A UK-Nigeria-based trade tech startup, Norebase has raised the total sum of $1M to help businesses in African countries start, scale, and operate in any part of the continent.
According to the startup CEO, Adetola Onayemi said, the idea for Norebase came after various conversations on how his clients and colleagues in tech could sway AfCFTA for their businesses.
In 2021, 54 African countries signed the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement (AfCFTA) that aims to stimulate intra-African trade and boost Africa’s trading position in the global market by strengthening Africa’s common voice and policy space in the global trade market.
Then, Onayemi was part of the team that negotiated the AfCFTA, which went into force in January 2021. His expertise from this activity, together with his recent work as a technical consultant to Nigeria’s vice president’s office, led him to found Norebase. This trade tech business has raised $1 million in a pre-seed round.
In September 2021, Onayemi and Tope Obanla launched Norebase. It enables entrepreneurs and enterprises to launch and scale across multiple African countries at once or regularly. According to the company, companies that utilize Norebase’s technology may incorporate in any African country in a few minutes and grow to new locations in a week. Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, Rwanda, Senegal, Togo, Tanzania, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Mauritius, and Burkina Faso are among these countries.
Norebase also upsells other services as long as they comply with regulatory and compliance criteria. They include opening bank accounts, creating virtual mailing addresses, and registering trademarks and intellectual property.
According to Onayemi, Norebase doesn’t have a set fee and instead charges clients based on the services they want, without commenting on the company’s pricing range.
Recently, the trading startup has begun offering African businesses the option of incorporating in the United States. It also introduced the Incorporation API, a plug-and-play tool that enables other businesses, such as payment processors and banks, to offer incorporation services to their customers.
This incorporation-as-a-service plugin establishes Norebase as a worldwide commerce technology player. It’s one of the few companies that provide these services, along with First base. The service presently has nine partners and is only available for incorporating firms in Nigeria, the United States, and Kenya.
