Financial service provider, Leatherback Limited has said that it intends to boost its company’s profile following a $10 million pre-seed funding round led by Zedcrest Capital – a leading pan-African principal investment firm.
The company which was founded by Toyeeb Ibrahim as a UK-based cross-border payments platform is regulated by the FCA in the UK, Fintrac in Canada, the Central Bank of Nigeria and other regulatory authorities in countries it is licenced in.
As stated by the company, its new funding will be used to focus on critical activities such as hiring strategic roles, marketing and branding strategy, and traction and visibility in the market.
Also, it will focus on promoting its business expansion and remove barriers to its business growth across continents of the world. The startup also will offer a multiple currency solution that will permit businesses and individuals conduct global transactions with ease, promptness and efficiently through its digital payment infrastructure and platforms.
Currently visible in the UK, Canada and Nigeria, the company will broaden its visibility to countries where it is licensed and also, seeking approval such as South Africa, Egypt, Uganda, India, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Speaking on the raise, Toyeeb said that the funds raise is the company’s first investment funds, seeing that in past years of its operations, it has been bootstrapped by owners’ funds.
“This is the first time we have raised funds externally. It’s a massive step forward that will allow us to take our business and our vision to the next level”, he said.
He also added, “Building local capacity is not easy, yet it is core to how we operate at Leatherback. The capital injection will further strengthen the value we provide by ensuring a solid presence and infrastructure so we can offer solutions directly to customers with better pricing.”
Speaking on the reasons to invest in the company, Adedayo Amzat, Zedcrest Capital’s Group Managing Director, said “As principal investors, we love opportunities where we can bring our expertise to bear. It has been rewarding to provide operational and strategic support to Leatherback in its quest to build the perfect compliance, technology, and finance infrastructure that will allow it to be the operating system of choice for the global mobility of businesses and individuals.”
