Kenyan Fintech Raise Closes Doors, Migrates Users to Global Platform Carta
Nairobi-based fintech innovator, Raise, which dedicated itself to modernizing equity management and fundraising for African startups, has officially announced its closure. After seven years of operation, the company is transitioning its user base to Carta, a prominent U.S.-based equity management solution, marking a significant development in the African tech ecosystem.
The Journey and Challenges of Raise in African Venture Capital
Founded in 2018 by Marvin Coleby, Tina Nyamache, and Eugene Mutai, Raise embarked on a mission to simplify complex processes for African companies. Its core objective was to streamline cap table management, facilitate equity issuance, and enhance due diligence procedures, thereby making investment and ownership clearer and more efficient across the continent. Despite its ambitious goals and the evident need for such services, the startup ultimately struggled to find a sustainable and scalable business model within the unique confines of the African venture capital landscape. Marvin Coleby elaborated on these challenges in a recent LinkedIn post, stating, “Raise never quite found the right business model for venture. Private equity made the most sense, but doing that alone wouldn’t scale.” This insight highlights the difficulties many African fintechs face in translating innovative solutions into commercially viable and expanding ventures. As part of its shutdown, Raise is ensuring a smooth transition for its clientele: all paid users will be seamlessly migrated to Carta’s platform, while free users will have the option to transition to Carta Launch, a complimentary tier specifically designed to support early-stage companies.
The closure of Raise underscores the dynamic and often challenging environment for tech startups in Africa, even those addressing crucial infrastructure gaps. While its journey comes to an end, the migration of its users to Carta ensures that the foundational work of digitizing equity management continues, offering African businesses access to global-standard tools. This move, though marking an end for Raise, opens new avenues for its former users to manage their equity structures with an established international provider.
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