NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

By Ivor Price

The South African biometrics start-up iiDENTIFii has raised $15 million growth capital.

The round was led by African investment company Arise whose cornerstone investors include Rabobank Partnerships, Norfund, NorFinance and the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank (FMO). This is, to date, the largest African series A in the identity verification space.

iiDENTIFii is considered a world leader in biometric authentication. Its advanced face authentication technology securely authenticates users via their cell phones or PCs within seconds. It operates across several industry verticals and is used by the largest pan-African banks, insurers and mining houses for both customer and employee authentication.

Customers include Standard Bank, Absa, and Investec Bank. Investors in the round alongside Arise are growth-stage private equity firm Sanari Capital and veteran United States tech entrepreneur Bill Spruill.

iiDENTIFii will use this investment to fund its expansion across 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.

Photo courtesy of Blogtrepreneur.