Trade advisory in African markets
WaystoCap Ventures advises companies and financial institutions on cross-border trade in Africa: entering markets, structuring finance and building the operations behind them. We founded and ran a trade business on the continent before we advised on one.
What we do
We work on four things, usually in combination:
- Trade and project finance. Structuring working capital, receivables and supply chain finance, and running the lender, insurer and DFI process to close.
- Sourcing, distribution and market access. Selecting markets, finding and vetting counterparties, and setting up sourcing and distribution that your team then runs.
- Fintech and supply chain. Payments, settlement, marketplaces and logistics for cross-border trade.
- AI innovation and implementation. Putting AI to work in live trade operations, from document processing to credit assessment.
Engagements start with advice and continue into implementation. We stay on the ground with the client's team until the work is embedded, then step back.
Since 2014 we have traded across five African markets, structured and disbursed several hundred million dollars of financing for clients, and built a network of buyers, suppliers, banks and insurers across the continent.
Experience
Client names are confidential. These are examples of recent work.
| Client | What we did | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Pan-African trade platform backed by a multilateral trade bank | Operating partner: counterparty onboarding, transaction facilitation, market coverage and AI-enabled automation. | Tens of thousands of buyers and suppliers onboarded; transactions flowing across the continent. |
| Digital bank, Ghana | Product architecture and investor process. | Capital raised; savings and loans licence granted, the first in over a decade. |
| Cross-border payments provider, Mauritius | SWIFT integration strategy and secured cross-border lending design. | Faster transaction processing; secured lending capability launched. |
| Agri-trade business, West Africa | Redesigned farm-gate supply chain and payments; supported the capital raise. | Capital raised; new farm-gate infrastructure in place. |
| Corporates entering new African markets | Partner selection, financing structure and in-market set-up. | Operations established and handed over to client teams. |
Capabilities
Trade and project finance
- Working capital, receivables and supply chain finance
- Letters of credit, payment terms and trade credit insurance
- Lender, insurer and DFI processes, run through to close
- Debt and equity raising for trade businesses
Sourcing, distribution and market access
- Market selection and entry sequencing
- Sourcing and procurement
- Distribution and route to market
- Counterparty diligence and payment security
- Partnerships with DFIs, banks, insurers and public institutions
Fintech and supply chain
- Marketplaces, exchanges and lending platforms
- Cross-border payments, SWIFT integration and settlement
- Logistics, customs and corridor management
- Landed cost, quality assurance and dispute frameworks
AI innovation and implementation
- Identifying where AI affects the P&L, and in what order
- Document processing, screening and credit assessment
- Data infrastructure that keeps trade visible to financiers
- Build-or-buy decisions, vendor selection and staff adoption
How we work
Most engagements run in three phases. Each ends with a decision on whether to continue.
1
Diagnostic.
A review of your current trade position: flows, margins, financing and constraints on growth.
2
Design.
A sequenced plan: which markets, in what order, and what needs to be built or financed.
3
Implementation.
Delivery alongside your team, in market, until the capability sits with you.
Team
Partner
Niama El Bassunie
Founder and CEO of WaystoCap, which she built into a leading B2B trade marketplace in Africa with backing from Y Combinator, and later sold to a strategic buyer. Twenty years in MENA and Africa. CFA charterholder; LSE; began her career at PwC.
Partner
Nic Pantucci
Twenty years founding and investing in technology companies in Silicon Valley, including on the founding team of a company acquired by Meta. Leads the firm's technology, AI and platform work. Cambridge.
Engagement Manager
Armand Yoka
Worked on the pan-African trade platform engagement across counterparty onboarding, transaction structuring and market coverage. Earlier finance roles across the continent. UCL and Manchester.
We draw on a wider group of sector specialists, in-market operators and financing professionals built up over a decade of trading and advising.
Contact
If you would like to discuss a project, get in touch. A first conversation is informal and needs no preparation.
Offices
London · Casablanca · Dakar