Gebeya secures investment from Tokyo-based VC firm Inclusion Japan

Gebeya, an SaaS-enabled, Pan-African marketplace, announced that it has secured an undisclosed Pre-Series A equity from a Tokyo-based VC firm, Inclusion Japan (ICJ)

According to the company, the new investment aims to drive growth and innovation for Gebeya’s continuous expansion. It will be used to expand Gebeya from a single two-sided tech talent marketplace to a provisioner of marketplaces under a Marketplace-As-A-Service model.

Headquartered in Addis Ababa and with offices also in Kenya and Senegal, Gebeya aims to connect startups, SMEs, and multinational corporations with vetted, skilled talent and professional services in more than 30 countries across Africa.

Gebeya has raised a total of $4 million since inception including the $2 million closed in seed round investment co-led by Partech and Orange Digital Ventures and followed by Consonance Investment Managers.

“ICJ has so far invested in two African-based startups, both in Ethiopia. Dodai, an e-mobility technology startup, is run by my fellow CEO Yuma whose vision and commitment on Africa have made ICJ consider the second investment into Gebeya. ICJ investment is quite strategic in building a strong bridge between Japan and Ethiopia regarding investment, knowledge transfer, and business development.” said Amadou Daffe, Gebeya’s CEO & Co-founder. “Gebeya has always thrived off of strong partnerships with like-minded firms who recognize Africa’s potential and that pooling resources is critical to achieve impact at scale.

This strategic Pre-Series A equity investment from ICJ will allow Gebeya further to strengthen its product offering, especially the Marketplace-As-A-Service one, but also beef up its sales team and processes to better serve its target markets both for its supply and demand sides.

“We are delighted to be investing in Gebeya,” said Yasuhiro Yoshizawa, Director, and Co-Founder at ICJ. “As a fund manager with a $100 million investment budget that will focus on the Africa region, I consider myself very fortunate to have been able to invest in Gebeya, which has the greatest potential in Sub-Saharan Africa.”

“We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with ICJ and are confident that this investment will help us to take our company to new heights,” said Daffe. “We are excited to see what the future holds and are committed to delivering the best possible products and services to our customers.”