Nairobi-based FinTech innovator, Craft Silicon, has invested $500,000 in EatOut, a Kenyan food tech & media company.
EatOut is a Kenyan restaurant search and discovery service founded in 2010 by Mikul Shah. It provides information and reviews on restaurants, including images of menus where the restaurant does not have its own website.
In a joint press release issued by Craft Silicon and EatOut, the companies said that the new capital injection is to fund the development and launch of EatOut’s new mobile payments app and expedite growth into neighboring markets.
Craft Silicon CEO, Kamal Budhabatti and EatOut Founder, Mikul Shah
“Over the last 12 months we have been testing our mobile payments and loyalty platform with several partners. In taking this big step forward we wanted a partner that could bring a wealth of industry expertise. The Craft Silicon team has been working with us since inception and we are delighted that they share our vision,” Shah said during an interview with this writer.
Craft Silicon is one of Africa’s leading FinTech companies. Craft Silicon provides bespoke, cutting-edge software in core banking, microfinance, mobile, switch solutions and electronic payments for customers on four continents. According to Craft Silicon CEO, Kamal Budhabhatti, the company has invested in EatOut because of a revolutionary new technology payment platform the company is about to launch.
“EatOut is the go-to source for foodies and has been a catalyst in transforming the region’s food scene. Over the years they’ve launched innovative products such as Yummy Magazine and Nairobi Restaurant Week. At the core, however they have a fascinating payments solution that we believe will change the way consumers dine in the region. Craft Silicon as a FinTech company building enhanced verticals that ride on our payment gateway, has made this investment because of our strong conviction in the founders, the world-class product they have built, and their ambitious vision,” Budhabatti said.
Both Kamal Budhabatti and Mikul Shah were recently selected for the 2017 cohort of The Stanford Institute for Innovation in Developing Economies (SEED) program for East Africa, an initiative of the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
The new EatOut App will allow diners to pay for their meals through their mobile phone. The mobile solution is also being integrated into several local banking apps thanks in large part to support from Craft Silicon. EatOut’s move into the payments space through its app makes the investment by Craft Silicon particularly strategic.
This is not the first time Eat Out Kenya is raising money. In 2013 Africa Media Ventures, a Dutch venture capital fund, invested $200,000 in the company.