A Nigerian data and intelligence company, Stears, has announced securing a $3.3M seed round led by Mac VC and Serena Ventures, the VC company of world-class athlete, businesswoman, and philanthropist, Serena Williams.
Preston Ideh, corporate lawyer and cofounder, disclosed the new funding in a media release on Tuesday.
Omidyar Group’s Luminate Fund, Melo 7 Tech Partners, and Cascador (Empowering Economic Growth Foundation)also participated in the funding.
The new funding follows closely two years after Stears raised $650,000 in pre-seed funding.
“We have a strong understanding of the kind of information people need. So our focus is on standardizing information dissemination and building with the customer in mind,” Ideh said of the new funding.
The round adds to the number of startups funded by sport queen, Serena Williams, who began actively investing nine years ago when she saw the impact that startups had on everyday lives.
Since 2014, when it launched, Serena Ventures —under the leadership of Serena Williams and partner, Allison Rapaport— has supported founders whose perspectives and innovations level the playing field for women and people of color.
Serena Ventures’ portfolio startups include Foody, Nestcoin, Esusu, Calico, Chatdesk, fiveable, amongst others.
