GTR Ventures makes first Africa investment in Orbitt
London/Singapore – October 30 2018: GTR Ventures, the world’s first investment and venture-building platform specialised in trade and supply chain, has announced an investment in Orbitt – a pan-African focused fintech deals platform.
Orbitt connects investors with trade and investment opportunities through its smart-matching technology. The company has facilitated over $100m of equity, debt and trade finance transactions to date and is digitising the African investment ecosystem.
While becoming GTR Ventures first Africa-focused investment, Orbitt joins a growing portfolio of tech-enabled companies that are delivering products for the global trade and investment community. GTR Ventures, based out of London, Singapore, and Hong Kong, will work with Orbitt to strengthen their trade finance capabilities from a product and innovation perspective as well as growing the platform’s relationships within the global marketplace of traditional and digital trade finance players.
“Our partnership with GTR Ventures comes at an exciting time for us,” said Lanre Oloniniyi, Co-Founder of Orbitt. “GTR Ventures’ network of trade and export organisations will be important in helping us attract major banks and funds across Asia, Europe and the Middle-East, to increase trade finance lending and investment into Africa.”
The announcement falls during the Global Trade Review (GTR) Africa Trade and Investment Conference in London, which has become a key annual gathering for international trade, export and project finance professionals interested in the continent. Key financial institutions present at the conference include Afreximbank, Ecobank, Standard Chartered, SMBC and BACB.
Singapore-based Kelvin Tan, Chief Investment Officer of GTR Ventures elaborated, “Africa-Asia trade today stands at $500 bn, annually. However, capital providers to Africa remain hampered by the lack of financial tools and access to data. Orbitt’s technology can help lenders manage their risks, and to complete timely transactions in otherwise disconnected markets. We welcome partnerships with all stakeholders to improve credit transparency on the continent. Collectively, our vision is to enhance the bankability of every firm, SME, and transaction in Africa.”
Peter Gubbins, Managing Director of GTR and co-founder of GTR Ventures, added: “Although the continent has a trade finance gap of over $100bn, we see an increasing amount of institutional and impact capital keen on doing more with Africa. Leveraging GTR’s tremendous African footprint – Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia and South Africa, we see Orbitt working alongside our partner banks and funds to bridge this gap.”
About GTR Ventures
Based out of London, Singapore and Hong Kong, GTR Ventures is the world’s first investment platform dedicated to trade and supply chain. In exclusive partnership with Global Trade Review (GTR), the world’s leader in global trade and trade finance intelligence, publishing, news and events, GTR Ventures mobilizes private capital for trade and trade finance, investing in and supporting the development of trade-focused fintech companies (tradetechs) while working with multiple stakeholders to integrate technology into trade. GTR Ventures focuses on four main investment areas: transaction banking (trade finance, treasury, & cash), trade insurance & risk management, SME finance & supply chain and physical trade.
About Global Trade Review
Established in 2002 and with offices in London, Singapore and Hong Kong, GTR is the world’s leading trade and trade finance media company, offering a one stop shop of information, news, events and services for companies and individuals involved in global trade. GTR organises over 20 trade finance conferences around the world, the largest of which is in Singapore, with about 1300 attendees. Specific to Africa, GTR has an annual GTR Africa publication; and is the leader in terms of trade finance conferences in Africa.
