Smile ID provides the best Africa-focused solutions for real-time Digital KYC, Identity Verification, User Onboarding, Document Verification, Liveness Checks, Face Verification, Anti-fraud, Know your Business (KYB), and Identity Data Deduplication across Africa. We are building the tools and software that make it easier for millions of Africans to prove and verify their identity online. Our platform includes SDKs and APIs for User Onboarding, Digital KYC, Identity Verification, Document Verification, Face Verification, Anti-fraud, and ID validation in mobile applications and on the web. Our identity verification and artificial intelligence tools have been specially designed for African faces and identities. Our mission is to make the benefits of a modern digital lifestyle universally accessible by expanding trust in underserved markets. We are backed by Costanoa Ventures, Future Africa, PTB Ventures, Khosla Impact, 500 Startups, CRE Venture Capital etc Subscribe to Identity Illustrated - A newsletter by Smile ID enabling African business leaders to understand the continent's complex ID, regulatory and fraud landscape one illustration at a time - https://identityillustrated.com/
Location: United States, California, Oakland
Employees: 11-50
Total raised: $27M
Founded date: 2016
Founders name: Skip Koppenhaver
Founders Related Locations: United States, California, San Jose
Investors 14
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Funding Rounds 2
| Date | Series | Amount | Investors |
| 22.02.2023 | Series B | $20M | Commerce V... |
| 08.07.2021 | Series A | $7M | - |
Persons 2
| Date | First Name | Last Name | Title | Location | |||
| - | Skip | Koppenhave... | Co-Founder... | linkedin.c... | - | - | United Sta... |
| - | Nick | Haber | Advisor | linkedin.c... | - | - | United Sta... |
Mentions in press and media 27
| Date | Title | Description |
| 04.08.2025 | ‘Ghana is open for business—if you have guts, insight, and a long-term mindset’ – Amma Gyampo | In April 2025, Ghana became the first African country to legally mandate a minimum allocation of private capital from local pension funds to domestic private equity and venture capital firms. While other African countries have caps, Ghana’s... |
| 11.06.2025 | Unifying the world’s 180 currencies | Meet the people driving Leatherback’s resurgence In line with its mission to transform global financial access for Africans and businesses at home and in the diaspora, Leatherback, a leading cross-border payment platform, has announced the ... |
| 26.04.2023 | Smile Identity acquires Appruve’s parent company to expand its reach in Africa. TechCabal’s 2021 Year-End report Success! | (L-R: Appruve co-founder and CEO, Paul Damalie and Smile Identity’s CEO, Mark Straub) Leading digital identity and KYC company, Smile Identity has acquired Ghana-based identity verification company Inclusive Innovations. Inclusive Innovatio... |
| 26.04.2023 | Smile Identity expands African footprint with acquisition of Appruve to strengthen ID verification services | Smile Identity, a KYC compliance and ID verification partner for many African fintechs and businesses, has acquired Inclusive Innovations, the parent company of Appruve, a Ghanaian developer of identity verification software. In a statement... |
| 23.02.2023 | Smile Identity wants to make identity verification seamless in Africa. Can $20 million help? TechCabal’s 2021 Year-End report Success! | Identity verification is the new talk of the town. After Elon Musk made it a paid service exclusively for Twitter Blue users, Mark Zuckerberg has followed suit by announcing this week that identity verification will become a paid service ac... |
| 22.02.2023 | Smile Identity, a KYC startup with a focus on Africa, secures $20 million in Series B funding | Smile Identity, an Africa-focused firm, has secured a US$20 million Series B fundraising round to aid in its expansion throughout the continent. Costanoa and Norrsken22 served as the round’s lead investors, and 500 Fintech, Commerce Venture... |
| 16.02.2023 | London-based identity verification platform Smile Identity raises USD 20 million in Series B funding | 15 February 2023, London – Smile Identity, the top KYC onboarding and identity verification platform in Africa announces the successful conclusion of its USD 20 million Series B fundraising round. Featuring involvement from 500 Fintech, Com... |
| 15.02.2023 | Smile Identity Raises $20M in Series B Funding | Smile Identity, a Lagos, Nigeria, London, UK, Cape Town South Africa and Nairobi, Kenya-based provider of a KYC onboarding and identity verification platform for Africa, raised $20M in Series B funding. The round, which brought Smile Identi... |
| 15.02.2023 | Leading African Identity Verification Platform, Smile Identity, Raises $20 Million in Series B Funding for Pan-African Expansion | Smile Identity, Africa’s leading KYC onboarding and identity verification platform, announces the successful completion of its Series B funding round, raising $20 million. Led by Costanoa and Norrsken22, with participation from Commerce Ven... |
| 15.02.2023 | Smile Identity announces $20 million Series B for pan-African expansion TechCabal’s 2021 Year-End report Success! | Identity verification platform Smile Identity has announced that it has raised $20 million in Series B funding to fund its pan-African expansion ambitions. The round included participation from leading investors Costanoa and Norrsken22, as ... |
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