Nomba gets $30m from Shopify

E-commerce platform Shopify has invested in Nigerian fintech firm Nomba, which has raised $30m in funding described as “pre-Series B”. Nomba provides digital payment solutions to businesses in Nigeria, starting with a chatbot called “Kudi.ai” that responds to financial requests on social media. The firm rebranded as Nomba in 2022, after expanding its suite of payment options. The latest funding will help it deliver tailored payment and operational solutions to specific sectors such as food, logistics and transport.

Nomba has so far raised approximately $36.7m in total funding, including a $5m Series A round in 2019, which was led by Partech and Khosla Ventures. Y Combinator’s Michael Seibel was also among the investors. The latest round was led by Base10 Partners, which has invested in other fintechs such as Nubank, Plaid and Brex. Helios.do was a new participant, alongside existing investors Partech and Khosla, and Shopify.

Shopify invests mainly in companies that support its merchant ecosystem or online retailers in general. For example, earlier this year it backed Triple Whale, which offers a dashboard for e-commerce businesses to unify their metrics, while last October it invested in Hong Kong start-up WATI, which has built customer engagement software using WhatsApp’s Business API. Other Shopify investments include Toronto’s Swyft, which provides digital logistics, and Loop, an exchange-first returns platform for Shopify brands.

Nomba is looking to expand pan-African after achieving success in Nigeria. Its CEO, Yinka Adewale, said the latest funding would help the company design and deliver specific solutions for businesses in particular sectors. The aim is to help firms improve their payment and operational processes.