Australian venture capital firm TEN13 has invested an undisclosed amount of pre-seed funding in Africa-focused FinTech start-up ImaliPay.

ImaliPay was co-founded in 2020 by Zimbabwean Tatenda Furusa and Nigerian Sanmi Akinmusire who met whilst working at leading payments company Cellulant.

According to a statement released to the media, the primary aim of the investment is to expand and accelerate growth in Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa and “to be the one-stop-shop for gig workers’ financial needs.”

"We believe this is a perfect opportunity to introduce our growing international network of investment professionals and investors to one of the most exciting emerging Fintech companies in Africa, ” said TEN13 Managing Partner, Stew Glynn.

ImaliPay and TEN13 say growth in the African gig workforce is being propelled by the growth in digitisation and smartphone penetration. Gig workers constitute a significant proportion of the economy within ImaliPay’s target markets and this market segment is expected to grow rapidly over the next decade.

ImaliPay offers gig workers financial services including insurance and investment options, as well as in-kind loans through a “buy now, pay later” model tied to their trade.

Furusa said: “It’s a great opportunity for investors to participate in the fintech revolution and a fast-growing segment. Our vision at ImaliPay is to advance financial health and inclusion for gig workers who struggle to manage and access flexible financial services that are often only available to traditional SMEs.”

TEN13’s Fintech portfolio includes: Chipper Cash and Bookipi.

Other investors included in the raise are; Finca Ventures, Optimiser Foundation, Mercycorps Ventures, Changecom, and super angels from Norway, Nigeria, UK, and Kenya.