Smile Identity Secures $20 Million for Growth and Innovation
Smile Identity, a prominent provider of a Know Your Customer (KYC) onboarding and identity verification platform, is headquartered across several key cities, including Lagos, Nigeria; London, UK; Cape Town, South Africa; and Nairobi, Kenya. Recently, the company successfully raised $20 million in a Series B funding round, marking a significant milestone in its growth journey. This latest round of funding has increased Smile Identity’s total investment to $31 million, building on the $7 million secured during their Series A funding round in 2021. The Series B funding was led by Costanoa and Norrsken22, with other notable contributions coming from various investors such as Commerce Ventures, Courtside Ventures, Two Culture Capital, Valuestream Ventures, Intercept Ventures, Latitude, Future Africa, and 500 Fintech, enhancing the company's financial support network.
Under the leadership of CEO Mark Straub, Smile Identity aims to utilise these funds to expand its product and engineering teams significantly.
This hiring surge is part of a larger strategy to accelerate the development and specialization of its innovative AI-powered biometrics, document verification, anti-fraud, and compliance solutions specifically tailored for the diverse markets across Africa. As digital onboarding becomes increasingly critical to numerous businesses in the region, Smile Identity is well-positioned to facilitate rapid growth by providing companies with effective solutions to verify the true legal identity of their customers. Additionally, with Lexi Novitske from Norrsken22 joining the Board, Smile Identity is set to harness new insights and governance that can drive its mission forward.
Since completing its Series A funding round, Smile Identity has impressively conducted 50 million KYC checks for a multitude of partners throughout the African continent. This remarkable achievement not only showcases the effectiveness of their platform in mitigating fraud but also in enabling seamless customer onboarding, empowering businesses to scale efficiently. The company's strategic expansion efforts have led to new operations in South Africa and Uganda, as well as the establishment of offices in London and Cape Town. This expansion reflects Smile Identity’s commitment to connecting Africans with global opportunities, as well as its dedication to fostering collaboration with local regulators and ID authorities to enhance consumer consent standards and ensure compliance with evolving data protection laws across the continent.
They've invested in Smile Identity
Get to know these SaaS investors
| Investors | Investment Focus | Startup Investments | Round Size | Connect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Costanoa( ) | ||||
 Norrsken22( ) | ||||
 Courtside Ventures( ) | ||||
 Two Culture Capital( ) | ||||
 Valuestream Ventures( ) | ||||
 Intercept Ventures( ) | ||||
 Latitude( ) | ||||
 Future Africa( ) | ||||
| All investors | All investor sectors | All funded startups | All funding rounds |
Click here for a full list of 7,589+ startup investors in the UK