South African Startup Scale Raises $700K to Revolutionize Card Issuing for African Fintechs
South African startup, Scale, has secured $700,000 in pre-seed funding to enhance its card issuing orchestration platform for fintechs.
Led by 54 Collective and First Circle Capital, the funding round also saw participation from Sunny Side Venture Partners and angel investors. Scale plans to expand its API product into Kenya, Zambia, and Cote d’Ivoire, with a focus on solving industry pain points like chargeback fraud and multi-layered payment processing costs.
“With the backing of our esteemed investors and partners, we are well-positioned to expedite our ecosystem engagement, build trust with African businesses and continue to strongly focus on solving major pain points when enabling card rails by delivering unrivalled, world-class service,” CEO Perumal said in a statement.
The one-year-old startup, founded by Barbara Woollams and Miranda Perumal, connects fintechs to banks, issuer processors, KYC, and payment networks, enabling faster card launches while reducing costs associated with traditional card-issuing models.
Despite cash dominance in some African markets, Scale is betting on the growing fintech industry, projected to reach $230 billion by 2025. CEO Perumal expressed optimism about the company’s expansion and its potential to become a critical enabler for fintechs across Africa.
Credit: TechCabal
