Nigerian trade finance startup FrontEdge, which helps facilitate cross-border trades for African SMEs, has raised US$10 million in debt and equity funding to scale operations across Nigeria, Kenya and other African countries.
Founded in 2021 by Moni Alli, Front Edge specialises in providing working capital solutions and software tools for exporters and importers in emerging markets. The startup aims to facilitate the growth of African cross-border trade by providing SME exporters and importers with the capital and expertise to reach scale and be competitive on the international stage.
“SMEs are the cornerstone of our economies and the export market presents a significant opportunity for small and medium sized African businesses. However, from Lagos to Mombasa, business owners are constrained by an inability to finance their exports as well as a lack of support at every stage of the export process. FrontEdge was founded to address both challenges through a seamless technology platform tailored to cross-border traders,” said Alli, who founded the company after completing his MBA at Harvard Business School.
To embark on its mission, digital trade-finance platform FrontEdge has raised US$10 million in debt and equity through a funding round led by TLG Capital and also including Flexport.
“TLG is proud to support FrontEdge in its mission to help African SMEs prosper, serving as a crucial conduit to provide access to capital for Africa exporters and financial empowerment. FrontEdge is strategically placed to tackle an important problem that must be solved for African traders to effectively engage in global trade and we believe that the leadership will execute on the vision,” said Johnnie Puxley of TLG Capital.
