Tanzanian B2B fintech Kuunda has raised a $7.5m pre-Series A round, with South African banking group Nedbank joining as a strategic investor. The deal signals Nedbank’s growing appetite for fintech partnerships and acquisitions across the continent.
The round also saw participation from existing investors including Portugal Gateway Fund, Seedstars Africa Ventures, 4Di Capital, Accion Ventures, and E4E Africa.
Founded in South Africa in 2018, Kuunda provides embedded lending infrastructure for banks, mobile network operators, and other digital platforms. Its technology enables these partners to offer short-term credit products like mobile money float loans, stock financing, and merchant cash advances directly within their existing ecosystems.
The investment comes as Nedbank pursues a more aggressive fintech strategy. The bank recently announced its acquisition of South African payments firm iKhokha for a reported R1.65bn ($90m) and has been a long-term backer of data privacy startup Omnisient. This latest investment in Kuunda suggests a strategy of backing companies that can enhance its digital service offerings across different African markets.
What does Kuunda do?
Kuunda operates on a “capital and licence-light” model, partnering with licensed financial institutions to design and manage credit products rather than lending from its own balance sheet. This allows it to embed working-capital solutions into platforms like M-Pesa in Tanzania and Airtel Money across Africa.
The goal is to provide liquidity to the agents, micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) that form the backbone of local economies.
“We are unlocking access to finance for Africa’s productive class,” said Andy Milne, Kuunda’s co-founder and co-CEO. “We repeatedly see agents, MSMEs, and consumers constrained by cashflow,” added Bruce Nsereko-Lule, General Partner at Seedstars Africa Ventures. “Kuunda’s embedded working-capital products unlock liquidity exactly where commerce happens — at the edge.”
Since raising a $2.25m seed round in 2021, Kuunda has expanded from its initial markets of Tanzania and Pakistan to operate in Uganda, Malawi, Kenya, and Mozambique. The company says it has helped partners disburse over $3bn in loans to date and now facilitates over $100m in credit to more than two million customers each month.
MENA Expansion
With the new capital, Kuunda is setting its sights on North Africa and the Middle East, starting with Egypt. The company is targeting the country’s $115.7bn point-of-sale (PoS) market, which is projected to grow annually by 8.3%.
Kuunda plans to partner with local e-commerce platforms and PoS network providers to embed lending products for their merchants. Following its entry into Egypt, the company aims to expand into Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Morocco.
This expansion will pit Kuunda against established regional players like MNT-Halan and Fawry, as well as emerging SME-focused lenders like Flend, which recently raised a $3m seed round.
Milne says Kuunda’s partnership-led model gives it a low-cost advantage for entering new regions. However, he acknowledges the hurdles ahead. “Regulatory approvals for products and the tech integration with partners’ infrastructure are significant challenges,” he said. “As we scale into MENA, language differences and cultural complexities are also bound to present hurdles.”