From November 17 to 19, 2015, Africa’s premier digital and telecoms conference and exhibition, AfricaCom will be showcasing one of South Africa’s payments platform providers, Nomanini. Presently, the platform has received undisclosed funds from Netherlands’ based Goodwell Investments’ EUR50 million uMunthu fund, an impact investment firm which is targeting startups and high growth companies in Sub-Saharan Africa.

What Nomanini does

• The platform enables transactions in the cash-based informal retail sector.
• They also enable enterprise prepaid distributors to bolster their distribution channels.
• They aid distributors in adding to their portfolio of transaction services thereby increasing their access to informal market consumers.
• They also efficiently monitor micro-payments and services through a scalable cloud-based platform.

Measuring the strength and impact of Nomanini

Speaking on Goodwell’s investment in Nomanini, the Managing Partner, Wim Van der Beek expressed faith in Nomanini’s capability in further strengthening the informal retail sector . “We expect a lot from their platform and their team. We only invest in companies and teams that have demonstrated a strong capability and growth potential. That is the case with Nomanini,” he said.

“We believe Nomanini could become a global provider of a range of services for the informal retail market. It provides a solution that can be applied in all “majority markets”, though in Africa alone the sheer size of the addressable market is attractive,” he added.

“Goodwell is an ideal investor to bring on board at this juncture. They have a proven track record investing in innovative financial services companies, experience supporting fast-scaling teams, deep networks in the fintech sector and share our values to bring services to the under-served,” said the CEO of Nomanini, Vahid Monadjem.

Nomanini has raised capital of over US$2.3 million and accessed enterprise partnerships in Ghana and Mozambique. These pan-African partnerships have made it possible for thousands of merchants to supplement their income, processing over 800 000 transactions monthly.

About Goodwell Investment

With 18 portfolio companies in both Africa and India and over 9 million clients as well as EUR100 million assets under management, Goodwell Investments has created currently has demonstrated rapid growth, generating excellent returns while creating significant social impact. The firm aims to significantly expand its footprint and assets under management in Africa in the next five years.

“We believe that we can contribute to a better world by offering people better economic opportunities. That drives our business,” Van der Beek said. “But our criteria and processes are the same as with regular private equity and venture capital. Our track record demonstrates that. Our returns are excellent, better than many other VC funds.”

“We are not a traditional investor sitting in an office. We have a structure that is based on local teams that know local customs. That allows us to select the best companies and provide hands-on support to their management. In the early growth stages we are highly involved with the team and in key processes,” he said.

“Financial inclusion creates opportunities. Being able to transact, transfer, save or borrow money is one of the core elements of becoming included in the economy. But then you need a solid financial company to offer you the opportunity to do that, and to do that efficiently. That is why we invest in companies like Nomanini” says Van der Beek.