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). Since 7 March 2021, I noticed 17 deals come across my screen, 11 investments, 2 fundraises (and 3 bank lending deals) and 1 acquisition. Of the 11 investments, Nigeria had 4 while Egypt and Ghana had 2 deals each. Fintech was the most active sector with 4 investments and 2 in logistics/ mobility .
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
Since 7 March 2021, I noticed the following deals:
Investments (11 deals)
1: Boost Ghana | $120k | Catalyst Fund | Undisclosed round | Retail management system
Investee:
Boost Ghana - provides digital solutions to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Ghana to drive efficiency in the distribution of fast moving consumer goods.
Investor(s):
Catalyst Fund - Managed by BFA Global, Catalyst Fund is an accelerator for inclusive fintech startups.
Detail: The capital was provided as part of the Catalyst Fund Inclusive Digital Commerce accelerator, along with an expert-led venture support.
2: KudiGo | $120k | Catalyst Fund | Undisclosed round | Retail management system
Investee:
KudiGo - a Ghana based consumer retail software firm, offering data oriented solutions for African SMEs. They are positioned as an integrator and aggregator of essential technology tools for the consumer retail industry.
Investor(s):
Catalyst Fund - Managed by BFA Global, Catalyst Fund is an accelerator for inclusive fintech startups.
Detail: The capital was provided as part of the Catalyst Fund Inclusive Digital Commerce accelerator, along with an expert-led venture support.
3: Kuda | $25m | Valar Ventures, Target Global | Series A | Fintech
Investee:
Kuda - a Nigerian full service digital-only bank with a banking license. Kuda is designed for your smartphone, free of ridiculous charges and great at helping you budget, spend smartly and save more.
Investor(s):
Valar Ventures - cofounded by Peter Thiel, it is a fund that invests in high-margin, fast-growing technology companies that are pursuing huge market opportunities.
Target Global - an international investment firm headquartered in Berlin, with €1bn+ in capital commitments and co-investments.
Detail: The capital will be used to expand the company’s geographical presence and services, while increasing customer acquisition. A new easy-to-use lending option will soon be trialled with select customers.
4: Kabakoo Academies | Undisclosed amount | Zoom EdInnovation Award | Grant | Edtech
Investee:
Kabakoo Academies - a Mali based mission-driven organization building the first pan-African learning platform for digital and decentralized manufacturing skills.
Investor(s):
Zoom EdInnovation Award - supporting ideas that improve student engagement in online learning. The boldest and brightest ideas that support underserved students will be selected to receive Zoom technology, support, and funding.
Detail: The grant was made to support the work, which addresses the education challenges of today.
5: Nomanini | $1.5m | Goodwell Investments, FMO, Standard Bank | Undisclosed round | Fintech
Investee:
Nomanini - a South African fintech platform for the informal retail ecosystem, they connect merchants, distributors and global service providers, while integrating payments, working capital, and data analytics.
Investor(s):
Goodwell Investments - a pioneering investment firm focused on financial inclusion, fintech and inclusive growth in sectors providing basic goods & services and income generation opportunities to the underserved.
FMO - the Dutch development bank, founded in 1970. They support sustainable private sector growth in developing and emerging markets by investing in ambitious entrepreneurs.
Standard Bank - a 155 year old South African bank, active across 20 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. They nurture some of the most skilled, innovative and creative minds in the industry.
Detail: the capital will be used to improve their pan-African expansion.
6: ArifPay | $3.5m | Undisclosed investors | Undisclosed round | Fintech
Investee:
ArifPay - an Ethiopian universal mobile Point of Sales (mPOS) designed for use by merchants, banks, and consumers in Ethiopia, so that anyone can use it to transfer money, make invoices, or pay taxes. It connects consumers, merchants, and banks across Ethiopia.
Investor(s):
Undisclosed
Detail: the capital will be used to help the company launch its services by the end of May 2021.
7: zVendo | Undisclosed amount (6 figure) | EFG EV Fintech | Seed | e-commerce
Investee:
zVendo - an Egyptian e-commerce platform where one can build an online store and display one’s brand, using ready-to-use templates, to achieve an easy and flexible experience.
Investor(s):
EFG EV Fintech - aspiring to be Egypt’s most powerful fintech-focused startup accelerator. They invest in promising fintech startups that has potential to grow domestically and expand beyond the Egyptian market.
Detail: with the investment the company aims to become the first local e-commerce hub in Egypt.
8: Plentywaka | $120k | Techstars | Undisclosed round | Logistics/ Mobility
Investee:
Plentywaka - a Nigerian app that is changing the way people get around. Our app allows commuters to book and pay for fast and convenient trips in real-time.
Investor(s):
Techstars - the worldwide network that helps entrepreneurs succeed. Founded in 2006, Techstars began with three simple ideas—entrepreneurs create the future, collaboration drives innovation, and great ideas can come from anywhere.
