Eden Life Closes $1.4m Seed Round to Build Out Africa’s First Home Services App

Eden Life Closes $1.4m Seed Round to Build Out Africa’s First Home Services App

ByTechTrends

Eden Life, Africa’s first home services app for scheduling food, laundry and cleaning services, has completed a $1.4m Seed round, led by UK-based LocalGlobe, along with participation from Samurai Incubate, Future Africa, Village Global, Rising Tide Africa and Enza Capital. This brings Eden Life’s total investment to date to $2m following pre-seed backing from all of Andela’s original co-founders, and additional accelerator…

Tunisian logistics startup Lamma raises funding from Orange Ventures

Tunisian logistics startup Lamma raises funding from Orange Ventures

ByTechTrends

Tunisian last mile delivery startup Lamma has secured an undisclosed investment from Orange Ventures to fuel its international expansion. Founded last year by Hamza Guesmi and Koussi Aymen, Lamma recently launched its q-commerce – “quick commerce” – app, offering delivery services in under 45 minutes. The startup began life as a carpooling service before it pivoted into…

Favour Ori’s new fintech startup, Payday raises $1m pre-seed to build Africa’s paypal
|

Favour Ori’s new fintech startup, Payday raises $1m pre-seed to build Africa’s paypal

ByTechTrends

Payday, a Pan-African financial technology company has announced a $1m pre-seed fund raise. According to the startup, the raise will help it to build an online payments system that is equivalent to Paypal. According to the announcement, the raise was supported by several investors including LofyInc, Microtraction, Magic Fund, Ventures Platform, Voltron Capital, CcHub Syndicate, Helicarrier…

Tiger Global backs African fintech Mono in $15M Series A round

Tiger Global backs African fintech Mono in $15M Series A round

ByTechTrends

Mono, an African startup that helps connect consumers’ bank accounts to financial applications, has raised a $15 million Series A round, the company confirmed to TechCrunch today. The round, led by Tiger Global — the VC firm’s third major investment in Africa this year after Flutterwave and FairMoney — also had participation from new investors Target Global (an investor…

DPI announces the $900 million final close of the African Development Partners III Fund, one of the largest African funds

DPI announces the $900 million final close of the African Development Partners III Fund, one of the largest African funds

ByTechTrends

African Development Partners III Fund (ADP III) has surpassed its US$800 million target and is set to close at US$900 million, with an additional US$250 million in dedicated co-investment capital, according to Development Partners International, a premier investment firm focused on Africa. This takes the total amount invested on the continent to US$1.15 billion. ADP…

Moroccan B2B e-commerce startup Chari raises $5m seed round for expansion

Moroccan B2B e-commerce startup Chari raises $5m seed round for expansion

ByTechTrends

Moroccan B2B e-commerce and fintech startup Chari has raised a US$5 million seed round which values the company at US$70 million and sets it up for expansion into French-speaking Africa. Founded last year by husband and wife team Ismael and Sophia Belkhayat, Chari.ma allows traditional proximity store owners in Morocco to order products and have them delivered….

Tunisian big data startup Biware raises $1.2m funding round

Tunisian big data startup Biware raises $1.2m funding round

ByTechTrends

Tunisian data management and analysis startup Biware has raised a MAD3.5 million (US$1.2 million) seed funding round to help it expand its team and launched new branches. Founded in 2011 by Mohamed Amine Boussarsar and Walid Kaâbachi, Biware assists businesses in extracting value from their data for strategic purposes, such as increasing revenues, lowering costs, and reducing…

SA industry 4.0 solution business Stone Three raises expansion funding

SA industry 4.0 solution business Stone Three raises expansion funding

ByTechTrends

South African startup Stone Three, a leading industry 4.0 solution business that combines expert services with the power of machine learning to solve problems that increase operational productivity and keep people safer, healthier and happier, has raised expansion funding from Knife Capital. The end-to-end solutions for AI-augmented digital productivity, health and workplace safety offered by Stone…

Why The Biggest Challenge Start-ups Face Is Not Access To Funding
|

Why The Biggest Challenge Start-ups Face Is Not Access To Funding

ByTechTrends

According to a report published by the World Bank, it was observed that while Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) create 7 out of 10 jobs in emerging markets, access to finance has remained a key constraint to SME growth. The Report noted that access to finance is one of the most cited obstacles facing SMEs to…

Zoom’s $14.7-Billion Deal with Five9 Put On Mute
|

Zoom’s $14.7-Billion Deal with Five9 Put On Mute

ByTechTrends

In July, video conferencing mainstay Zoom announced that it was stepping into its first major acquisition buying cloud call centre service provider Five9 for $14.7-billion in an all-stock transaction. The deal was supposed to be finalised within “the first half of 2022.” Now, CNBC reports that Zoom’s agreement with Five9 has fallen through after Five9’s shareholders rejected the deal….

