Smile Identity, an Africa-focused firm, has secured a US$20 million Series B fundraising round to aid in its expansion throughout the continent.
Costanoa and Norrsken22 served as the round’s lead investors, and 500 Fintech, Commerce Ventures, Courtside Ventures, Two Culture Capital, Valuestream Ventures, and Intercept Ventures also contributed.
As part of the round, Lexi Novitske from Norrsken22 will join the board of Smile Identity.
In addition to giving businesses the tools and software they need to automate client onboarding, verify identities, and avoid fraud, Smile Identity was founded in 2017 with the goal of making it simple for Africans everywhere to quickly and simply establish their identity online.
Mark Straub, CEO and co-founder of Smile Identity, stated that “we believe the majority of individuals are honest.” Whether a user signs up via agents, applications, tablets, the web, blockchains, or paper forms, the problem in the digital era is to demonstrate this. While we work to find a solution spanning Identities, devices, and regulatory regimes to make sure Africans are among the most trusted customers in the world, we are overjoyed to have the support of our partners and investors.
In order to speed up the development and specialization of its AI-powered biometrics, document verification, anti-fraud, and compliance solutions suited for African markets, Smile Identity will use the funds to expand its product and engineering team.
Read more on Tech Gist Africa:
Youverify, a Nigerian identity verification startup, has raised $1 million in seed funding