Detail: with the investment they will be expanding to other countries, starting with a city in Canada on or before the fourth quarter of 2021.
9: NowPay | Undisclosed amount | Global Ventures | Pre-Series A | Fintech
Investee:
NowPay - an Egyptian fintech that focuses on improving the financial-wellness of corporate employees. They enable employees to get paid at any point in time during the month.
Investor(s):
Global Ventures - an international venture capital firm, investing in founders and ideas across emerging markets. They back global-minded founders that are leading growth-stage companies and using technology to transform emerging markets.
Beco Capital - they help small companies make giant leaps. They give companies the two ingredients most needed in early stage development: growth capital and hands-on operational mentorship, enabling founders to fulfil their true potential.
Endure Capital - an early stage investment fund headed by entrepreneurs. They seek startup teams with great ideas and relentless execution to build companies that achieve hyper-growth.
Foundation Ventures - an early-growth stage venture capital fund that backs daring founders building industry-defining companies. They unlock growth for portfolio companies by providing access to the largest network of distribution channels across Egypt.
Abderahman ElSewedy - angel investor.
Detail: with the capital, the startup is eyeing expansion into other markets in the region.
10: Termii | $1.4m | Future Africa, Kepple Africa Ventures (leads) | Seed | Communications, Platform as a service
Investee:
Termii - a Nigerian startup that allows businesses to engage with their customers anywhere. They allow users to connect with and verify their underlying customers seamlessly across channels like SMS, voice, email and WhatsApp.
Investor(s):
Future Africa - a platform connecting mission-driven innovators and investors looking to turn Africa's most difficult challenges into global business opportunities.
Kepple Africa Ventures - Early stage VC fund focusing on Africa, creating new industries from Africa.
Acuity Ventures - Using data and analytics to unlock Africa's potential, they partner with visionary entrepreneurs, using insights from data to illuminate market trends and guide strategic growth.
Aidi Ventures - they support founders with a proven track record of building successful technology-driven ventures across Africa.
Kairos Angels - on a mission to transform the world by partnering with visionary entrepreneurs to build scalable and sustainable businesses. We want to invest behind unreasonable founders who are obsessed with changing the world for the better.
Nama Ventures - Nama Ventures is a pre-seed / seed stage venture capital fund focused on fuelling innovation in the MENA region, particularly in Saudi Arabia.
Assembly Capital, Rally Cap Ventures, Remapped Ventures
Detail: the investment will be used for expansion and launch more messaging offerings across Africa.
11: Kwik Delivery | $1.7m | Undisclosed | pre-Series A | Logistics/ Mobility
Investee:
Kwik Delivery - a Nigerian on-demand, last-mile delivery platform that connects businesses to independent delivery riders, known as Kwiksters.
Investor(s):
Undisclosed
Detail: the investment will enable faster growth and to enter new markets.
Fundraises (5 deals)
1: SunFunder / Solar Energy Transformation (SET) Fund | $70m | Various investors (incl. Swedfund) | Renewables
Investor:
SunFunder SET Fund - a mission-driven solar finance business based in Nairobi unlocking debt capital for solar energy in emerging markets.
Capital raised: $70m
Sector / Stage focus: Renewables.
Portfolio / fund size: $70m
Cheque size: undisclosed - 9-year blended finance vehicle.
2: Moshe Capital | $23.5m | FNB Commercial / RMB Ventures | Private equity
Investor:
Moshe Capital - a 100% black women-owned South African advisory and investment company.
Capital raised: $23.5m (ZAR350m)
Sector / Stage focus: well-established companies with enterprise values of at least ZAR200m, EBITDA of at least ZAR25m, based in South Africa with international growth potential.
Cheque size: undisclosed.
3: Equity Group Holdings | 3 tranches of Debt funding (c.$320m) | Various investors | SME Lending & Female SME Lending
Investor:
Equity Group Holdings - a Pan-African financial services holding company listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange, Uganda Securities Exchange, and Rwanda Stock Exchange.
3.1: $75m | African Guarantee Fund | Lending to women owned and managed SMEs in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and DRC.
3.2: $148,75m (EUR125m) | European Investment Bank | Lending to SMEs in high-growth market sectors which serve manufacturing or distribution activities and develop eco-systems around industrial activities.
3.3: $100m | DEG, CDC Group, FMO | Lending to SMEs to bolster their resilience and growth during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Acquisitions (1 deal)
1: Yuppiechef | $32.15m | Mr Price | e-commerce
Target:
Yuppiechef - a South African online retailer, founded in 2006 selling 32 kitchen products online, from a lounge in Cape Town.
Investor:
Mr Price - a South African based fashion-value retailer that is cash-based and omni-channel. They target a wide range of customers in the mid to upper LSM categories.
Price: $32.15m (ZAR470m)
That’s it for this week! Have a great 1!
Daryn
African VC deals since 7 March 2021