VENCO Secures $670,000 Pre-Seed Funding
The technology company automates the collection and reconciliation of all dues and payments in communities resulting in improved receipts and better margins for property owners.
VENCO has disclosed that it secured $670,000 in an oversubscribed pre-seed funding round.
The pre-seed funding round was led by Zoosk Investment Management. Other strategic investors who participated in the funding round include; Voltron Capital, Decimal Point Ventures, Fast Forward Fund, Tayo Oviosu (CEO of Paga), Odun Eweniyi (COO of Piggyvest), Oo Nwoye, Design Chinniah, Dakar Network Angels and Viktoria Business Angel Network participated.
According to VENCO, the funds raised will help the company to scale its platform that manages collections, service charge administration, utilities vending, visitor access and other services associated with multi-unit property developments across Africa.
Starting with Nigeria and Kenya, the latest funding will support Venco to build out its credit delivery infrastructure for rent and household spending, as well as expand into other cities and countries on the continent. This market for household spending represents a $22.5 billion opportunity in Nigeria and $100 billion across Africa.
The company is also partnering with e-commerce platforms to enable easier access to merchants within and around the community, energy companies to ensure reliable energy metering and collections, and other service providers to improve the overall experience in these communities.
Chude Osiegbu, VENCO CEO and Co-founder said: “the manual nature of many processes associated with life in residential and commercial communities in Africa presents many issues that we believe technology can fix. Beyond this, we also want to leverage technology to deliver new services and experiences that will transform people’s lives in Africa’s growing cities and create better value for everyone across the board.”
“Our goal is to deliver technology solutions that will enhance living experiences across the continent, and we are excited to have raised these funds to support that mission,” Osiegbu added
Samson Esemuede, Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer at Zoosk Investment Management, said: “The team at VENCO are building a platform that allows for the validation of the GDP of the African household.”
“Not only does a platform like VENCO allow for significant improvement in the experience of African residents, facility managers and property owners, but it could also potentially unlock at scale the sort of financial services the African consumer needs,” Esemuede added.
“We view VENCO as both a SAAS and a financial inclusion play with a potential for strong multiplicative impact across the continent. We are excited to support the VENCO team in achieving their vision,” Esemuede concluded.