Nairobi-based fintech startup Flowt has completed the first close of its pre-seed funding round as it looks to expand access to working capital for climate-focused small businesses across Africa.
The company secured backing from Delta40 Fund I and Impacc, alongside grant support from the Argidius Foundation. The amount raised has not been publicly disclosed. Flowt founder Elana Laichena has indicated that the company plans to pursue a second close as well as additional debt and repayable grant financing to grow its lending activities.
Founded by Laichena in Nairobi, Flowt is developing an AI-powered financial intelligence platform designed to help small businesses become easier for lenders to assess. The technology analyzes financial information businesses already generate, including accounting records and bank transaction data, and converts it into structured information that can be used to evaluate cash flow and repayment capacity.
The startup is targeting climate-smart businesses that may have viable operations but struggle to secure conventional loans because they lack collateral, extensive financial histories or lender-ready financial statements.
Flowt has already issued its first working-capital facility to GreenBay, a Kenyan circular-commerce business that refurbishes and resells household appliances and solar products. To assess GreenBay, Flowt integrated with the company’s accounting system and analyzed banking information to evaluate its financial position and repayment capacity.
Delta40 says Flowt was developed within its venture studio and has tested its approach with more than 15 prospective borrowers. The startup has identified a pre-qualified lending pipeline estimated at between $1 million and $2 million, with potential customers operating in areas including renewable energy, green manufacturing, climate-smart agriculture and clean cooking.
The new backing will help Flowt deploy more working capital in Kenya while continuing to develop the financial-data infrastructure it hopes will make African small businesses more accessible to lenders and investors.
Rather than relying mainly on physical collateral, Flowt’s model aims to use verified transaction histories and business financial data to make smaller loans faster and more economical to assess.
