iiDENTIFii secures $15M in funding to expand face biometric authentication across Africa

South Africa-based iiDENTIFii has secured 272 million South Africa Rand (approximately US$15.2 million) in a series A funding round to grow its face biometric authentication business.

The funding round was led by African investment company Arise, which is backed by Rabobank Partnerships, Norfund, NorFinance and FMO. Private equity firm Sanari Capital and U.S. tech entrepreneur Bill Spruill also participated in the round. It is the largest series A round by an African company in the identity verification space, writes TechFinancials.

iiDENTIFii counts the largest pan-African banks, insurance companies and mining firms among its customers for biometric authentication of users or employees.

“This investment validates our central business thesis that we are the preferred partner for enterprise-grade identity in Africa,” says iiDENTIFii Founder and CEO Gur Geva. “We’re excited to put the investment to work as we close in on our goal of authenticating every face in Africa. With this new funding and the networks of Arise, Sanari, and Bill – we confidently continue our mission of stopping identity theft in Africa.”

The company plans to use the funds to fuel its expansion across the continent.

“At Sanari, we place a strong emphasis on digital and human enablement to unlock business potential,” says Sihle Gumede of Sanari Capital. “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.”

iiDENTIFii also joined the JSE Enterprise Accelerator Program earlier this year to help scale its operations.

Article Topics

Africa  |  biometric authentication  |  biometrics  |  digital identity  |  face biometrics  |  facial authentication  |  funding  |  identity verification  |  iiDENTIFii  |  investment