South African fintech company littlefish has raised $9.5 million in a Series A funding round to scale its merchant operating system across Africa. The company, which provides a digital infrastructure platform for banks, announced the capital raise on March 24, 2026. The investment was led by venture capital firms 4Di Capital and Kalon Venture Partners, with participation from Endeavor Catalyst and Allan Gray E2 Ventures.

The funds will be used to accelerate the company's expansion into new markets, with Nigeria and Kenya cited as immediate priorities. Littlefish's core product is a software platform that enables banks to offer a suite of digital tools to their small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) clients. This system integrates payments, invoicing, inventory management, and customer engagement functions into a single interface accessible via a mobile app.

"Our model is bank-led," said littlefish co-founder and CEO Ryan Gunning. "We partner with financial institutions to embed our operating system into their existing digital channels, allowing them to provide a more comprehensive service to their merchant customers." This approach, Gunning noted, is designed to leverage the trust and regulatory standing that banks already possess, rather than competing with them directly as many standalone fintech applications do.

The company argues that while Africa has seen significant innovation in consumer-facing mobile money and payments, the tools available to formal small businesses often remain fragmented. Many merchants juggle separate systems for point-of-sale transactions, online sales, accounting, and supplier management. Littlefish's platform aims to consolidate these operations, giving business owners a clearer view of their finances and daily operations.

Founded in 2021, littlefish first launched its services in South Africa, where it has established partnerships with several financial institutions. The new capital will support deeper integration with these existing bank partners while financing the regulatory and technical work required to enter East and West African markets. The focus on Nigeria and Kenya aligns with two of the continent's largest and most dynamic fintech ecosystems, where digital payment adoption is high but SME software solutions are still evolving.

Kalon Venture Partners' Clive Butkow highlighted the investment case, stating the firm was backing littlefish due to its "unique bank-partner model and its potential to drive real financial inclusion for SMEs." The participation of Endeavor Catalyst, the co-investment fund of the global entrepreneur network, often signals a growth-stage company's ambitions for international scaling.

The funding round arrives as African banks increasingly seek to digitize their service offerings and retain customer relationships in the face of competition from agile fintechs. By providing the underlying technology, littlefish positions itself as an enabler for these traditional institutions. The success of this expansion will depend on its ability to forge partnerships with leading banks in its target regions and to tailor its platform to the specific needs of merchants in diverse African markets.