African VC deals since 21 March 2021

African VC/ Startup News

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African VC deals since 21 March 2021

20 African startups raised capital & 5 African funds closed a fundraise

Daryn Munnik

Apr 22, 2021

Hi and welcome to African VC/ Startup news, a weekly newsletter where I highlight transactions in the African startup ecosystem over the past week (or two). Apologies a public holiday and family emergency resulted in the delayed newsletter over the last 3 weeks.

In addition to sending the weekly newsletter, I maintain a database of deals, investors and portfolio companies in the African startup ecosystem, it is available: here

Insights: Since 21 March 2021, I noticed 28 deals come across my screen, 20 investments, 5 fundraises, 2 acquisitions and 1 exit. Of the 20 investments, South Africa had 8 deals while Nigeria and Egypt had 3 deals each. Fintech was once again the most active sector with 8 investments and 2 in Logistics/ Mobility (see below):

Since 21 March 2021, I noticed the following deals:

Investments (20 deals)

1: Tugende | $3,6m | Partech; Enza Capital | Series A | Logistics, Mobility

Investee:

Tugende - based in Uganda, they use asset finance, technology, and a customer-centric model to help informal sector entrepreneurs increase their income. They started offering credit to motorcycle taxi owners in Uganda, helping them own instead of rent the motorcycle in 24 months or less.

Investor(s):

Partech - With a current portfolio of almost 180 companies spread across 30 countries in Europe, the US, Africa, and Asia, Partech has been one of the leading international investors helping visionary founders for almost 40 years. With over €1.5B under management, Partech invests from €200K to €50M in B2B and B2C technologies reshaping industries.

Enza Capital - a Kenya based, private investor in early-stage African tech companies solving large and meaningful problems. Enza’s first cheque sizes range from $50k to $1 million.

2: Impulse Biomedical | Undisclosed amount | Futuregrowth | Seed | Healthtech

Investee:

Impulse Biomedical - an award-winning South African healthtech startup founded by biomedical engineers. They are developing the ZiBiPen which is a reusable adrenaline auto-injector (used in the treatment for Anaphylaxis) significantly reducing the wastage of expired adrenaline injectors, making it much more cost-effective.

Investor(s):

Futuregrowth - a fixed interest investment company that creates opportunities for investors and manages clients' assets of around R185 billion across the full range of interest bearing and developmental investments.

3: Curacel | $450k | Atlantica Ventures; Consonance; Kepple Africa Ventures | Pre-Seed | Fintech, Insuretech

Investee:

Curacel - A Nigerian AI-powered platform that enables insurers to automate claims seamlessly and track fraud, waste and abuse (FWA).

Investor(s):

Atlantica Ventures - an Africa-Focused early-stage investor with offices in Kenya and Nigeria. They provide capital and growth support to early-stage companies and socially responsible startups in Sub-Saharan Africa from Seed through Series B.

Consonance - based in Mauritius and Nigeria, they are an early-stage and growth investment platform that helps entrepreneurs build companies across Sub-Saharan Africa.

Kepple Africa Ventures - a Tokyo, Kenya and Nigeria based early-stage VC fund focusing on Africa.

4: Pricepally | Undisclosed amount | Samurai Incubate; Launch Africa Ventures | Pre-Seed | Agritech, Marketplace

Investee:

Pricepally - a Nigeria based online store that allows customers to shop for items in bulk to earn discounts on food. They connect farmers, manufacturers and wholesalers directly the consumer in an innovative way for everyone to benefit.

Investor(s):

Samurai Incubate Africa - a Japanese investor that supports the growth of companies aiming to solve social problems and inefficiencies in Africa.

Launch Africa Ventures - a Pan-African fund solving the significant funding gap in the Seed to Series A investment landscape in Africa. Targeting B2B and B2B2C early-stage, technology driven startups with strong management teams.

5: Tanda | Undisclosed amount | Havaic; Zedcrest Capital & Others | Undisclosed round | Fintech, Financial Services

Investee:

Tanda - an independent agent network operator based in Kenya. Since its inception in 2018, Tanda has enabled banks, telcos and a variety of digital service providers to serve their customers through a nationwide network of commission based agents, with distribution costs that are a fraction of traditional channels.

Investor(s):

Havaic - is a Cape Town based investment and advisory firm that specialises in early-stage, high-growth African businesses with proven concepts and global prospects.

Zedcrest Capital - Africa’s foremost new-age financial solutions powerhouse – creating value for all stakeholders through user-friendly technological innovations and sustainable business practices.

DFS Lab - invest in early-stage founders who are building the future of digital commerce in Africa and back their portfolio with the funding, mentorship, and expertise needed to thrive.

Victor Asemota - founder of SwiftaCorp, a pioneering African software and technology services group with subsidiaries and operations in over 14 African countries. He is also the Co-founder of MFISA a unique African Mobile Financial Services Accelerator that has powered a number of payment platforms around Africa.

