LAfricaMobile, a leading cloud communication and mobile marketing platform, announced today that it has raised €4.3 million ($4.6 million) in Series A funding. The round was led by Janngo Capital and included participation from notable investors such as French footballers Aurélien Tchouaméni and Jules Koundé, founders of Expensya Karim Jouini and Jihed Othmani, and investment funds SouthBridge Investments and Ciwara Capital.
This investment will enable LAfricaMobile to solidify its financial position and accelerate its expansion across French-speaking Africa. The company plans to utilize the funds to strengthen its presence in Central Africa and invest further in product development, particularly in integrating artificial intelligence to enhance its offerings for customers and partners.
“We are impressed by LAfricaMobile’s vision, the caliber of their team, and their unique technological solutions for a vast market,” said Fatoumata Bâ, Founder and Executive Chair of Janngo Capital. “Their value proposition at the intersection of telecommunications, marketing, and financial services efficiently addresses a combined market projected to reach US$150 billion by 2030. We are honored to lead this funding round and support the expansion of their offering and geographical footprint while improving the accessibility of local content.”
Founded in 2014 by telecommunications engineer Malick Diouf, LAfricaMobile has quickly become a key player in African mobile communication and marketing. LAfricaMobile leverages a variety of mobile technologies — including SMS, USSD, voice messaging, WhatsApp, airtime, and text-to-speech — to enable large-scale communication campaigns across Africa. The platform quickly garnered the attention of media organizations, NGOs, the Senegalese government, and telecommunications operators, validating its value proposition and scalability. The platform currently partners with over 300 companies and 60 telecom operators across Africa.
Originally a promising soccer player, Diouf shifted his focus to tech, launching LAfricaMobile in Senegal to help African businesses connect more effectively with their customers. The company has expanded to 15 countries, completed over 100 million transactions, and has now raised €4.3 million to support further growth and integrate AI into its services.
“This is a decisive step in the development of our company,” said Diouf. “Our ambition is to support all companies throughout Africa in their relationship with customers using mobile technologies.”
Diouf also expressed gratitude to the company’s historical investors Teranga Capital and Abysse, ecosystem partners such as NTF5, OPTIC, SenStartup, and telecom partners including regulatory authorities, operators, MVNOs, and aggregators, as well as all customers and employees who have contributed to the company’s growth.
Investors have expressed confidence in LAfricaMobile’s strategy and growth potential. Karim Jouini, Founder of Expensya, stated, “I really believe that entrepreneurs like Malick have the ability to transform African markets and local innovation; in short, exactly the kind of projects Jihed and I like to invest in!”
Frannie Lauthier, CEO of Southbridge Investments, added, “At SouthBridge Investments, we support companies that make a unique contribution to furthering the digital economy with solutions at scale. LAM has not only demonstrated that it can do that in one country but through its dynamic leadership is leading the way to scaling solutions across other geographies.”
With this new funding, LAfricaMobile is poised to continue its rapid and sustainable development in French-speaking Africa, further establishing itself as a leader in cloud communication and mobile marketing solutions.
