Kenya-based marketing platform AIfluence has raised $1 million (Sh108 million) in new seed capital from global venture capital backers for expansion into new markets in Africa and Asia.
The firm, which carries out artificial intelligence backed influencer marketing, said the funding round was led by Dubai-based EQ2 Ventures, and joined by Antler East Africa, Nigerian VC OUI Capital, ArabyAds.
Kenya-based marketing platform AIfluence has raised $1 million (Sh108 million) in new seed capital from global venture capital backers for expansion into new markets in Africa and Asia.
The firm, which carries out artificial intelligence backed influencer marketing, said the funding round was led by Dubai-based EQ2 Ventures, and joined by Antler East Africa, Nigerian VC OUI Capital, ArabyAds with participation from an unnamed European family office.
The startup says it helps brand marketers accurately measure the Return on Investment and efficacy of influencer marketing campaigns, and is already running campaigns across 13 countries in Africa and Asia.
“The funds will be used to expand into the rest of Africa, Middle East and Asia by the end of 2021, and to further invest into AIfluence’s tech platform,” said the firm in a statement.
Awards
The start-up was founded in April 2020. The firm has in the past year won the US-Africa Tech Challenge and was awarded its first campaigns outside Africa - in Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Thailand and the UK.
“We find ourselves at an intersection of advanced technology and the fastest growing region in the world in terms of digital and social media penetration,” said AIfluence Co-founder and chief executive Nelson Aseka.
The firm is the latest in a long line of local startups seeking capital from venture funds and private investors, who have been pouring billions into IT based startups in the region.
A recent survey by the Kenya Bankers Association and Japanese government agency, Japan International Cooperation Agency showed that the ICT sector now accounts for 20.6 percent of all MSMEs in Kenya, second only to the wholesale and retail trade sector at 38.3 percent.
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