Ghanaian fintech startup Liquify has secured $1.5 million in seed equity funding—plus additional debt financing—to modernize trade finance for African SMEs.
The round was led by Future Africa and included Launch Africa, 54 Collective, Digital Africa, Equitable Ventures, and angel investors. Impact lender Emerald Africa also provided a debt facility to boost liquidity.
Why it matters
Africa’s trade finance gap sits at an estimated $120 billion annually, disproportionately affecting small and medium-sized exporters.
Liquify’s AI-powered invoice financing platform is aiming to fill that gap by helping exporters turn unpaid invoices into same-day cash.
Driving the news:
- Since launching in beta in late 2024, Liquify has processed over 150 transactions worth $4M.
- Its primary clients are SME exporters in Ghana and Kenya trading with buyers in Europe and North America.
- The platform automates everything from onboarding to KYC/AML checks to credit scoring, drastically reducing the time and cost to secure financing.
Zoom out:
- Traditional trade finance solutions are slow and expensive—averaging over 10 days and $10K per SME.
- Liquify claims to cut both time and cost to a fraction, making financing accessible for smaller players, especially in agriculture and commodities.
What they’re saying:
“This seed round, along with the exceptional people joining our team, validates our vision,” said Nadya Yaremenko, co-founder and CEO. “We’re building a digital rails system for African trade.”
What’s next
Liquify plans to scale its operations across more African markets and deepen relationships with global institutional investors to fund even more trade deals.
Source: Lucidity Insights
