OkHi, a Kenyan/UK startup addressing system for emerging markets, has raised more than £1.4M, supported by Angel Investment Network, the world’s largest online angel investment platform.
Headquartered in Nairobi and registered in London, OkHi is solving a problem that affects 4 billion people and costs businesses billions every year. The company was co-founded in 2014 by Timbo Drayson, who was at Google for 7 years, where he led the launch of Google Maps across emerging markets and built Chromecast. OkHi’s pioneering technology enables any business to collect an accurate address from their customer, verify it and navigate to it without getting lost. Its primary focus is to solve address verification for financial services, an endemic problem that holds back financial inclusion across emerging markets.
The story has been getting widespread media coverage in the tech media press in the UK including titles like UKTN, Techround, UK Tech Investment News and Growth Business. It has also been picked up in African media including Disrupt Africa, Tech In Africa and VentureBurn.
Backed by the co-founder of Airbnb Nate Blecharczyk and chairman of Twitter Patrick Pichette, OkHi has powered millions of uses of its addressing system. The company recently launched in Nigeria with Africa’s largest banking platform, Interswitch Group, to solve address verification in Nigeria and beyond. The round took only two months to complete. OKHi is now deploying this investment to double the team’s size, win the Nigeria market and grow the business beyond Africa. With scalable products solving a global problem, OKHi is on a clear trajectory to Series A.
According to Timbo Drayson, “A physical address should be a human right. Whether it’s opening up a bank account or getting an ambulance to your door, every person on this planet deserves access to these services. This raise is a vital stepping stone to unlock our growth into Nigeria as well as explore new markets across Africa, Middle East and Asia. The Angel Investment Network was instrumental in our fundraising success and has really helped us on our Mission to enable half the world without a physical address to “be included.”
According to Ed Stephens, who led the raise for Angel Investment Network: “This start up really ticked so many boxes for our investors who really bought into the company’s vital Mission. We were inundated with interest with more than 180 inquiries on the table. OKHi’s digital infrastructure helps to answer a genuine need for people without a formal address to get access to services that can help transform their lives. The team’s credentials were impeccable in their experience as entrepreneurs and addressing so we look forward to seeing the huge success of this company as it grows to help millions of people across the globe get better access to services.”
