In its bid to support sub-Saharan Africa startups, Interswitch, one of the leading firms in integrated payment systems has released $1million seed capital to SlimTrader.
Speaking at a formal ceremony to sign the Memorandum of Understanding, in Lagos, Founder and Group Managing Director of Interswitch, Mitchell Elegbe said the seed money is part of a revolving fund under Interswitch ePayment Growth Fund, valued at $10million.
The fund which has supported two initiatives thus far, the Interswitch boss emphasised, is to serve as a catalyst for innovative and brilliant business concepts focused primarily on payment systems and e-commerce generally.
Interswitch, he said, hopes to collaborate with entrepreneurs and start-up businesses developing innovative products and services aimed at empowering Africans to participate in the emerging payment ecosystems currently transforming business on the continent.
Justifying the $1million investment, Elegbe said: “SlimTrader is a dynamic and ambitious business dedicated to growing Africa’s ecommerce sector. This makes them an ideal candidate for investment from the Interswitch ePayment Growth Fund.
“At Interswitch we are committed to encouraging innovative ideas in the digital payments and commerce space in Africa and are excited to be working with SlimTrader to expand MoBiashara services into the hospitality sector.”
Upbeat, Slim Trader’s founder and CEO, Femi Akinde stated, “We remain committed to our mission of unlocking the potential in African businesses. This funding puts more hotels a click away from their own free property management system, website booking engine and channel manager; connecting them to multiple local and international online booking sites. We see this as transformational to the sub-Saharan Africa hospitality industry.”
The new funding will allow SlimTrader expand to other African countries championing hospitality by bridging the gap and connecting hotels with their target audience.
The additional funding provides the clearest sign yet of the power of SlimTrader’s flagship ecommerce platform, MoBiashara as it expands into the hospitality sector.
With massive potential in the African market, over 1500 hotels across sub-Saharan Africa used SlimTrader’s online hotel management platform – MoBiashara for hotels to increase visibility and sales. The platform allows hotels to manage their offline and online reservation with major exposure through strategic channel partners such as TripAdvisor and hotelnownow.com.
According to Akinde, SlimTrader though founded in Seattle has major operations in Nigeria, and hopes to be the leading turn-key ecommerce solution provider for businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa.
“Through our MoBiashara (which literally means “more business”) platform, we provide everything businesses need to setup and sell their products and services directly to consumers worldwide, or via distribution channels. From airlines to FMCG companies and now hotels, we enhance our partners’ capabilities and presence while expanding their market reach with an easy-to-use platform.”