Orca Fraud raises $2.35m to scale its fight against fraud across Africa

Orca Fraud, a South African fintech startup focused on fraud prevention and compliance for banks and fintech companies, has raised $2.35 million in an oversubscribed seed round to expand its fraud intelligence systems across Africa.

Earlier, in 2024, the two-year-old company raised an oversubscribed $55,000 pre-seed round. Both rounds stand out at a time when startup funding across Africa has slowed. They also draw attention because companies led by all-female teams often receive less venture capital.

The new round was led by Norrsken22, which also backed the company earlier. Other investors include OneDayYes, Enza Capital, and CV VC Africa. The funding will help Orca meet rising demand from banks and fintech firms that need stronger fraud monitoring systems.

“Payments are moving faster, and fraud tactics are becoming more sophisticated,” said Thalia Pillay, Co-founder and CEO of Orca Fraud. “Our mission is to fight fraud with solutions built for each market, not assumptions borrowed from elsewhere. Fraud is contextual. Risk is situational. Financial systems can only scale when safety evolves alongside growth.”

Meanwhile, the growth of digital payments ( stablecoins, mobile money, cross-border transfers, and e-wallets, etc.)has created new channels for fraud networks. Instant settlement systems make it easier for criminals to move funds before alerts are triggered.

Financial fraud in Africa is also rising. In 2025, the continent was ranked among the most exposed regions to fraud, with Nigeria, Tanzania, and South Africa reporting major increases in fraudulent activity. A crackdown by INTERPOL carried out between December 2025 and January 2026 led to 651 arrests across 16 African countries and uncovered scams linked to more than $45 million in losses. Projections for 2026 show the trend continuing, with 67% of financial institutions expecting more attacks, especially on mobile money, crypto, and peer-to-peer payment platforms.

Although global fraud tools such as Sift and Sumsub exist, Orca says many were designed for Western payment systems. Africa’s environment is different. Informal economies, rapid digital adoption, and fragmented regulations shape how fraud operates across markets.

“African payment data is hard to access and even harder to interpret,” said Carla Wilby, Co-founder and CTO. “It is fragmented across rails, informal in structure, and shaped by economic conditions that Western training datasets simply don’t capture.”

Orca now operates in more than 70 countries, including Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, Zambia, and Guinea. The company is not yet profitable. However, its current focus is growth as it expands into key markets and adds more enterprise clients.