Biometrics Tech Startup iiDENTIFii Secures $15M Series A Fund
The biometrics technology company, iiDENTIFii, based in Cape Town, has raised $15 million (R272 million) in expansion capital. African investment firm Arise, whose founding investors include Rabobank Partnerships, Norfund, NorFinance, and FMO, led the round. This is the largest African series A in the identity verification industry, according to iiDENTIFii. With the help of this financing, iiDENTIFii plans to expand throughout Africa.
The system used by iiDENTIFii instantly authenticates users using their PCs or smartphones. Pan-African banks, insurers, and mining companies use the business, which operates across multiple sector verticals, for employee and consumer authentication. The company lists Standard Bank, Absa, and Investec Bank among its clients.
The business emphasizes that a growing concern to the continent is financial cybercrime. Financial services and banking apps that handle sensitive financial information are particularly vulnerable to the effects of attackers using security flaws, the report states.
According to the business, iiDENTIFii’s solution is a crucial component of financial inclusion, digital inclusion, and identity inclusion on the continent since it uses biometric authentication to protect access to this sensitive financial information.
Gur Geva, the founder and CEO of iiDENTIFii, expressed delight while commending the technical team for the role they’ve played over the success of the company over the past three years. Geva also spoke on the investment.
“This investment validates our central business thesis that we are the preferred partner for enterprise-grade identity in Africa. We’re excited to put the investment to work as we close in on our goal of authenticating every face in Africa. With this new funding and the networks of Arise, Sanari, and Bill – we confidently continue our mission of stopping identity theft in Africa.”
“In addition to complementing Arise’s portfolio of bank investments across Sub-Saharan Africa, this investment heralds our foray into the African fintech market,” says Arise CEO Gavin Tipper.
“We are excited about our partnership with iiDENTIFii, which will allow us to offer their unique technology to banks in Sub-Saharan Africa, strengthening digital anti-money laundering practices and advancing financial inclusion.”
“At Sanari, we place a strong emphasis on digital and human enablement to unlock business potential,” says Sihle Gumede of Sanari Capital. “iiDENTIFii is, therefore, a great addition to our investment portfolio and we look forward to being part of its ongoing growth journey. We are excited about co-creating a scalable and sustainable pan-African biometrics business.”
“As an entrepreneur and investor, I’ve had a significant amount of experience with transformative technology,” says Bill Spruill. “The work being done by iiDENTIFii is particularly exciting and I am excited to see the impact it has on the African continent.”