Scale, a South African startup providing brand and project management services to fintechs, has raised $700,000 in pre-seed funding led by 54 Collective and First Circle Capital. Co-founded by Barbara Woollams and Miranda Perumal, a former Visa director, Scale will use the funding to expand into Kenya, Zambia, and Cote d’Ivoire, focusing on growing their customizable card-issuing product, Scale Execute.
While African fintechs have faced challenges, such as chargeback fraud, Scale aims to capitalize on opportunities in markets like Cote d’Ivoire, which leads in card issuance in West Africa. Despite the dominance of cash payments in some regions, Scale is betting on the projected $230 billion growth in the fintech market by 2025. The startup will compete with established players like Onafriq in the B2B card issuance space.
The company is optimistic about becoming a key enabler for African fintechs by addressing the pain points in card issuance and leveraging its deep partnerships with payment infrastructure providers, including Visa and Mastercard.
“We’re excited to expedite our ecosystem engagement and continue delivering unrivalled service,” said Scale’s CEO, Miranda Perumal.