South African artificial intelligence (AI) startup Locstat has raised €2.5 million (US$2.3 million) in a pre-Series A funding round to accelerate its market expansion into the United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU) while reinforcing Africa as a key region for strategic growth.
The round, led by Portugal Gateway Fund (PGF) and ANZA Capital, will enable Locstat to strengthen its South African operations, scale its product suite, and expand its team to meet growing international demand.
“This investment allows us to take a home-grown South African technology, tested in some of the most complex transactional environments in Africa, and bring it to new markets at pace,” said Ryno Goosen, co-founder and CEO of Locstat.
About Locstat and Its Services
Founded in 2016, Locstat provides a graph-powered AI and event-processing solution that enables real-time analysis and visualization of complex data from multiple sources.
The company’s technology is designed to help organizations uncover hidden patterns, relationships, and trends across massive datasets, offering insights that traditional analytics tools often miss.
This allows businesses to make smarter, faster, and more evidence-based decisions.
At its core, Locstat’s system goes beyond basic data analytics. It connects and interprets data points, both historical and real-time, to reveal how they influence one another.
This capability empowers users to monitor live transactions, detect anomalies instantly, and predict potential risks before they escalate.
Its suite of services covers critical business areas such as fraud detection, anti-money laundering (AML) compliance, customer journey mapping, and geo-spatial analytics, helping companies gain a 360-degree view of their operations and clients.
Locstat’s AI framework also enhances operational intelligence, allowing organizations to reduce losses, improve efficiency, and personalize user experiences.
For instance, banks can identify suspicious transaction patterns within seconds, insurers can predict claims risks more accurately, and retailers can track consumer behavior in real time to improve sales strategies.
How Locstat Operates
Locstat’s platform is built on graph database technology, a data model that maps relationships between entities, such as customers, transactions, or devices, to visualize and analyze how they interact.
This makes it ideal for handling “big, fast, and connected data,” which traditional relational databases struggle to manage efficiently.
By continuously processing streams of data from various sources, the system provides real-time insights that enhance decision-making and reduce the time needed to respond to threats or opportunities.
In Africa, Locstat’s model has already demonstrated success, particularly within the financial services and fintech sectors. The startup has helped banks and financial institutions combat digital fraud, strengthen AML measures, and ensure compliance with regulatory frameworks.
The company’s emphasis on connected intelligence, the ability to analyze relationships between seemingly unrelated data points, has earned it recognition as one of Africa’s emerging leaders in applied AI.
Its systems handle millions of transactions daily, operating in environments that demand both speed and precision.
Who Is Funding Locstat Expansion
The €2.5 million pre-Series A investment comes from two key players in the tech investment space: Portugal Gateway Fund (PGF) and ANZA Capital.
PGF is known for supporting expansion-stage companies with unique technologies and global scalability, while ANZA Capital focuses on impact-driven tech startups with strong growth trajectories in Africa.
PGF’s General Partner, Erik van Veen, expressed strong confidence in Locstat’s growth potential, stating:
“We are delighted to support Locstat with this investment, backing a talented management team and an exceptional technology with global potential.
“Our commitment reflects our confidence in Locstat’s ability to drive innovation in graph database software and to expand successfully into Europe,” he said.
The investment will also position Locstat for a Series A round within the next two years, during which the company aims to attract additional investors and strategic partners to scale operations globally.
Both PGF and ANZA plan to offer strategic guidance and network access to help Locstat integrate into the European tech ecosystem while maintaining its African innovation roots.
Locstat Expansion Plan
Armed with fresh capital, Locstat plans to establish a strong operational footprint in the UK and EU by setting up local teams, expanding its customer base, and forming strategic alliances with European financial institutions, insurers, and technology providers.
The company’s expansion strategy is centered on introducing its graph-powered AI solutions to industries grappling with data complexity, such as finance, cybersecurity, logistics, and government intelligence.
CEO Ryno Goosen emphasized that the expansion will be both strategic and sustainable.
“We’ll expand our team, deepen our partner ecosystem, and keep investing in the platform so customers can see risks sooner, act faster, and create value in ways legacy systems can’t,” he said.
Locstat intends to leverage its experience in African markets, known for their complex and high-volume transaction ecosystems, as a competitive advantage in entering Europe’s mature but highly regulated markets.
In addition to scaling revenue and partnerships abroad, Locstat plans to retain and grow its South African development hub, ensuring that its local team continues to lead product innovation.
This dual-market focus reinforces Africa’s growing reputation as a source of exportable technology and AI talent capable of competing globally.
Why Locstat Expansion Matters
Locstat’s successful funding round represents a significant milestone for Africa’s AI and data analytics ecosystem, a sector that is projected to grow by over 25 percent annually through 2030, according to industry estimates.
The startup’s journey from regional success to international expansion underscores the increasing global competitiveness of African tech companies, especially those specializing in data-driven intelligence and financial security solutions.
By expanding into Europe, Locstat joins a select group of African startups scaling globally, a move that not only strengthens investor confidence but also highlights the continent’s growing influence in shaping the future of AI innovation.
The company’s technology demonstrates how African-developed solutions can address universal challenges like fraud, compliance, and data complexity at an enterprise level.
As PGF’s Erik van Veen aptly noted, Locstat’s trajectory “reflects the potential of African technology to deliver world-class data intelligence solutions beyond its home continent.”
With its latest funding, Locstat is poised to bridge Africa’s AI ingenuity with Europe’s advanced data economies, solidifying its position as a global player in the evolving landscape of intelligent analytics.
_________________________
Bookmark Techparley.com for the most insightful technology news from the African continent.
Follow us on X/Twitter @Techparleynews, on Facebook at Techparley Africa, on LinkedIn at Techparley Africa, or on Instagram at Techparleynews
