Koree, a Cameroonian fintech focused on digitizing spare change and offering loyalty rewards, has closed a $200,000 pre-seed funding round. The funds will be used to expand its merchant network, grow its user base, and achieve product-market fit, according to the company’s founder, Magalie Gauze-Sanga.
The funding round was supported by prominent backers, including Tunde Akinnuwa, co-founder of Duplo, as well as Cameroon Angels Network, Catalytic Africa, Digital Africa, and other private investors. Koree aims to address the problem of spare change in cash-heavy economies through its innovative card and digital wallet solution. With this product, merchants can return customers’ spare change digitally and offer loyalty programs, allowing users to earn cashback rewards.
Koree is set to launch a marketplace enabling users to earn cashback rewards across various categories such as supermarkets, bakeries, pharmacies, and fast food outlets. Customers will receive a percentage of their spending as hard cash, which can be redeemed directly into their mobile money accounts via partnered payment service providers.
Since its launch in September 2022, Koree has attracted over 13,000 users, processed more than 50,000 cash-based transactions worth $400,000, and created 30,000 private wallets. The fintech generates revenue through merchant subscription fees and commissions on customer transactions.
Koree’s success has been bolstered by notable achievements, including winning the Orange Fab Cameroon Challenge in June 2023 and the Ecobank Fintech Challenge in October 2023, which awarded it $50,000 in non-dilutive funding. These accolades have helped the company expand its team and strengthen its business development and engineering capacities.
With its team distributed across Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo, Nigeria, and Senegal, Koree plans to establish a physical office in Douala, Cameroon, to foster team cohesion and build a strong work culture. Koree’s long-term vision includes scaling its operations across francophone Africa, leveraging mentorship and resources from the Orange Fab acceleration program to achieve this goal.
