Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire – September 21st 2022 – Julaya, a fintech based in Côte  d’Ivoire, Senegal and France raised US$5M extension round led by European  venture capital fund Speedinvest to expand its operations in West Africa. 

Julaya is a B2B digital account that enables companies to send and collect  payments seamlessly through a digital account. With the Julaya platform, African  businesses can make bulk payments through all mobile money channels, process  their travel or online expenses with a corporate prepaid card tailored to their  needs, and easily import all transactions into their accounting system. The  platform helps companies to improve operational efficiency by digitizing their  payments to multiple unbanked workers and suppliers. Julaya “Cash & Collect”  solution allows fast and secured cash collection, especially in the FMCG sector.  More than 500 SMBs, startups, large corporates and government institutions,  including famous brands such as Africa’s e-commerce giant Jumia, use Julaya as  their digital account to pay their partners and collect payments. 

The round was led by European venture capital fund Speedinvest which already  invested in Moove and FairMoney (Nigeria and India) and has six unicorns in its  portfolio. EQ2 Ventures, Kibo Ventures, angel syndicates Unpopular Ventures and  Jedar Capital, as well as Ivorian business angel Mohamed Diabi and previous  investors Orange Ventures, Saviu, and 50 Partners also invested in the round. 2021  world’s best Goalkeeper and 2022 Africa Cup of Nations Champion with Senegal,  Edouard Mendy also participated in the round as his first participation in Africa.  Julaya also received investment from its own CFO and country manager in  Senegal. 

Proceeds from this financing round will enable Julaya to expand in the West  African market, open Benin, Togo and Burkina Faso offices, hire multicultural  talents and boost product development. 

« African companies are eager to improve their profitability, and digitizing their  finances is one of the most important steps for them to grow their business. 90%  of payments are still made in cash on the continent, and Julaya is proud to be  part of the fintech landscape that helps businesses be more successful. » said  Mathias Léopoldie, CEO & co-founder. 

« Julaya’s technology is fundamentally changing how companies operate in an  increasingly complex payment landscape across Francophone Africa. As we look 

ahead, the potential for Julaya’s technology goes far beyond its payment  capabilities, having the opportunity to become a close banking partner for  companies in West Africa. » said Enrique Martinez-Haussmann, Principal at  Speedinvest. 

« I believe helping companies transition to easy-to-use digital solutions makes a  real difference in their daily activities. I’m confident that the talented team at  Julaya will play a decisive role in the rise of digital financial solutions in Africa. »  added Edouard Mendy. 

Since the announcement of Julaya’s pre-Series A funding in June 2021, the fintech  launched its Dakar office and extended the features of its product, now enabling  African companies to make cash collection. Transactions and revenue have  grown +500% year on year. 

Website : https://julaya.co/ 

Linkedin : https://www.linkedin.com/company/julaya/ 

About Julaya 

Julaya was founded in 2018 by Mathias Léopoldie and Charles Talbot. They both  previously worked at French payment fintech LemonWay on their service in Mali  and Burkina Faso. Julaya has three offices : R&D and IT team in Paris (France),  Operational Offices in Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire) and in Dakar (Senegal). It employs  50 people across all offices. It previously raised USD 250k in 2018 and USD 550k in  2019/2020 with business angels, as well as 2m$ in 2021 with venture capital funds. 

Press contact : 

Jessica BROU 

jbrou@julaya.co 

+225 07 01 10 97 84

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