Nigeria’s Andela Achieves $1.5-Billion Valuation in Latest Series E Round

Nigeria’s Andela Achieves $1.5-Billion Valuation in Latest Series E Round

ByTechTrends

Andela, a global engineering talent outsourcing company launched in Nigeria in 2014 has secured a $200-million investment during a Series E funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, the venture capital arm of Japanese mega-corp SoftBank. This latest funding round brings Andela’s total valuation to $1.5-billion, officially making it Africa’s fifth unicorn startup. According…

Nigerian B2B payments platform Verto raises $10m Series A round

Nigerian B2B payments platform Verto raises $10m Series A round

ByTechTrends

Nigerian startup Verto, a B2B payments platform that provides a fast, simple, and reliable way for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to make payments to their suppliers in over 200 countries across 39 currencies, has raised a US$10 million Series A round to boost its geographical expansion. Launched in 2018 by co-founders Ola Oyetayo and…

SA’s Sun Exchange secures $2.5m funding to boost scaling efforts

SA’s Sun Exchange secures $2.5m funding to boost scaling efforts

ByTechTrends

South African startup Sun Exchange, a peer-to-peer solar leasing platform, has raised a further US$2.5 million in funding by way of a convertible note investment from an existing investor to help it scale more quickly. Launched in 2015, Sun Exchange enables anyone, anywhere in the world, to buy remotely-located solar cells that power schools, businesses and other…

SA startups invited to apply for mLab accelerator programme

SA startups invited to apply for mLab accelerator programme

ByTechTrends

mLab Southern Africa has opened applications for its StartUp Accelerator, offering selected companies access to mentorship, business clinics and grant seed funding. The mLab StartUp Accelerator 2021 is open to startups based in Gauteng, Limpopo and the Northern Cape, and will provide 15 businesses with a range of support mechanisms for a period of six months. It…

Senegalese logistics startup Yobante Express raises $1.2m seed round

Senegalese logistics startup Yobante Express raises $1.2m seed round

ByTechTrends

Senegalese delivery startup Yobante Express, an online marketplace that connects local couriers with local commerce to optimise domestic, cross-border and last mile delivery, has raised a US$1.2 million bridge funding round as it looks to build on its impressive growth. Founded in November 2018, Yobante Express is a web and mobile platform that uses gig economy, independent…

Egyptian blockchain startup Pravica raises funding to scale operations

Egyptian blockchain startup Pravica raises funding to scale operations

ByTechTrends

Cairo-based startup Pravica, a communication platform using blockchain technology to empower user privacy and security, has secured an undisclosed investment for a Swiss VC firm to help it scale operations. Founded in 2019 by Mohamed Abdou, Pravica utilises blockchain to empower user privacy and security in the communication industry, specifically messaging apps, where enormous amounts of data…

Flat6Labs announces 2nd close of Tunisia seed fund at $10m

Flat6Labs announces 2nd close of Tunisia seed fund at $10m

ByTechTrends

Flat6Labs, a regional seed and early-stage VC firm, has announced the second close of its Tunisia-based Anava Seed Fund (ASF), taking the total size of the fund up to US$10 million from US$3 million. The Anava Seed Fund was launched in 2017 in partnership with the Tunisian American Enterprise Fund, BIAT Bank and Meninx Holding,…

Nigerian crypto exchange Yellow Card raises $15m Series A funding
|

Nigerian crypto exchange Yellow Card raises $15m Series A funding

ByTechTrends

Nigerian cryptocurrency exchange Yellow Card has raised US$15 million in Series A funding to ramp up hiring and continue its expansion across the continent.  Launched in 2018, Yellow Card makes it easy for anyone, anywhere in Africa, to buy cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDT Stablecoin using cash, mobile money, card, or bank transfer. The company now…

Moroccan e-health startup DataPathology raises $223k funding

Moroccan e-health startup DataPathology raises $223k funding

ByTechTrends

Moroccan e-heath startup DataPathology has raised MAD2 million (US$$223,000) to help it transform the pathological diagnosis system and improve services provided to practitioners and patients. Founded in 2020 by Hicham El Attar and Mohammed El Khannoussi, DataPathology fights shortage and delays of diagnosis of cancer patients in rural areas, providing healthcare practitioners with a complete solution to…

Input Output launches $6M fund for startups to build on Cardano in Africa
|

Input Output launches $6M fund for startups to build on Cardano in Africa

ByTechTrends

Input Output has launched a six million dollars (USD) blockchain fund in Africa, to invest in the most innovative blockchain projects, who are building on Cardano in Africa. The fund focuses on blockchain technology because the lack of deeply embedded legacy infrastructure means that African governments and businesses have fewer obstacles to adopting next-generation technology than the…

