Lupiya raises $11.2 million Series A led by Alitheia IDF

Lupiya, a Zambian digital-first financial services provider, has raised $11.25 million in a Series A, Launch Base Africa reported on 13 February. The round was led by IDF Capital's Alitheia IDF fund, with INOKS Capital S.A and German development finance institution KfW DEG also taking part.

What Lupiya offers

The company provides lending products and Lupiya Pay, its digital payments service, and is developing embedded finance partnerships. It targets people in Zambia who are unbanked or underbanked. Evelyn Chilomo Kaingu, the chief executive, and Muchu Kaingu, the chief technology officer, founded Lupiya in 2016.

A slow road to this round

Evelyn Chilomo Kaingu described the fundraising pace, saying the Series A took nearly two years to complete: "Major rounds have taken us close to two years each time." Enygma Ventures, an earlier backer, invested $1 million during the pandemic. Google, the World Bank and the International Trade Centre are listed as institutional supporters.

Plans

Lupiya operates mainly in Zambia and plans to expand into Southern and East Africa. It has opened another funding round this year to scale its lending book, Lupiya Pay and embedded finance. The new money will strengthen its technology infrastructure, widen its product range and extend its operations beyond Zambia.

At a glance

• Company: Lupiya
• Raised: $11.25 million
• Round: Series A
• Lead investor: Alitheia IDF
• Other investors: INOKS Capital S.A, KfW
• Founded: 2016
• Markets: Zambia, with Southern and East Africa planned
• Founders: Evelyn Chilomo Kaingu (CEO), Muchu Kaingu (CTO)