Julaya - Afrikan Heroes

How Ivory Coast’s Julaya Delivered 4X Returns to Early Backers on Their Investments

December 4, 2023

In a significant financial triumph, Ivory Coast-based fintech Julaya has emerged as a promising investment opportunity, yielding a remarkable 4x return for its early angel investors. The success story unfolds against the backdrop of Julaya’s recent $5 million pre-Series A funding round, bringing its total fundraising to $7 million. The round was led by Speedinvest, a European VC firm, with participation from notable investors such as EQ2 Ventures, Kibo Ventures, Orange Ventures, and Ivorian business angel Mohamed Diabi, among others.

The fresh capital injection is earmarked for Julaya’s ambitious expansion plans across Francophone West Africa, targeting countries like Benin, Togo, and Burkina Faso. The funds will also support talent acquisition and bolster product development, including the launch of a loan product catering to around 200,000 SMEs in the UEMOA area.

The decision to allow early investors to exit the business during this funding round was a strategic move, driven by an opportunity to bring in a new fund while managing dilution. This decision resulted in a substantial 4x return for the initial backers, marking a significant win for those who believed in Julaya’s vision early on.

CEO Mathias Léopoldie revealed that the company’s payment processing volume has skyrocketed, from over $1.5 million weekly in July 2017 to an impressive $7.5 million, with revenues experiencing an annual surge of nearly 500%. Notable clients such as Jumia and Sendy underscore Julaya’s growing influence in the B2B payments landscape in Francophone West Africa.

Julaya’s success isn’t confined to financial metrics alone. The startup’s innovative approach to corporate spending management distinguishes it in the market. Utilizing mobile money channels, Julaya facilitates bulk payments between businesses and their unbanked staff. Moreover, the company introduced a Mastercard-issued prepaid card designed for corporate cost management, further expanding its service offerings.

The inclusion of professional football star Édouard Mendy as an investor adds an intriguing element to Julaya’s investor base. Mendy, a limited partner in the company, exemplifies a growing trend where athletes recognize the potential of venture capital as both a lucrative investment and an opportunity to contribute to their home countries.

While Julaya’s financial returns are undoubtedly impressive, its success narrative extends beyond mere numbers. Founder Mathias Léopoldie emphasizes the importance of building a great company that creates genuine economic activity, underlining the nuanced definition of success that goes beyond financial metrics.

As Julaya continues to navigate the complex payment ecosystem in Francophone West Africa, its innovative solutions and strategic partnerships position it as a transformative force, not only in payments but potentially as a close banking partner for businesses in the region, according to Enrique Martinez-Hausmann, principal at lead investor Speedinvest. The company’s growth trajectory and investor returns underscore the pivotal role intuition, strategic decision-making, and a strong team play in shaping a fintech success story.

South Africa’s Revix, BitFund, and Coinpanion Merge to Form Altify

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

Here’s Why Newly Funded Ivorian Fintech Julaya Chose To Expand To Benin, Togo, And Burkina Faso

September 28, 2022

Julaya has just raised $5 million in funding, only a little over a year after its previous round of fundraising brought it $2 million. During this interview, Olivier Houben, who works as the Country Manager for the firm in Senegal, addresses a variety of topics, including fintech activities, the growth of the industry as a whole, as well as why the startup preferred Benin, Togo, and Burkina Faso for its recent expansion.

After raising $2 million the previous year, your fintech has now received $5 million in investors. What specifically does Julaya offer SMEs in West Africa?

Julaya is a financial technology company that works in Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire to make it easier for small and medium businesses, major firms, and institutions to process payments. Our company provides a web-based platform that enables mass transfers to any and all Mobile Money wallets as well as bank transfers. This year, in collaboration with our colleagues at Mansa Bank and Mastercard, we introduced prepaid bank cards, both real and virtual, that are designed to be used for business expenses. We have only just begun offering a digital cash collection solution that assists businesses, particularly those in the agriculture and consumer products industries, in carrying out collections in a quick and risk-free manner. To put this into more concrete terms, our solutions now make it possible for more than 500 businesses to pay their employees, suppliers, and unbanked partners; to secure their payments and receipts; to have traceability of their transactions; to facilitate their professional expenses (travel, line, etc.); and, most importantly, to improve their operational efficiency. And very soon, in conjunction with our sponsor bank, we will be able to provide lending options.

Julaya Benin Togo Burkina — *Olivier Houben is the Country Manager for Julaya in Senegal. Image Credits: Olivier Houben*

West Africa and the continent are seeing a rise in start-ups and fintech. Do you think this is a permanent trend, and how has Julaya positioned itself to participate?

