African fintech company Kuunda has completed a US$5 million secondary share sale led by E4EAfrica, allowing early investors to realise returns while strengthening the company’s long-term investor base.
The transaction also sees existing investors such as Accion Ventures, Portugal Gateway Fund and Seedstars Africa Ventures increase their stakes in the business, in a strong show of confidence in the company’s business model and growth.
The strong demand highlights the confidence existing shareholders have in Kuunda’s long-term prospects, with investors who understand the company’s operations and strategy choosing to deepen their financial commitment.
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Kuunda CEO Andrew Milne described the share sale as an important milestone, pointing to the company’s profitable, scalable lending infrastructure and its growing reach across Africa.
In his words,
“This is an important milestone for Kuunda and our investors. Early-Stage venture investing often requires investors to wait years before realising returns. By facilitating a successful secondary transaction, we have shown that strong cash exits are possible even before a traditional IPO or strategic acquisition”.
Meanwhile, Bas Hochstenbach, managing partner at E4E Africa, highlighted Kuunda’s use of technology, distribution networks and banking partnerships to deliver affordable financial services to African small businesses and consumers who may struggle to access traditional banking.
Beyond the capital raised, the transaction highlights the potential for early liquidity in Africa’s venture capital ecosystem. Venture investors often wait several years to realise returns on their investments, typically through an initial public offering (IPO) or acquisition.
However, secondary share sales provide an alternative route for investors to secure liquidity without requiring a company to pursue either exit option.
Kuunda’s latest deal follows its US$7.5 million pre-Series A funding round last year, which also attracted 4Di Capital and Nedbank, alongside the other investors.
Founded in 2018 by Andy Milne, Sam Brawerman and Morne van der Westhuizen, Kuunda builds embedded-credit infrastructure for banks, mobile money providers and digital payment platforms.
Its technology enables partners to offer short-term liquidity products such as airtime top-ups, mobile money float loans, stock financing and merchant cash advances via their existing digital ecosystems.
Kuunda operates primarily as a business-to-business (B2B) lending infrastructure provider, connecting financial institutions and distribution platforms with customers who need credit.
Its model relies on partnerships with mobile money operators, banks, point-of-sale network providers, bill payment aggregators, and e-commerce platforms. These partnerships allow Kuunda to embed credit products into existing financial services instead of requiring customers to adopt an entirely new platform.
The company has developed solutions addressing different financing needs, including short-term liquidity for mobile money agents and financing for micro-merchants.
Its Hapa Cash product provides short-term liquidity solutions for mobile money agents and consumers, helping eligible users meet immediate transaction-related financing needs.
Its Kazi Cash product focuses on business financing, including stock financing, term loans, and merchant cash advances for micro-merchants and agents.
By integrating these products into existing distribution networks, Kuunda aims to make credit more accessible while helping its partners develop and manage digital lending services.
The fintech has supported more than 870 million loans, delivering over US$4.4 billion in credit to 14.6 million agents, merchants and consumers. The company currently operates in five markets, with plans to expand into seven more.
For Kuunda, the latest transaction represents an opportunity to demonstrate that investors can realise value before a major corporate exit, while the company continues to expand its operations.
The fintech remains focused on scaling its responsible and profitable credit infrastructure across Africa, positioning itself to support the continent’s evolving financial services ecosystem.