Kaingu.

Here Is What You Need To Know

• The $1 million funding solely came from Enygma Ventures, a ZAR100 million (US$6.8 million) fund launched with a focus on investing in women entrepreneurs in the SADC region.
• The VC also launched a $1 million SHIFT Fund in April this year in partnership with Startup Circles to provide seed capital for 20–40 startups and provide mentoring, training and business validation scholarships through Startup Circles. The fund was targeted at supporting African startups, entrepreneurs and innovators that are building solutions for the post-pandemic world.
• This investment, according to Muchu Kaingu co-founder, “will enable us to continue ensuring Zambians can easily access financial services when they need them. We are excited to work with Enygma in transforming the economic outlook of the SADC region.”

Read also: Zambian Startup WidEnergy Secures Funding From GreenTec Capital

Why The Investor Invested

Enygma Ventures is a US-based VC firm founded by award winning entrepreneurs Sarah and Jacob Dusek. In 2019, the VC launched a fund with a focus on investing in women entrepreneurs in the SADC region, making its first investment In South African startup Playsense in April, 2020.

“We are excited to partner with Lupiya to make an extraordinary difference to the lives of particularly female Zambian business owners, who run small and medium sized businesses,” said Sarah Dusek, managing partner and co-founder of Enygma Ventures. “We believe the access to capital is a key strategic initiative to enable job creation, enterprise stimulus and in turn economic growth.”

According to statistics, about 70% of Zambians do not have access to formal financial services simply because they do not have the necessary collateral they need to secure a loan. Lupiya is an innovative Zambian fintech solution that is working tirelessly to close the gap for people without access to financial services and at the same time, help Zambia achieve its goal of seeing 70% of Zambians accessing financial services by 2022.

Women startup entrepreneurs in Southern Africa may follow Egygma Ventures for future investment opportunities here. 

A Look At What The Startup Does

Founded in 2016 by an economics graduate of Cavendish University, Zambia, Evelyn Chilomo Kaingu, Lupiya is a marketplace for micro-loans. The startup is a branchless, digital microfinance platform that leverages technology to make the process of borrowing simpler and easier for people and businesses located across the country.

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