In May last year, Kenyan financial services company - Cellulant - announced that it had raised a $47.5 million Series C led by TPG’s Rise Fund. There were no further details disclosed regarding the terms of the deal at the time.
However, according to the filings by Cellulant with the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) in a notice last week - as reported by Business Daily - the fintech sold a 44.4% stake at a 10.8 billion Kenyan Shillings valuation. When converted to the US dollar, the company was valued at approximately $105 million.
The Rise Fund made the investment in Cellulant together with Endeavor Catalyst, a co-investment fund that specialises in growth equity investments, and Satya Capital, an independent venture firm with a focus on African business. The company's list of shareholders also includes Velocity Capital Private Equity, Progression Capital Africa Limited and TBL Mirror Fund.
Also read: Why are African startups launching in multiple countries before they even hit seed stage funding?
Cellulant's $47.5 million raised last year was the highest raised by a Kenyan technology company in 2018 according to Digest Africa Deals data.
Founded in 2004, Cellulant is among the companies in Africa with the highest level of scale on the continent, with operations in at least 8 African countries. Yet, the valuation indicates the level of scale needed for an African company to attract a significant valuation.
Jumia, with operations in 20+ African countries, is said to be one of the continent's most valued early-stage tech companies with a valuation hovering $1 billion. Last year, CB Insights also released its unicorn focused report which indicated that there were only three unicorns in Africa - Jumia included.