CoinAfrique the classifieds app based in Senegal has raised $3.085 million funding round from a number of investors. The startup targets a monthly user base of 10 million by 2022 across all French-speaking countries in Africa. This fund will go towards the startup’s expansion drive.
The startup launched in May 2015 and works by connecting sellers and buyers across 16 French-speaking African countries. The app currently has over 150,000 active users. The startup is headquartered in Dakar, Senegal also has set up bases in Abidjan, Ivory Coast; Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC); Cotonou, Benin; and Lomé, Togo.
“The successful fundraising highlights the fact that CoinAfrique has positioned itself in a booming market and will allow us to accelerate our activities on our existing markets, while serving new countries and continuing to develop the best user experience, one that is always closest to the needs of our community of buyers and sellers,” said the co-founders of CoinAfrique, Mathias Papet and Eric Genêtre.
One of the shareholders behind the $3.085 million round is the impact investment firm Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P). The president of I&P, Jean-Michel Severino, said the startup was promising and has a big market to which it can grow to; particularly French-speaking countries in West Africa.
“Indeed, CoinAfrique offers an innovative classifieds offer, based on the growing use of new technologies and adapted to the consumption habits of young people, a rapidly expanding age group,” said Severino.
“We are happy to support CoinAfrique in this new stage of its development so as to maximize its impact on small urban businesses in the region, be it in terms of sales growth, job creation or formalizing, and structuring of these businesses.”
It might be important to remember that in November 2017, CoinAfrique was among the 20 startups picked to take part in the XL Africa inaugural acceleration program back by the World Bank.
