iiDENTIFii, the South African biometrics company, has raised USD15 million in growth capital, with the round led by African investment company Arise. This is, to date, the largest African Series A in the identity verification space. It will use this investment to fund its expansion across Africa.
iiDENTIFii is a leading biometric authentication company that securely uses advanced face authentication technology to authenticate users via their cell phones or PCs within seconds.
The firm operates across several industry verticals and is used by the largest pan-African banks, insurers and mining houses for both customer and employee authentication. Investors in the round alongside Arise are growth-stage private equity firm, Sanari Capital, and veteran US tech entrepreneur Bill Spruill.
Cybercrime within the financial sector is a growing threat to the continent. The consequences of an attacker exploiting security vulnerabilities are particularly severe for fintech and banking apps that process sensitive financial information. The use of iiDENTIFii’s biometric authentication to protect access to this sensitive financial information makes iiDENTIFii’s solution an integral part of financial inclusion, digital inclusion, and identity inclusion on the continent.
“I’m incredibly proud of the engineering team and our growth as a company over the past three years,” says iiDENTIFii Founder and CEO, Gur Geva. “This new growth capital validates our central business thesis that we are the preferred partner for enterprise-grade identity in Africa. We’re excited to put the investment to work as we close in on our goal of authenticating every face in Africa. With this new funding and the networks of Arise, Sanari, and Bill – we are confident to continue our mission of stopping identity theft in Africa”.
“In addition to complementing Arise’s portfolio of bank investments across Sub-Saharan Africa, this investment heralds our foray into the African fintech market,” says Arise CEO Gavin Tipper. “We are excited about our partnership with iiDENTIFii, which will allow 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 place a strong emphasis on digital and human enablement to unlock business potential,” says Sihle Gumede of Sanari Capital. “iiDENTIFii is, therefore, a great addition to our investment portfolio and we look forward to being part of its ongoing growth journey. We are excited about co-creating a scalable and sustainable pan-African biometrics business”
“As an entrepreneur and investor, I’ve had a significant amount of experience with transformative technology,” says Bill Spruill “The work being done by iiDENTIFii is particularly exciting and I am excited to see the impact it has on the African continent.”
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