By Nigerian startup Billboxx, an integrated billing-to-payment platform aimed at ensuring timely payments for businesses across Africa, has closed a $1.6 million pre-seed funding round to help it tackle the critical cashflow challenges faced by SMEs across Africa.
Founded in early 2023 by Justus Obaoye and Abdulazeez Ogunjobi, Billboxx has built an integrated billing-to-payment platform that streamlines billing processes, reduces inefficiencies from manual invoicing, and mitigates the impact of deferred payments.
By providing automated billing and invoicing, secure payment facilitation, and tailored cash flow financing, Billboxx empowers businesses to achieve consistent cash flow and focus on growth.
The startup has facilitated over US$4 million in invoice payments through its MVP launched in May 2023, and boasts strategic integrations with a leading commercial bank in Nigeria, a prominent African payment gateway, and multiple lending partners, enabling seamless payment facilitation via bank transfers, cards, and financing options.
Billboxx has now secured US$1.6 million in pre-seed debt and equity funding from investors including Norrsken Accelerator, Kaleo Ventures, 54 Collective, P2Vest and Afrinovation Ventures, which it will use to empower more African SMEs with cashflow solutions.
“Cashflow difficulties are the leading cause of business failures in Africa, with delayed invoice payments being a major contributor,” said Obaoye. “Billboxx is dedicated to solving these issues with an integrated platform that ensures consistent cash flow and financial resilience for businesses. This funding round enables us to expand our impact and empower more SMEs to thrive.”
Alex Bakir, general partner at Norrsken Accelerator, said Billboxx was tackling a critical pain point for SME growth in Africa.
“The team has experienced first-hand the challenges associated with invoices and payments, and is committed to building solutions that simply work for small businesses across the continent. We’re proud to support Justus, AZ and the team, and see huge potential in financial solutions Billboxx is developing,” he said.
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