Fintech dopay Raises US$18 Million Series to scale in Egypt

Fintech dopay Raises US$18 Million Series to scale in Egypt

ByTechTrends

Dopay, the B2B2C payments platform serving 1.7bn unbanked workers in emerging markets, has closed a US$ 18 million Series A funding round. Dopay meets a strong and growing demand from businesses for cashless payroll and from employees for access to digital banking and electronic payments. Worldwide, an estimated 200 million businesses still rely on cash…

As remote work becomes normal, Ukio raises $9M for premium long-term rentals

As remote work becomes normal, Ukio raises $9M for premium long-term rentals

ByTechTrends

Startups have spent the last decade trying to offer every variation of Airbnb that they can imagine. But Ukio thinks it has found a way through the ever-growing tangle of housing rental competitors — and regulators — right as remote work becomes the norm. It offers rentals of one month or longer, featuring a turnkey premium experience…

LG is acquiring automotive cybersecurity startup Cybellum in a $240M deal
|

LG is acquiring automotive cybersecurity startup Cybellum in a $240M deal

ByTechTrends

LG Electronics, the Korean tech giant that once was a leading player in mobile phones but is now winding down that business, is making an acquisition that points to its ambitions in another, emerging area: next-generation automotive hardware and services. Today the company announced that it will be snapping up Cybellum, an Israeli automotive cybersecurity specialist that detects…

Egyptian commerce marketplace Shiphaly secures 6-figure seed funding round

Egyptian commerce marketplace Shiphaly secures 6-figure seed funding round

ByTechTrends

Egyptian startup Shiphaly, a platform connecting shoppers and travellers, has raised an undisclosed six-figure seed funding round from angel investors to help it build on its steady growth. Launched in October 2019, Shiphaly is a mobile app and marketplace connecting shoppers who want to buy products from abroad with travellers who can buy and deliver the products…

Egyptian social commerce startup Brimore secures investment from Fawry
|

Egyptian social commerce startup Brimore secures investment from Fawry

ByTechTrends

Egyptian social commerce startup Brimore has raised funding from e-payments solutions and banking services provider Fawry, the North African country’s first startup “unicorn”, as part of its upcoming Series A round. Founded in 2017, Brimore has built a platform that leverages the power of individual social networks to enable broad, cost-effective market access. It enables manufacturers to…

Uganda’s gnuGrid raises $612k seed round as it pivots into fintech space

Uganda’s gnuGrid raises $612k seed round as it pivots into fintech space

ByTechTrends

Ugandan startup gnuGrid has increased the size of its seed funding round to US$612,500 as it pivots its product offering to move into the fintech space. Launched in 2019 by David Opio and James Dailey, gnuGrid built Solar Sentra, which aimed to streamline and automate the highly fragmented solar industry in Uganda and beyond by using AI-optimised…

Alpha Medical closes $24M Series B round to expand women’s telehealth — without the video calls

Alpha Medical closes $24M Series B round to expand women’s telehealth — without the video calls

ByTechTrends

Alpha Medical, a telemedicine company focused on women’s healthcare, closed a $24 million Series B round on Tuesday. It’s another company situated squarely in the crosshairs of a pandemic-fueled boom in telemedicine investment, though Alpha Medical’s approach has one notable difference: you won’t be logging on to any Zoom calls. Alpha Medical was founded in 2017. Since…

Cartona gets $4.5M pre-Series A to connect retailers with suppliers in Egypt

Cartona gets $4.5M pre-Series A to connect retailers with suppliers in Egypt

ByTechTrends

Today, Cartona is announcing that it has raised a $4.5 million pre-Series A funding round to connect retailers and manufacturers via an application. It’s looking to take a large pie in the budding e-commerce and retail play, where multiple startups in Egypt are pulling their weight including Capiter, also a year-old startup we reported on last week. The…

VC Mark Suster: “The bet we’re making now is on founder skills,” instead of customers or products

VC Mark Suster: “The bet we’re making now is on founder skills,” instead of customers or products

ByTechTrends

We recently caught up with longtime VC Mark Suster of L.A.-based Upfront Ventures, which last raised both an early-stage fund and a growth stage fund several years ago and, according to regulatory filings, is in the market right now, though Suster couldn’t discuss either owing to SEC regulations. We did talk about a wide range of things, from his…

Nigerian startups can pitch for share of $30k pre-seed equity pool at StartupSouth event
|

Nigerian startups can pitch for share of $30k pre-seed equity pool at StartupSouth event

ByTechTrends

Nigerian startups have been invited to apply to pitch for share of a US$30,000 pre-seed equity funding pool provided by SSE Angel Network at the upcoming StartupSouth event. Disrupt Africa reported earlier this month the Southeast Nigerian city of Enugu will host the sixth edition of the StartupSouth conference, the biggest startup and innovation-focused event in…