Ramani Secures $32m Series A Funding
The Tanzanian retail-tech startup is focused on fixing fragmented consumer goods supply chains that traditionally suffer from a lack of data visibility and are burdened by limited access to financial services.
Ramani which is building a cloud network of micro-distribution centres for Africa’s US$1 trillion consumer-packaged goods supply chain, has announced the close of its US$ 32 million Series A funding round.
Ramani provides tech-enabled inventory management systems, procurement, and point-of-sale software to digitise the processes of micro-distribution centres (MDCs), helping them gain real-time sales insights and inventory visibility. Ramani can also leverage this data to offer up inventory with delayed payment terms, enabling them to scale.
According to Ramani, the round was led by renowned global technology investors Flexcap Ventures and Jared Schreiber, the founder and CEO of Infoscout. Originally backed by Y Combinator, Ramani also raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding in 2021, which included participation from Village Global, Goat Capital, Musha Ventures, Hustle Fund, Future Africa, Launch Africa Ventures, Raba Capital, and angel investor James Beshara.
Ramani said with this new capital funding, it will scale its network of MDCs and also launch a new micro-credit offering for select MDCs.
Iain Usiri Ramani co-founder said: “Ultimately, we want to make it easier for businesses to succeed in Africa and this new capital is another brick in that foundation. We’ve leveraged our Silicon Valley relationships and partnered with globally renowned investors, many of whom are successful founders themselves. We’re committed to repaying their faith in us and in Africa.”
Andrew Vigneault, co-founder and general partner of Flexcap Ventures, said Ramani’s huge ambition was systematically transforming the CPG industry in Africa for a vastly improved and more efficient supply chain.
“It has been a pleasure to witness Ramani’s success and traction so far and we are certain the company will continue to achieve market-leading growth, fueled by a strong leadership team with exceptional technical expertise,” he added.