Kenyan AI Fintech Flowt Secures Pre-Seed Funding to Boost Climate-Smart Businesses

Nairobi-based startup Flowt has successfully closed an undisclosed pre-seed funding round. The company leverages artificial intelligence to transform the financial records of climate-smart businesses across Africa into lender-ready data, thereby unlocking crucial working capital for them. This funding, secured from Delta40 Fund I, Impacc, and Argidius Foundation, will facilitate Flowt's expansion in Kenya and enable it to further develop its financial intelligence platform.

Flowt addresses a significant challenge for small businesses in Africa: the difficulty in obtaining loans due to a lack of collateral, lengthy due diligence processes, or prohibitive interest rates. The core issue is the absence of trustworthy financial data that lenders can quickly assess. Flowt's AI-driven platform integrates with a business's accounting and bank systems, verifying transaction histories to provide a clear, accurate financial picture in days, rather than months.

The impact of Flowt's technology is demonstrated by its first client, GreenBay, a Kenyan appliance refurbisher. GreenBay's growth was previously constrained by its inability to finance sufficient inventory. By using Flowt's platform, GreenBay secured a loan based on its verified transaction history, allowing it to purchase more stock, increase sales, and begin repayments. This not only supports GreenBay's expansion but also introduces financial discipline through a dedicated Flowt wallet system.

Flowt's approach is particularly significant for Africa's climate capital landscape. Historically, assessing smaller climate-focused businesses has been too costly, leading funders to concentrate on larger energy deals. By making financial assessment cheaper and more accurate, Flowt can lower the entry barrier for investment into smaller, impactful climate-smart enterprises, fostering sustainable economic growth across the continent.