Tanzanian Supply Chain Startup, Ramani, Closes $32M Series A Funding – Acquires Lending License From the Bank of Tanzania

Tanzanian startup, Ramani, has closed a $32 million series A round led by New York-based venture firm, Flexcap Ventures, and serial entrepreneur, Jared Schreiber.

The startup says it is building an ecosystem of brands, micro-distribution centers, and merchants, and connecting them through its supply chain management software. This is their solution to a lack of data transparency and a lack of access to financial services within Africa’s supply chains.

“Their product needs are unmet and their financial needs are unmet – despite the fact that Africa’s CPG supply chain alone is worth $1 Trillion. We’ve started with a POS app for micro-distribution centers which integrates into a web dashboard that gives them sales visibility. We’ll then embed financial services into our software.” – Ramani

The series A round, which includes debt funding from undisclosed investors, is yet another milestone for the startup that was founded in 2019 in a family house.

• April 2019 – Launch
• January 2020 – Accepted into YCombinator
• March 2021 – Closed pre-seed round
• May 2021 – Opened 1st office
• Augusts 2021 – Closed seed round

Besides Ycombinator, Ramani is also backed by:

• Future Africa
• Launch Africa
• Village Global
• Hustle Fund
• Musha Ventures
• Raba
• Sunu Capital

Ramani intends to use the new funding to expand its offerings across the continent and further develop its software platform. This includes scaling its network of micro-distribution centers (MDCs) and launching a new micro-credit offering for select MDCs.

“Our big vision is to create this cloud network of micro-distribution centers all across Africa as we have built software to help support Africa’s trillion-dollar consumer-packaged-goods supply chain,” Ramani CEO Iain Usiri said.

He added that the app is deployed on a specialized point-of-sale device and a printer which salespeople use in warehouses to manage their inventory and operations.

Towards its lending play, Ramani has reportedly acquired a lending license from the Bank of Tanzania and introduced a 30-day inventory financing product in the market. This offering is possible because Ramani can track various data from the app, including sales of different users, helping inform its financing decisions.

“We are currently focused on leveraging financial services in order to monetize because we provide our software for free,” Usiri said.