Scale, a South African startup, has raised $700,000 in pre-seed funding to fuel its expansion into Kenya, Zambia, and Côte d’Ivoire. The round was led by 54 Collective and First Circle Capital, with participation from Sunny Side Venture Partners and several angel investors.
The startup, founded by Barbara Woollams and Miranda Perumal, aims to revolutionize the payments industry by enabling faster, more efficient payment solutions. CEO Miranda Perumal noted that this investment highlights Scale’s strong value proposition and commitment to advancing Africa’s fintech landscape.
As an issuer orchestration platform, Scale simplifies the card issuance process for businesses. It has established strategic partnerships with investors, banks, networks, and payment technology providers, positioning itself as a leading provider of card issuing orchestration and Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) solutions.
With the African fintech market projected to reach $65 billion by 2030, Scale plans to offer seamless, commercially sustainable solutions that meet the unique needs of businesses and their customers.
Despite the continent’s low payment card penetration, Scale is well-positioned to address the challenges fintechs face when launching card products, offering a Card-as-a-Service platform that reduces time-to-market from 18 months to just a few weeks.
As the company prepares to expand, Scale’s innovative approach aims to accelerate the growth of fintechs across Africa, making card issuance more accessible and efficient.