African fintech startup Cardtonic has raised $2.1 million in seed funding to develop Pil, a standalone platform designed to streamline business spending and expense management. The funding round signals investor confidence in solutions that help companies better manage financial operations, particularly in markets where traditional business banking services are limited.
Cardtonic, which initially gained traction as a fintech innovator providing corporate payment solutions, is leveraging Pil to address a persistent challenge for small and medium-sized businesses: efficient, transparent, and scalable expense management. Many businesses in Africa still rely on manual bookkeeping, fragmented payment systems, or personal accounts for company spending, making tracking, reporting, and compliance cumbersome. Pil aims to simplify these processes by offering an integrated infrastructure that combines virtual cards, automated expense tracking, and real-time reporting.
The platform is designed to give businesses more control over cash flow, reduce manual errors, and enhance operational efficiency. With Pil, companies can issue virtual and physical cards to employees, set spending limits, and categorize expenses automatically. This reduces reliance on spreadsheets and paper receipts, while also providing finance teams with a single source of truth for auditing and reporting purposes.
Beyond expense management, Pil is built to integrate seamlessly with accounting and ERP systems, enabling businesses to automate reconciliation and financial planning. This makes it particularly appealing for SMEs and growing startups, which often struggle with resource constraints in managing financial operations. By centralizing spend infrastructure, Pil also opens the door for richer data analytics, helping businesses make informed decisions and optimize budgets.
Cardtonic plans to use the $2.1 million funding to accelerate Pil’s development, expand its engineering team, and onboard early clients across key African markets. The startup is positioning Pil not just as a tool, but as a foundational layer for business financial operations, with long-term ambitions to offer lending, credit, and other financial services based on spend data.
As Africa’s digital economy grows, solutions like Pil are increasingly critical. By modernizing business spend management, Cardtonic is enabling companies to operate more efficiently, remain compliant, and make data-driven decisions—creating a platform that could redefine how African businesses handle money in an increasingly digital-first world.
Leave a Reply