Sote, an African supply chain startup, has raised a $4 million seed extension round to expand its solution offering into fintech.
The round was led by Social Capital, Chamath Palihapitiya’s fund, with Ray Ko, the growth partner joining Sote’s board.
Also participating were a small group of investors including Justin Saslow, Ribbit Capital; Harry Hurst, Founder/CEO at Pipe; MaC Venture Capital doubling down; and K50 ventures.
Founded by Felix Orwa and Meka Este-McDonald in 2018, Sote is building the digital logistics infrastructure and largest B2B marketplace for Africa. Their mission is to grow the GDP of the African continent by facilitating the growth of trade. Sote aims to provide a combination of affordable and efficient supply chain services, fintech underwriting models, and SaaS to businesses across Africa.
It raised a $3 million seed round back in 2020. This latest investment takes the total raised so far to $8.4 million.
At the same time launched Africa’s first licensed tech-enabled customs clearing and forwarding service in order to build its digital logistics infrastructure up.
The company grew its customer base 370%, and revenue growth by 200% in the past year, with 50 customers as of Dec 2021. Having recently secured their Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) certification, Sote aims to target larger customers in 2022 and exceed growth targets.
Currently, the startup charges around $1,500 per container handled, provides a a real-time dashboard that allows manufacturers, retailers, and distributors visibility about shipment status, saving time and money.
To achieve its goals, Sote has appointed Samora Kariuki as Director of Fintech and John Bish as CFO and M&A lead.
“Sote has always been about the people. A group of passionate individuals driven to build the future of Africa. We’re excited about bringing Samora and John under one roof with our Logistics and Engineering teams to create uniquely compelling solutions for our customers and the value chain beyond them”, said Felix Orwa, the Kenyan-born Founder and CEO of Sote.
“If the supply chain is composed of the flow of product, the flow of information, and the flow of cash, then Sote already controls the first two. With the launch of our Fintech solution, we will have control and positive influence on all three. This creates a powerful flywheel effect with our customers as they find more holistic and convenient bundled services between logistics and capital solutions”
