Youverify, a Lagos based identity verification firm helping African banks and startups automate know-your-customer has launched operations in Kenya.
The regulatory technology firm said the move to tap the Kenyan market aims to strengthen Kenya’s economy and to keep the operations of financial institutions in check.
YouVerify Chief Executive and co-founder of Gbenga Odegbami, said the company’s choice to bring its products and services to Kenya was smart.
“Expanding our products and solutions to Kenya is a strategic move that has always been in the works.
Having thoroughly studied the compliance landscape in Kenya, we believe the market is ripe for our superior technology,” said Odegbami during the launch.
In its commitment to drive financial innovation, YouVerify pledged to bring more of their products, technology and knowledge to the Kenyan market to change how businesses think about safety.
“We aim to drive financial innovation worldwide, so bringing our products to Kenya fits that goal.
When we bring our cutting-edge technology and expertise to the Kenyan market, we want to change how businesses deal with compliance.”
YouVerify Expansion
Its expansion in the African Market comes after regtech secured a 1 million dollar seed round extension in August 2022.
The startup raised a 1.5 million dollar round in 2020, bringing its total seed raise to 2.5 million dollars.
Last year, several African fintechs such as Flutterwave and Union54 hit the headlines for compliance checks issues and fraud allegations.
Both unlinked events re-emphasized the importance of KYC and anti-money laundering (AML) checks.
Further, it underscored why regulators should enforce strict policies that financial institutions need for accountability while operating across the continent and globally.
In addition, YouVerify runs other products such as know-your-business, know-your-transaction, know-your-employee, risk intelligence, and media screening to its service offerings beyond KYC.
Youverify came into Africa’s regtech scene in 2018 and has expanded into new markets such as Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, South Africa, Kenya and Uganda.
It now eyes setting foot in among other countries Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Zambia and Egypt.
The firm plans to grow its footprint to cover 30 countries, especially in the southern, eastern and francophone parts of Africa.