6: Appzone | $10m | Cardinal Stone Capital Advisers; V8 Capital; Lateral Capital & Others | Series A | Fintech

Investee:

Appzone - We build innovative technology and start-ups that enable digital financial services in Africa. Our fintech product ecosystem based on proprietary technology consistently delivers the best-fit solutions and most value for money to our growing clientele of financial institutions and end-users in Africa.

Investor(s):

Cardinal Stone Capital Advisers - a generalist Nigerian private equity fund manager that focusses on equity investments with ticket sizes of $5m to $10m in high growth SMEs.

V8 Capital - an African venture capital firm focused on backing bold visionary entrepreneurs to grow and scale leading technology businesses across Africa.

Lateral Capital - a mission-driven venture fund, partnering with visionary entrepreneurs to build essential digital infrastructure for Africa.

Constant Capital - an Africa-focused investment firm for a wide range of assets to maximize risk-adjusted return on investment. Led and predominantly staffed by investment professionals from Africa, with the cultural knowledge and skills to assess and execute successful African opportunities.

Itanna - an impact initiative that invests in disruptive tech-enabled businesses in Africa providing mentorship, facilitated networking and growth capital through its accelerator programme.

7: Sendmarc | Undisclosed amount | Kalon Venture Partners | Undisclosed round | Cyber-security

Investee:

Sendmarc - a South African cyber security startup that provides the set-up, implementation and reporting functionality for a global e-mail protection standard known as DMARC.

Investor(s):

Kalon Venture Partners - invests in and builds a portfolio of high growth technology companies, with innovative business models, geared to existing and emerging institutions and their customers.

8: Troygold | Undisclosed amount | Crossfin Ventures | Undisclosed round | Fintech, Financial Services

Investee:

Troygold - a South African fintech allowing customers to have a gold back debit card. Troygold liberates your purchasing power, putting real gold in your pocket.

Investor(s):

Crossfin Ventures - a South African investor who invests in fintech solutions to enable growth for economies in Africa and beyond. They aim to be Africa’s leading fintech group by 2022 as measured by volume and value of transactions through their platforms.

9: BezoMoney | $200k | Goodsoil VC | Seed | Fintech

Investee:

BezoMoney - a Ghanaian startup that provides a digital savings platform called BezoSusu that helps customers, receive bulk capital through group savings. It allows customers to build a savings and credit history to access formal financial services.

Investor(s):

Goodsoil VC - a UK based venture capital firm that partners with founders to build global, market-defying companies. Focused on funding pre-seed and seed stage companies founded in Sub-Saharan Africa and Europe.

10: Numida | $2,3m | MFS Africa; DRK Foundation & Others | Seed | Fintech

Investee:

Numida - Growing African small businesses through access to digital and unsecured working capital.

Investor(s):

MFS Africa - MFS Africa is the best gateway to send money to mobile wallets in Africa. We cover 200 million mobile money recipients across all major networks.

DRK Foundation - The Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation is a global venture philanthropy firm supporting early stage, high impact social enterprises.

Equilibria Capital - is an asset management company focused on managing investment funds and separate accounts for private and institutional clients. The firm’s funds and portfolios invest globally across multiple asset classes in both public and private markets.

Segal Family Foundation - At Segal Family Foundation, they believe in a world where development is steered by grassroots leaders and power is shifted into the hands of communities. They work across Sub-Saharan Africa and strive to be partners.

11: Quro Medical | $1,1m | Enza Capital; Mohau Equity Partners | Seed | Healthtech

Investee:

Quro Medical - an innovative digital health company pioneering premium hospital-at-home services in Southern Africa. They combine cutting-edge technologies with a strong personal touch to deliver unique healthcare solutions for their customers.

Investor(s):

Enza Capital - a Kenya based, private investor in early-stage African tech companies solving large and meaningful problems. Enza’s first cheque sizes range from $50k to $1 million.

Mohau Equity Partners

12: Kemitt | Undisclosed amount | Undisclosed investors | Undisclosed round | Marketplace

Investee:

Kemitt - a revolutionary platform for furniture designers, offering them the opportunity to sell their unique designs in new markets, risk and hassle-free. Kemitt handles all the manufacturing, overhead, and shipping processes to the customer.

Investors:

Undisclosed

13: Peach Payments | Undisclosed amount | UW Ventures; Launch Africa Ventures | Undisclosed round | Fintech

Investee:

Peach Payments - a South African Fintech that enables businesses to accept payments on their websites and mobile apps. They work with businesses in South Africa, Kenya and Mauritius, and are rapidly expanding our presence to other countries across the continent.

Investor(s):

UW Ventures - a South Africa based multi-stage investor that provides growth and replacement capital across the equity-cycle. Its activities span from high-growth venture to mid-market private equity.

Launch Africa Ventures

14: Paymob | $18,5m | Global Ventures; A15; FMO | Series A | Fintech

Investee:

Paymob - Established in 2015, Paymob, is an infrastructure technology enabler providing a suite of financial technology solutions to empower financial service providers across the Middle East and Africa with the aim of empowering the masses to get access to finance.

Investor(s):

Global Ventures - an international venture capital firm, investing in founders and ideas across emerging markets.

