An innovative biometric technology firm, iiDENTIFii says it has raised $15m dollars to fight Cybercrime through biometric authentication and for the company’s expansion across Africa.
Founder and CEO, Gur Geva said on Wednesday that the fund was led by African investment company Arise, whose cornerstone investors included Rabobank Partnerships, Norfund, NorFinance and FMO.
Geva said, in a statement, that with the new fund and the networks of Arise, Sanari, and Bill, iiDENTIFii would confidently stop identity theft in Africa.
He said that the investment validated the biometrics’ firm central business thesis as the preferred partner for enterprise-grade identity in Africa.
“Cybercrime within the financial sector is a growing threat to the continent, the consequences of attackers exploiting security vulnerabilities are particularly severe for financial services 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,’’ he said.
Arise CEO Gavin Tipper said that in addition to complementing Arise’s portfolio of bank investments across Sub-Saharan Africa, the investment heralded its foray into the African fintech market.
Tipper said that the firm was excited about the partnership with iiDENTIFii, which will allow offering of unique technology to banks in Sub-Saharan Africa, strengthening digital anti-money laundering practices and advancing financial inclusion.
Sihle Gumede of Sanari Capital said that at Sanari, strong emphasis was placed on digital and human enablement to unlock business potential.
Gumede said that 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,” Gumede said
A United States-based technology investor, Bill Spruill, said the work being done by iiDENTIFii was particularly exciting because of the impact it would have on the African continent. (NAN)
