The innovative biometrics tech firm iiDENTIFii has raised $15 million in growth capital. The round was led by African investment firm Arise, with Rabobank Partnerships, Norfund, NorFinance, and FMO as key investors. This is the largest African Series A in the identity verification space to date.
iiDENTIFii is a biometric authentication market leader. Its advanced face authentication technology securely authenticates users in seconds via their cellphones or PCs. iiDENTIFii is used for customer and employee authentication by the largest pan-African banks, insurers, and mining houses across several industry verticals. Standard Bank, ABSA Bank, and Investec Bank are among its clients. Along with Arise, Sanari Capital, a growth-stage private equity firm, and veteran US tech entrepreneur Bill Spruill participated in the round.
This investment will be used to fund iiDENTIFii’s expansion across Africa. Cybercrime in the financial sector is posing an increasing threat to the continent. The consequences of attackers exploiting security flaws are especially severe for financial services and banking apps that handle sensitive financial data. The use of iiDENTIFii’s biometric authentication to protect access to this sensitive financial information makes iiDENTIFii’s solution an essential component of the continent’s financial inclusion, digital inclusion, and identity inclusion.
“I’m incredibly proud of our engineering team and our company’s growth over the last three years,” says Gur Geva, Founder and CEO of iiDENTIFii. “This investment validates our core business hypothesis that we are Africa’s preferred partner for enterprise-grade identity. We’re excited to put the money to good use as we get closer to our goal of authenticating every face in Africa. We are confident in continuing our mission of preventing identity theft in Africa with this new funding and the networks of Arise, Sanari, and Bill.”
“This investment heralds our foray into the African fintech market, in addition to complementing Arise’s portfolio of bank investments across Sub-Saharan Africa,” says Arise CEO Gavin Tipper. “We are thrilled about our collaboration with iiDENTIFii, which will enable us to offer their unique technology to banks in Sub-Saharan Africa, strengthening digital anti-money laundering practices and advancing financial inclusion.”
“At Sanari, we put a strong emphasis on digital and human enablement to unlock business potential,” says Sanari Capital’s Sihle Gumede. “iiDENTIFii is thus an excellent addition to our investment portfolio, and we look forward to participating in its continued growth.” We are very excited about working together to build a scalable and sustainable pan-African biometrics business.”
“As an entrepreneur and investor, I’ve had a lot of experience with transformative technology,” Bill Spruill says. “The work of iiDENTIFii is particularly exciting, and I am looking forward to seeing the impact it has on the African continent.”
iiDENTIFii recently won KPMG’s Tech Innovator in Africa award and will compete for the global title in November 2022 in Lisbon, Portugal. It has previously won MTN App of the Year and Microsoft Independent Software Vendor (ISV) Partner of the Year, among other accolades.
