Ghana’s Liquify raises $1.5M seed to accelerate invoice financing for SMEs across Sub‑Saharan Africa.
Ghanaian fintech startup Liquify (site) has successfully closed an oversubscribed US $1.5 million equity seed round to bolster its mission of bridging Africa’s substantial trade finance gap—estimated at $120 billion annually. Gulf Africa Review previously covered Liquify here.
Led by Future Africa and bolstered by prominent backers including Launch Africa, 54 Collective, Digital Africa, Equitable Ventures, and angel investors, the round also attracted additional debt financing from Emerald Africa.
A Solution to Africa’s Trade Finance Deficit
Many Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) across Africa face prolonged payment delays, often waiting 30–90 days for export invoices to clear. These delays strain working capital, impeding growth and competitiveness. Liquify addresses this issue through its fully digital, AI-driven invoice financing marketplace, enabling exporters to monetize unpaid receivables within hours instead of weeks.
Founders’ Vision & Early Traction
Founded in 2023 by Nadya Yaremenko and Alberta Asafo-Asamoah, Liquify launched its beta platform in late 2024. Since then, it has processed over 150 transactions worth more than $4 million, primarily supporting SME exporters in Ghana and Kenya doing business with buyers in Europe and North America.
“We unlock cash trapped in their unpaid invoices: exporters upload an invoice, our platform runs KYC/AML and credit checks, and the invoices get funded within hours, not weeks, at a fraction of the cost,” Nadya Yaremenko, who founded Liquify alongside Alberta Asafo-Asamoah in 2023 said in a recent interview.
Tech‑Enabled Efficiency & Cost Savings
Liquify is automating essential yet traditionally manual processes such as onboarding, KYC, AML, and credit scoring. This technological leap shrinks both cost and time—where conventional banks may take over 10 days and $10,000+ to service a single SME, Liquify can deliver funds in a matter of hours with far lower fees
“We built Liquify to unlock the $120 billion trade-finance gap holding back Africa’s most dynamic SMEs,” Yaremenko said. “This seed round – as well the incredible people joining our team – validates our vision. With our fully digital, AI-powered platform, exporters can turn unpaid invoices into same-day cash, while global investors gain access to a new untapped class.”
Implications for Investors
For investors and business strategists focused on African trade and investment, Liquify’s progress highlights:
Scalable digital finance: A blueprint for deploying fintech solutions across borders.
High-impact opportunity: Digital infrastructure targeting long-standing SME pain points.
Regional scalability: Success in Ghana and Kenya could translate into wider Sub‑Saharan expansion.
What’s Next for Liquify?
With new funding secured, Liquify plans to:
Expand operations across Anglophone and Francophone markets.
Continue optimizing its AI-enhanced platform.
Onboard exporters in more countries and engage global investors hungry for new asset classes.
Liquify’s successful fundraising underscores growing investor confidence in fintech innovations that directly alleviate structural inefficiencies in African trade. As liquidity access improves for SMEs, the potential for regional trade growth strengthens, creating fresh opportunities for investment and development.
For more stories of African trade, visit our dedicated archives.