Termii, a Nigerian communications startup, raise $3.65 million in funding to expand

Nigerian communications startup Termii has raised $3.65 million in funding to expand its product offerings and enter new markets. The company plans to focus on Francophone African countries, starting with the Ivory Coast.

The funding round was led by Fintech Collective, with participation from other investors including Launch Africa Ventures, Nama Ventures, Aidi Ventures, Ralicap Ventures, New Venture Partners, Vastly Valuable Ventures, NOA Capital, Assembly Investors, Probability Ventures, Adamantium Fund, MyAsia VC, Uncovered Fund, and Afropreneur Angel Group. Angel investors Aubrey Hruby of Tofino Capital and Eamon Jubbawy of Onifido also participated.

Termii was founded in 2017 by Emmanuel Gbolade and Tayo Awe. The company provides a platform that allows businesses to send personalized messages to their customers across multiple channels, including email, SMS, voice, and WhatsApp.

With the new funding, Termii plans to expand its product offerings and enter new markets. The company also plans to hire more staff and build out its infrastructure.

Why Temii attracted investors 

While noting that not many companies in this space are raising capital, Gbolade said that one of Termii’s propositions that won investors over was Termii Go, the company’s latest product which he described as a “game-changing unified communications app”. Termii Go is a step up from Termii’s usual stealth infrastructure operations. The app aggregates Termii’s extensive network of clients across Africa into the platform, enabling swift, real-time, engagements between businesses and users.  

• “So far, we have been successful in serving customers with pure messaging solutions; however, we realized that the demand for customers grew beyond messaging. Most of our financial services customers required one-time verification systems to validate user transactions and identity; hence we introduced this across SMS, calls, emails, and WhatsApp, giving them multiple options and better delivery rates,” Gbolade said. 

The startup 

A one-stop shop that drives the connection between businesses and their users, Termii was founded in 2017 as a messaging service that allows companies to connect with their customers across numerous platforms. It’s likely that you have used Termii if you’ve ever had to wait for an OTP text message while attempting to make a payment through a financial gateway like Paystack’s.

Termii’s infrastructure powers the fast and secure messaging that allows users to interact with about 9,000 fintech, including Moniepoint, Chipper Cash, and Piggyvest. Gbolade believes his startup’s function in the day-to-day activities of African fintech is a prime advantage that is of interest to investors—such as Fintech Collective, the global fintech-focused VC firm that participated in the round.  

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