Ivorian fintech CinetPay raises $2.4m seed funding from Flutterwave, 4DX Ventures
CinetPay, an Ivorian fintech company that enables merchants in Francophone Africa to seamlessly accept and make payments, has announced a $2.4 million seed fundraising round from 4DX Ventures and Flutterwave.
CinetPay was launched in 2016 by Idriss Monthe and Daniel Dindji. The platform provides a single interface for businesses to process over 130 different payment operators, from mobile money to credit and debit cards and e-wallets, eliminating the need for merchants to spend months integrating with different systems to manage sales and revenues.
This investment is expected to improve CinetPay’s sales and marketing efforts across nine markets in West and Central Africa.
CinetPay claims to have processed over 30 million transactions for 350 active merchants in nine countries, including Ivory Coast, Senegal, Cameroon, Mali, Togo, Burkina Faso, Benin, and Guinea.
By bringing Flutterwave onboard, CinetPay is building on a successful commercial partnership that has evolved since 2019, and this investment follows Flutterwave’s recent acquisition of Disha and marks the unicorn’s first direct investment in the region.
“For a first institutional investment, we couldn’t have asked for two better partners in 4DX Ventures and Flutterwave,” said Idriss Marcial Monthe, CEO & Co-Founder of CinetPay. “We’ve watched firsthand as thousands of merchants waste crucial time, even up to 6 months, getting their payment systems in order. Now we’ve got the resources to market and sell our optimal solution across the region and we’re excited to ensure that all businesses in our region never miss a sale again.”
Throughout the African continent, the mobile money market has witnessed tremendous growth. Two-thirds of global mobile money transactions are driven by users in sub-Saharan Africa, with 562 million registered accounts by the end of 2020. In Ivory Coast, where CinetPay first launched, up to 75% of the population owns a mobile money account whereas less than 25% have a bank account.
CinetPay is used by a broad range of businesses from e-commerce platforms to digital public services, insurance companies, and schools. The fintech company simplifies the process of accepting payments online or via mobile Point of Sale (PoS) devices with best-in-class security protocols.
“We’ve been tracking the Francophone Africa market for some time now, and have been impressed by Cinetpay’s ambitious goal to digitize payments across the region,” said Walter Baddoo, Co-Founder and General Partner at 4DX Ventures. “The company has demonstrated deep product knowledge with a differentiated offering and a strong brand with customers. We look forward to partnering with the Cinetpay team alongside our long-time portfolio company, Flutterwave, to help usher in the next phase of digital payments across the Francophone region.”
“We’re building the payments infrastructure for Africa, making it easier for businesses to grow and expand their customer base on the continent and worldwide,” said Olugbenga Agboola, Founder and CEO at Flutterwave.
This investment marks the first time, both investors (4DX Ventures and Flutterwave) are investing in the Francophone African region. This is coming after Fluterwave’s long-time collaboration with CinetPay.
According to Olugbenga Agboola, “our shared vision to simplify payments on the continent further strengthens our commitments to working towards creating endless possibilities and experiences for all our customers. Cinetpay is well-positioned for the next chapter of growth and we’re excited to work with the team to help scale the business to achieve maximum impact and value for its customers.”