The funding round was led by E4E Africa and 4Di Capital, with participation from several other investors, including DotExe Ventures, Launch Africa, Equitable Ventures, Felix Strategic Investment, Gaingels, and local angel investors.

Happy Pay, founded in 2023, provides interest-free and deposit-free credit solutions to its users.

The company leverages AI-driven credit scoring to assess customer affordability quickly, ensuring a seamless checkout experience for both consumers and merchants.

With this new funding, Happy Pay plans to launch innovative products, boost its marketing efforts, and expand its merchant base.

The company also intends to strategically grow its team to support its rapid expansion.

“This funding will enable us to accelerate our growth and expand our innovative product offerings, ultimately providing more value to the customers and merchants we serve,” said Wesley Billett, co-founder and CEO of Happy Pay.

Happy Pay has experienced significant growth over the past year, attracting a 900% increase in user growth, primarily driven by millennials and Gen Zs.

The company has been driving growth for South African eCommerce merchants by offering access to new customers, higher average order values, and improved conversion rates.

Patrick Postrehovsky, Co-Founder and COO of Happy Pay, stated that the fintech provides consumers with zero-cost alternatives to high-interest credit, enabling customers to access the formal financial system using their own affordability data.

The BNPL market in South Africa is experiencing rapid growth due to the country’s large population of financially unserved and underserved consumers, increasing eCommerce activity, and challenging economic conditions.

The BNPL payments in the country are expected to reach $1.07 billion this year, with an anticipated annual growth rate of 10.6% from 2024 to 2029.

The funding round was led by Reach Capital, with participation from Classera, Brighteye Ventures, e& capital, and several business angels.

LabLabee plans to use the funds to expand its operations in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region and enter the US market.

The company will also introduce new hands-on training labs and expand its course catalog to include topics like industry 4.0, telco security, telco AI, and edge computing. Additionally, LabLabee will hire more staff to support its growing user base.

Founded in 2021, LabLabee offers hands-on learning experiences in future network technologies.

The company works with telecom operators, vendors, industrial companies, and more to integrate practical exercises into their training programs.

Esteban Sosnik, General Partner and Co-Founder at Reach Capital, praised LabLabee for its deep technical experience and industry knowledge.

He noted that the company is addressing a critical need in the telecom sector by helping workers upskill and reskill.

LabLabee’s co-founder, Samir Tahraoui, highlighted the challenges faced by telcos and industrial engineers in learning new technologies.

He emphasized that LabLabee’s platform makes learning easier, faster, and field-ready.