Credrails, a Kenyan based fintech startup, has raised US$2.5-million in venture capital funding from Softbank. Credrails is a fintech company that builds tech infrastructure that connects banks, mobile money and offline data into a single API. It was established in 2020 by Wanjiku Odero and Teresia Kairu and has since expanded its operations into Nigeria. Softbank invested in Credrails through its Softbank Vision Fund Emerge program with other participating investors such the Unicorn Growth Capital, Samos Investments and Precursor Ventures. The investment is expected to further grow the Credrails footprint into the East Africa region.
Softbank is a Japanese multinational holding company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan and focuses on investing in companies operating in technology, energy, and financial services sectors. The group was established by the well-known Masayoshi Son (Korean-Japanese billionaire technology entrepreneur) who was a pioneer investor in the Alibaba Group. Softbank is the holding company to major companies such as Cinarra Systems Japan, Cybereason Japan Corp, DeeCorp Limited, DiDi Mobility Japan Corp, eMnet Japan, ITmedia Inc, Japan Computer Vision Corp, MICE Platform Co, MONET Technologies Inc, OYO Japan Co, SB Engineering Corp and Wireless City Planning Inc among many others. Softbank market capitalization is in the region of ¥9-trillion (or US$78-billion) as at 28 February 2022.