Kashat lands funding from US + pan-African VC

Not all doom and gloom on Planet Startup: Kashat, the region’s first provider of nano-loans, has landed funding from both Plug & Play and Launch Africa as part of its ongoing fundraising drive. Kashat uses machine learning to underwrite credit, providing fast turnaround on productive, short-term loans.

The news comes amid increasing reports of a slowdown in venture funding for startups and as the high-profile failure of Capiter, the non-bank financial services outfit, has sent chills through the community.

What they said: “We are happy to continue to back Kashat in their mission to provide easy lending to everyday Egyptians,” said Launch Africa Managing Partner Zachariah George. “We are proud to back team Kashat as they cross the 100k transaction mark. Egyptians need productive liquidity intervention — and I trust Kashat will be a relief for those in need,” Plug and Play’s Diego Arias García said. Plug and Play bills itself as one of the most active venture capitalists in Silicon Valley.

BACKGROUND- Launch Africa last backed Kashat in a private round a year ago, a couple of months before senior NCR exec Marija Zivanovic-Smith joined Kashat as an independent board member. The company operates in 24 of the nation’s 26 governorates, having expanded this past August to nine more.