Sew, a South Africa-based funds infrastructure startup based in 2021, has raised $55 million in a Collection B spherical, bringing its whole funding to $107 million inside simply 4 years of operation. The funding is geared toward increasing its in-person cost choices, enhancing its on-line cost suite, and facilitating its entry into card buying.
The $55 million funding spherical was led by QED Buyers, with participation from Norrsken22, Flourish Ventures and Glynn Capital, in addition to angels together with comic Trevor Noah. Current backers like Ribbit Capital, PayPal Ventures, Firstminute Capital and The Raba Partnership additionally contributed.
“This funding spherical is concentrated on our subsequent part of progress to broaden our in-person funds launched with acquisition of ExiPay earlier this yr, and in addition (to) bolster our on-line funds suite to raised serve enterprise retailers throughout all funds wants,” stated an organization consultant.
The funds may even assist Sew’s growth into accepting card funds from prospects, whether or not in-store or on-line. The corporate consultant famous that “changing into a direct acquirer permits us to course of card transactions straight, with out counting on banks. We can provide our purchasers an end-to-end card product with full management over the entire product lifecycle whereas decreasing the variety of intermediaries and decreasing prices.”
The funding will assist Sew spend money on infrastructure that allow the move of cash together with cost processing networks, in addition to infrastructure to enhance cost processing, strategies, and repair ranges.
“The hot button is seamless switching between these sources. We have to robotically detect failures and change to backups, guaranteeing uninterrupted service. This requires sustaining all these alternate options and having the programs and groups to handle the transitions shortly,” stated the corporate consultant.
The corporate famous that its skill to draw such substantial capital in a difficult macroeconomic local weather hinges on constructing a enterprise with demonstrable fundamentals. First, startups should display a sound enterprise mannequin that addresses an actual market want, displaying proof of market share progress, sturdy shopper adoption, and optimistic suggestions.
Sew’s progress is fueled by elements like growing e-commerce penetration, the rise of digital wallets, and the recognition of buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) options. South Africa’s e-commerce penetration is experiencing important progress, with estimates suggesting an increase from 49% in 2023 to 60% by 2028.
“Buyers primarily concentrate on the basics of constructing one thing individuals genuinely need and demonstrating sturdy monetary efficiency. It is advisable clearly illustrate your progress trajectory and sound monetary fundamentals. Then, the ‘nice-to-haves’ like investor networks and model storytelling grow to be related,” the corporate consultant stated.
Sew serves a few of the main enterprise companies in South Africa together with Takealot, Mr. D, MTN, Vodacom, Normal Financial institution’s Shyft, TFG’s Bash, Hollywoodbets, Luno, The Courier Man and plenty of extra. This funding will assist them serve their purchasers higher.
“Companies like Takealot function 24/7/365. We have to present constant, uninterrupted service. Nevertheless, South Africa’s monetary infrastructure just isn’t designed for round the clock operation,” the corporate consultant stated.
Sew bridges this hole by offering a complete suite of cost options for enterprise companies. It additionally launched Categorical, a easy checkout resolution designed for on-line companies of all sizes that use e-commerce platforms corresponding to Shopify and Woo, in early 2025.
Past entry to all native on-line cost strategies and in-person funds, Sew can also be identified for its fraud prevention capabilities with its Protect product which makes use of AI to detect fraud throughout all transactions, offering retailers with instruments to handle fraud incidents, and dealing with each prevention and response.
The startup notes that South Africa’s cost infrastructure market is consistently innovating. Retailers are demanding increased service ranges, sooner product supply, and new cost strategies to cater to various buyer segments. They’re additionally searching for seamless omnichannel experiences, merging on-line and in-person funds.
“Worth-added companies have gotten essential. They need detailed cost insights, AI-driven fraud prevention, and streamlined reconciliation and reporting. Enterprises are in search of complete options, not simply primary cost processing,” the corporate consultant stated.