Nigeria-based tradetech Norebase that acts as a springboard for companies seeking expansion has raised $1 million in pre-seed funding.
Norebase will use the funds to improve its plug-and-play API, broadening its trademark registration technology stack, and hiring more talent. Its Incorporation API, a plug-and-play service will allow other companies such as payment processors and banks to provide incorporation services to their customers.
Leading the round were Samurai Incubate and Consonance Investment, both pan-African funds. Other Venture Capital firms include Sahil Lavingia of Gumroad, Kinfolk VC, Future Africa, Ventures Platform, Microtraction, Boleh Venture, Voltron Capital, Wuri Ventures and Afropeneur.
Other notable investors include Shola Akinlade, CEO of Paystack; Odunayo Eweniyi, PiggyVest COO; Adia Sowho, the COO of MTN Nigeria; Seni Sulyman, CEO of BlackOps.
Adetola Onayemi co-founded Norebase with Tope Obanla in 2021 to simplify the processes involved in expansion for companies.
Usually when startups get off the ground and try to ply new trade routes within the African border, they run into setbacks typically found in emerging markets.
Expansion to new markets can be painstakingly difficult due to differences in legal and patent rights, cultural barriers, language differences, financial regulations and others. Even with the fusion of the world into a single global village via the internet, there still exist barriers that make it difficult to settle easily into a new market.
Norebase’s solutions unify Africa into a single market thus eliminating the barriers of cross-0border trade. The startup identifies the uniqueness of every market and handles each nuance accordingly.
Norebase helps companies start, operate, and scale in every African country from setting up companies to registering their trademark in multiple countries.
The digital one-stop platform helps companies register their businesses, trademark its intellectual Property (IP), get a registered mailing address and get a corporate bank account across the continent. According to a Techcrunch report, companies that use Norebase’s platform can be incorporated in any African country within “a few minutes” and expand to new locations in a week.
These countries include Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, Rwanda, Senegal, Togo, Tanzania, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Mauritius and Burkina Faso.
Norebase claims to have delivered 100% month-on-month growth in transaction volumes for the last six months. It has also grown 40% month-on-month growth in revenue during this same period.
Some of Norebase’s clients include Brass, Nestcoin, Edenlife, Orda, Sudo Africa, and others like GetEquity, Workpay, Kloudcommerce and Patricia.
The founders of Norebase are knowledgeable in trade, legal affairs and technology, three of these are the backbone of a successful business.
Norebase is providing a framework where people can operate and scale their solutions to several markets at once. Onayemi, who also co-founded Future Africa, an Africa-focused VC fund said, “Our solution is for people in the local market moving into their first market or a company in their fourth market trying to scale their enterprise.”
Nascent companies planning to enter new markets are the most prone to mistakes and Norebase wants to help out.
“People can make mistakes in this sort of situation and Norebase has shared learnings over time to help people avoid these mistakes. We aggregate that knowledge and provide one platform that ensures you don’t have to worry too much about trust,” CEO of Norebase, Adetola Onayemi added.
“From telling us to set up takes days. We know the rules, so you don’t have to spend time talking to lawyers and getting documents — we simplify all that.”
