Smile Identity, a startup that provides identity (ID) verification and Know-Your-Customer (KYC) compliance tools for African companies, on Thursday, 8th July, announced that it has raised a $7 million Series A round of funding.

The investment was jointly led by Costanoa Ventures and pan-African venture firm CRE Venture Capital with the participation of other investors. These include VCs like LocalGlobe, Intercept Ventures, Future Africa, unnamed angel investors, as well as existing investors such as Khosla Impact, ValueStream Ventures, Beta Ventures, 500 Startups, and Story Ventures.

With the new investment, Smile Identity plans to improve its services and expand across more markets. It will also add support for more ID types as well as hire more engineers and support staff across Africa. The investment also brings on John Cowgill, a partner at Costanoa, on the board of Smile Identity.

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Smile Identity was founded by Mark Straub and William Bares in 2017. The company has since established operations in six African countries, which include Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, Rwanda, and Uganda. 

The company’s software is currently used by companies in several sectors such as banking, fintech, ride-sharing, worker verification, and telecommunications. Smile Identity charges its customers on a per-query basis. 

Its suite of about 80 clients includes payments companies like Paystack, Paga, and Chipper Cash; digital banks Kuda and Umba and traditional banks like Stanbic IBTC; cryptocurrency exchange platforms like Binance, Luno, and Paxful; and supply-chain businesses like Twiga Foods.

(Source)