Costanoa and Norrsken22 back identity verification platform
Smile Identity has successfully completed a Series B funding round, raising $20 million. The round was led by Costanoa and Norrsken22 and included participation from Commerce Ventures, Courtside Ventures, Two Culture Capital, Valuestream Ventures, Intercept Ventures, Latitude, Future Africa and 500 Fintech.
Lexi Novitske from Norrsken22 will also join Smile Identity’s Board as part of the Series B. This brings the total funding raised by Smile Identity to $31 million, including $7 million from its Series A funding round in 2021.
The funds will be used to expand Smile Identity’s product and engineering team, focusing on the development and specialsation of its AI-powered biometrics, document verification, anti-fraud, and compliance solutions for African markets. The company is growing its existing teams in East, West, and Southern Africa and plans to expand its reach in Francophone and Arab-speaking markets through localised sales and support. Smile Identity will continue to work closely with regulators and ID authorities to build consumer consent standards into software, enforce African data protection laws, and share data on fraud and financial inclusion trends.
Smile Identity’s mission is to help ensure Africans are among the most trusted consumers in the world by providing secure and verifiable identities for millions. The company has completed 50 million KYC checks for hundreds of partners across the African continent since its Series A funding round. Smile Identity offers global coverage with its Document Verification product and has added a Business Verification solution to its offerings. The company has expanded into South Africa and Uganda and opened offices in London and Cape Town.
The African digital economy is expanding rapidly, with nearly 600 million internet users and a target of universal digital access by 2030. Smile Identity is providing innovative solutions for verifying identity in the digital age, leveraging proprietary machine learning algorithms specifically designed for African devices, faces and data sources. The company helps businesses and organisations mitigate fraud and ensure compliance with KYC requirements, playing a crucial role in verifying customers’ identities with confidence for leading companies in banking, fintech, education, agriculture and e-commerce.