A15 - An entrepreneurial company that creates digital products and technology brands.

FMO - the Dutch development bank, founded in 1970. They support sustainable private sector growth in developing and emerging markets by investing in ambitious entrepreneurs.

15: KAS Africa | $10m | TRT Investments | Undisclosed round | Manufacturer

Investee:

KAS Africa - Africa’s leading contract manufacturer of personal care, homecare and oral care products.

Investor(s):

TRT Investments - a US based investments group with over 20 years manufacturing and distribution experience in the SADC region, and a balance sheet in excess of $200m.

16: Adumo | $15m | IFC | Undisclosed round | Fintech

Investee:

Adumo - South Africa’s largest independent payments processor trusted by retailers across Africa.

Investor(s):

IFC - a member of the World Bank Group, the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector in developing countries.

17: Kezakoo | $220k | Witamax One | Seed | Edtech

Investee:

Kezakoo - a Casablanca-based edtech startup specialized in tutoring.

Investor(s):

Witamax One - jointly created by the Morocco-based investment firms Southbridge A&I and the AXXAM Family Office.

18: Ampersand | $3,5m | Ecosystem Integrity Fund | Undisclosed round | Logistics / Mobility

Investee:

Ampersand - Africa’s first and leading integrated electric motorcycle and transport energy solution. We offer East Africa's five million taxi motorcyclists a commercial electric motorcycle that is cheaper from day one, provides better overall user experience and requires minimal customer behaviour change.

Investor(s):

Ecosystem Integrity Fund - an early growth stage investor in companies contributing to environmental sustainability.

19: Revix | $4,1m | Undisclosed investors | Pre-Series A | Blockchain, Cryptocurrency

Investee:

Revix - Cape Town-based cryptocurrency investment platform poised for rapid global growth while showcasing the potential of the cryptocurrency market.

Investor(s):

Undisclosed Investors

20: Takestep | Undisclosed amount | Dr Mohamed Hossam Khedr | Seed | Healthtech

Investee:

Takestep - a specialized platform supporting addiction cases and general psychiatry in the Middle East.

Investor(s):

Dr Mohamed Hossam Khedr - A business, entrepreneurship and investment consultant at Khedr W Business. He is a serial entrepreneur as he founded and sold Fatakat among other companies.

Fundraises (5 deals)

1: Sawari Ventures | $69m | Misr Insurance Group, Ekuity, National Bank of Egypt, Banque Misr, Banque du Caire, Suez Canal Bank

Investor:

Sawari Ventures - a leading venture capital firm based in Cairo. They invest in people turning visionary ideas into market-leading technology companies in Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia, believing in the transformative power of entrepreneurial thinking.

Capital raised - $69m

Sector / Stage focus - Egyptian startups

2: Moshesh Partners | Undisclosed amount | Undisclosed LPs

Investor:

Moshesh Partners - a majority black-owned and black-managed investment fund manager based in South Africa.

Capital raised - undisclosed; targeting $139,7m (ZAR 2bn)

Sector / Stage focus - focuses on investment into renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure including energy, water, telecoms and transport.

3: Algebra Ventures | $90m | Undisclosed LPs

Investor:

Algebra Ventures - a leading technology VC firm in Egypt with unique investment experience both locally and internationally.

Capital raised - $90m

Sector / Stage focus - fintech, logistics, healthtech, and agritech in Egypt and the MEA regions

4: EFG Hermes Education Fund | $15,9m | The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (TSFE)

Investor:

EFG Hermes - with a current footprint spanning thirteen countries across four continents, EFG Hermes started in Egypt and has grown over 35 years of success to become a leading financial services corporation with access to emerging and frontier markets.

Capital raised - $15,9m

Fund size - $150m

Sector / Stage focus - Education sector in Egypt

5: Samurai Incubate | $18,6m | Various LPs incl. Toyota Tsusho Corporation

Investor:

Samurai Incubate Africa - a Japanese investor that supports the growth of companies aiming to solve social problems and inefficiencies in Africa.

Capital raised - $18,6m

Sector / Stage focus - fintech, insurtech, logistics, healthtech, consumer and commerce, energy, agritech, mobility and entertainment

Ticket size - $50k to $800k

Acquisition (2 deals)

1: Selpal | Undisclosed amount | FNB | Fintech, Financial Services

Target:

Selpal - connects merchants (which we call Store Traders) and mobile merchants (which we call Street Sellers) to customers and suppliers.

Investor:

FNB - a South African bank that provides personal, private, business, commercial and corporate banking services to millions of customers.

Price - undisclosed

2: Mangwee Mobile Money | Undisclosed amount | 51% stake | ZeePay | Fintech

Target:

Mangwee Mobile Money - offers a mobile money wallet that serves as a secure savings account for those without access to banks or those who want to avoid high banking fees

Investor:

ZeePay - the fastest growing fintech focusing on digital rails to connect digital assets such as mobile money Wallets, Cards, ATMs, Bank Account and Digital Tokens to International Money Transfer Operators, Payments, Subscriptions, International Airtime and Refugee payments.