Nigerian turn-key e-commerce solutions provider SlimTrader has received a US$1 million investment from digital payments and commerce company Interswitch, which will see the startup ramp up operations and expand its flagship product MoBiashara further into the hospitality sector.
The MoBiashara platform developed by SlimTrader provides everything businesses need to sell their products and services directly to consumers worldwide. Clients range from airlines to hotels, with the product enhancing partners’ capabilities and presence while expanding their market reach.
SlimTrader said the additional funding raised from African payments company Interswitch, which in February launched a US$10 million ePayment Growth Fund and made its first investment in Tunde Kehinde’s tech-driven courier company Africa Courier Express (ACE), was the “clearest sign yet” of the power of MoBiashara.
“We remain committed to our mission of unlocking the potential in African businesses. This funding puts more hotels a click away from their own free property management system, website booking engine and channel manager; connecting them to multiple local and international online booking sites. We see this as transformational to the Sub-Saharan Africa hospitality industry,” SlimTrader’s founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Femi Akinde said.
Mitchell Elegbe, founder and group managing director of Interswitch, said SlimTrader was a dynamic and ambitious business dedicated to growing Africa’s e-commerce sector.
“This makes them an ideal candidate for investment from the Interswitch ePayment Growth Fund. At Interswitch we are committed to encouraging innovative ideas in the digital payments and commerce space in Africa and are excited to be working with SlimTrader to expand MoBiashara services into the hospitality sector,” he said.
