CHIL Food Center, trading as Solerchil Technologies, has raised $300,000 in pre-seed to support its mission of revolutionising B2B payments. The round was led by Sufishent LLC.
It comes right at the time when the company is expanding its service offering to support business operations. Through the platform, merchants can offer instant payment terms to their customers through a frictionless B2C-like “Buy Now Pay Later” checkout experience.
The solution can be integrated easily via APIs into existing e-commerce platforms and marketplaces.
Shamim Nabuuma Kaliisa, a co-founder and shareholder in the company, says that the B2B merchants that use Chil Food Center will now be able to sell more by offering better payment terms to their business customers.
“Our Buy Now, Pay Later solution eliminates all the burden and risk associated with offering payment terms online by letting B2B merchants instantly offer credit terms at checkout even if the customer is buying from them for the first time,” Nabuuma says.
Merchants using CHIL Food Center will also see an increase in their revenue and customer satisfaction. Nabuuma says the platform is able to protect them against the risks of non-payment, so they are always sure to get paid no matter what.
What next?
Currently, the Food Center has over 300 merchants making use of the Buy Now Pay Later solution daily, and thousands of buyers transacting on the platform.
The proceeds of the pre-seed funding will be used towards further developing its digital credit technology and extend its services across Africa, Europe and the Middle East, supporting the growth of the B2B commerce space.
The company plans to recruit more staff for its Lille and Dubai offices and is on the verge of raising $15M in seed round.
What the investors had to say
“We understand that trade credit is critical to supply chains, and Solerchil Technologies is solving this problem. That is why we are happy to be part of this and hope to lead even more rounds,” says Richard Scott Johnson, a partner investor at Sufishent LLC.
About CHIL Food Center:
CHIL FOOD CENTER is a B2B AI powered Conversational E-commerce platform that simplifies the supply chain directly with food suppliers and food retailers in Europe, Middle East & Africa. It allows food retailers purchase the food they need to retail now and pay for it later while paying the supplier upfront.
About SolerChil Technologies:
Solerchil Technologies Uganda Ltd is a female-led foodtech company that makes and rents solar-powered cold rooms to farmers and food market vendors to safely preserve their unsold food for a longer time. They link these to buyers who are ready to buy the unsold food that is in good condition for consumption at half price.
This avails those who may not afford to buy the expensive food to have a chance to have a meal by ordering this half-priced food through the Solerchil AI conversational e-commerce chatbot accessible on WhatsApp, face, and SMS platforms.