The worldwide market for financial technology is expanding at a rapid rate and is anticipated to reach about 700 billion dollars by the year 2030. According to a research that was published by McKinsey in August 2022, the financial technology sector in Africa may reach $30 billion by the year 2025, and the West African zone is the one expected to have the greatest rate of expansion. Due to various underlying trends in West Africa, such as the growth in the number of smartphones, the acceptance of mobile money and hence access to financial services, the extension of network coverage, and the youthful and increasing urban population, fintechs offer exciting development potential. These preexisting trends toward digitization have been sped further as a result of the Covid-19 epidemic. One of the many reasons why financial technology is experiencing such significant traction is the fact that it affects many different kinds of businesses. The solutions provided by Julaya address the challenges of economic growth in the West African region. These challenges include enabling businesses to access solutions for efficient and secure transaction management, reducing reliance on cash, and expanding access to financial services for populations that are not supported by profit. banked. We couldn’t be happier to be a part of this revolution, which is paving the way for a better deal for both enterprises and populations.

You’ve opted to expand Julaya to Benin, Togo, and Burkina Faso with the cash raised. What’s the rationale?

In point of fact, we want to implement Julaya’s services in Benin, Togo, and Burkina Faso in 2021, all of which are anticipated to see economic expansion of 6.6%, 5.3%, and 8.5%, respectively. These are obvious countries in the next steps of Julaya’s expansion as members of the UEMOA zone with several structural characteristics similar to those of the countries in which we are already established (Côte d’Ivoire since the end of 2018 and Senegal since the end of 2021): economic and monetary integration (a common currency, a common Central Bank, etc.), as well as legal integration (OHADA). In addition, we are able to deploy there with partners and technology that we are familiar with, and although the practises of businesses are unique, there are many parallels between them.

In the long run, say five or ten years, what do you want to accomplish?

Our goal is to have a significant and long-lasting influence on the digitization efforts of businesses throughout the whole spectrum of financial products, ranging from payment to credit. Edouard Mendy, who was selected as the best goalkeeper in the world in 2021 by FIFA and African champion 2022 with the Senegalese team, is joining our company as an investor and sponsor of the brand in our markets. Because our company upholds and carries the values of team spirit, cooperation, combativeness, and resilience, we are thrilled to have Edouard Mendy on board. Our goal is to become more than just a digital partner for companies in West Africa; rather, we aim to contribute to the sustainable growth of the continent as a whole, particularly in the complex and crucial context of the energy transition. As a result, we have also established asset finance pilots in the field of electro-mobility (electric cars) for the benefit of our business clients, particularly in the field of logistics.

Julaya Benin Togo Burkina Julaya Benin Togo Burkina

Footballer Édouard Mendy Backs Ivorian Payment Startup Julaya In $5M Pre-Series A Funding Round

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://insightsbyexpert

Ivory Coast Startup Julaya Raises $550k Funding To Digitise Financial Services for SMEs

December 24, 2019

2019 has been a year for African startups. Julaya, the Ivory Coast-based fintech startup has raised US$550,000 in funding from French angel investors to grow its operations in the country.

“What is bringing success to fintech in Europe and is happening in Africa is the collaboration between startups with vertical synergies, from payments to wallets. Digital transactions are hard to start with because you need a lot of transactions volume to reach profitability, yet high volumes require important security expenditures against fraud and money laundering,’’ co-founder Charles Talbot said.

Here Is The Deal

This round of investors are French business angels who have had previous success in the fintech space and who are, this time, sticking their stakes in the fintech startup.
The startup Julaya plans to use the US$550,000 funding to speed up its growth and expand operations.
Léopoldie said securing funding in Francophone Africa is challenging, but that the startup was “privileged” to have support from experienced angels and partnerships with local and pan-African payments startups.

What The Startup Does

Founded by Mathias Léopoldie and Charles Talbot in March 2018, Julaya provides small merchants and SMEs with access to digital financial services.

“We provide value to businesses with access to various digital financial transactions such as mobile money transfers, airtime top-up, and wire transfers to any banks,” said Talbot.

“The informal sector and SMEs are looking to improve their operations with safer and faster transactions.”

Why Startups In French speaking African territories may be having a hard time raising funds

While startup owners are not to blame for the language they speak, it appears however that language is actually a major barrier for most startups in the French-speaking countries. A look at the investment preference of investors and their countries of origin show a majority of investors coming from English-speaking countries, or having the major funds coming from English-speaking countries.

This lack of funding has therefore led to the dearth of developers and designers in francophone Africa. Most resources for startups in Africa(e.g. regional incubators and accelerators, labs, conferences) are mostly in the English-speaking countries.

Another point investors may be taking into consideration may be the size of the market in the French-speaking countries.

“Investors tend to view most Francophone African markets as too small. In 2016, even after a deep recession, the Nigerian economy was worth US$405 billion. That same year, the ECOWAS markets excluding Ghana and Nigeria, and therefore primarily Francophone countries, only amounted to US$120 billion dollars, less than 30 per cent of the size of the Nigerian economy,” Fayelle Ouane is co-founder and managing director of Mali-based startup support organisation Suguba, which is running the Francophone-focused L’Afrique Excelle programme on behalf of the World Bank, noted.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world