# Iain Usiri

> Iain Usiri is the co-founder and CEO of Ramani, a Tanzanian fintech building financial infrastructure for Africa's consumer-packaged-goods supply chains. A Stanford computer science graduate and former Salesforce product manager, he gave up his US immigration status and flew home one-way in 2019 to start the company with his brother Calvin and friend Martin Kibet. Ramani gives micro distribution centers free point-of-sale and inventory software, then monetizes through lending - and in 2022 raised a $32M Series A led by Flexcap Ventures after passing through Y Combinator's W20 batch.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & CEO at Ramani
- **Organizations:** Ramani, Y Combinator (W20), Salesforce, Verbatm Corporation, StartX, Pear VC Garage Program
- **From:** Tanzania
- **Nationality:** Tanzanian
- **Education:** BS, Computer Science, Stanford University
- **Known for:** Raised $32M Series A for Ramani led by Flexcap Ventures, with backing from Y Combinator and Village Global, Built Tanzania's first national-scale financing platform for small and medium businesses, Secured a lending license from the Bank of Tanzania

## Career timeline

- **2015** — Co-founded Verbatm Corporation while at Stanford
- **2016** — Graduated Stanford University with a BS in Computer Science
- **2017** — Joined Salesforce as a Product Manager
- **2019** — Returned to Tanzania on a one-way flight and co-founded Ramani with brother Calvin and friend Martin Kibet
- **2020** — Ramani went through Y Combinator's Winter 2020 (W20) batch
- **2022** — Raised a $32M Series A debt-equity round led by Flexcap Ventures; received a lending license from the Bank of Tanzania
- **2025** — Announced a strategic partnership with Tanzania Commercial Bank to expand financing access for SMBs

## Achievements

- Raised $32M Series A for Ramani led by Flexcap Ventures, with backing from Y Combinator and Village Global
- Built Tanzania's first national-scale financing platform for small and medium businesses
- Secured a lending license from the Bank of Tanzania
- Grew Ramani's network to ~100 active micro distribution centers moving roughly $72M in goods in a year
- Built a national camera/inventory tracking network reported at 99% uptime
- Graduated through Y Combinator (W20) and the StartX accelerator

## Latest updates

- **2025-04** — Ramani announced a strategic partnership with Tanzania Commercial Bank to enhance financial access for SMBs.
- **2022-11** — Ramani raised a $32M Series A to digitize CPG supply chains and lend to resellers.

## Links

- Website: https://ramani.io
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/iain-usiri-78271673
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iusiri/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/iain-usiri
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-12