The world’s first venture studio with a tourism focus, Purple Elephant Ventures (PEV), is based in Kenya and has closed a pre-seed investment of $1 million. The investment will be used by the venture studio to create at least three startups annually. PEV’s goal is to guide Africa’s tourism sector toward a more environmentally friendly…
To speed up product development and client acquisition in Kenya and elsewhere, Kenyan agency banking as a service provider Tanda is now soliciting money through a pre-Series A round of fundraising. Tanda, which was founded in 2018, enables store owners to access inventory on credit and serve as their clients’ access points for services including…
InGame Sports, an Egyptian gaming and sports technology business, has raised approximately US$1 million in cash, in-kind assets, and grants in a pre-seed round to support its international growth and the introduction of new products. A first-of-its-kind gamified platform called InGame Sports offers football fans the ability to anticipate results and win thrilling rewards. The…
It is generally acknowledged that Lagos has a serious housing shortage issue. The state’s large size and high population density are the root causes of the housing shortage. With a population of 15.4 million, Lagos, the smallest state in Nigeria, is also the most populous metropolis in Africa. Lagos receives 123,840 visitors each day, making…
Algebra Ventures, an Egyptian venture capital firm with a MENA emphasis, announced the opening of its $90 million second fund in April of last year. A $54 million fund was invested in 21 firms around Egypt and the Middle East as a follow-up to its first round. Algebra Ventures anticipated reaching its first close in…
The B2B e-commerce platform Mazaya, based in Egypt, has raised $5 million in pre-seed capital to develop its operations there and enter other markets and industry verticals. Mazaya, a company that was founded in December 2021, gives retailers and merchants of electronic products and home appliances more leverage by allowing them to quickly and effectively…
The pan-African Investing in Innovation (i3) program has chosen thirty African e-health firms to participate, providing them with a US$50,000 grant and access to market opportunities to spur growth-driven relationships with donors, industry, and institutional stakeholders. The i3 program, supported by Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD), the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa, AUDA-NEPAD,…
Small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) are very important in Africa. An estimated 80% of jobs on the continent are held by the 44 million SMEs. Despite being crucial to the African economy, many businesses only have a limited amount of access to funding. Due to a lack of collateralization, traditional credit facilities like banks frequently…
A South African-based automated platform called iiDENTIFii has raised $15 million in growth capital to offer a remote digital biometric identification authentication method. African investment firm Arise, whose founding investors include Rabobank Partnerships, Norfund, NorFinance, and FMO, led the round. The size of this Series A in the African identity verification market is the largest…
SweepSouth, a South African platform for on-demand home cleaning and services, has raised US$11 million in finance, lead by the private equity fund Alitheia IDF, with the goal of growing its current business and entering new markets. A $100 million “gender-lens fund” called Alitheia IDF is co-founded and run by two women-led companies, Alitheia Capital…
InGame Sports, an Egyptian gaming and sports technology business, has raised over $1 million in cash, in-kind resources, and grants in a pre-seed round that was spearheaded by Openner, a worldwide VC that invests in early-stage tech startups and has a unique combination of capital and technology. Numerous well-known personalities in world sports, like Sports…
Agritech startup Farmerline from Ghana has raised an additional $1.5 million in a pre-Series A equity investment to grow throughout West Africa. With the extra money, the total amount obtained in the round—which includes $6.4 million in debt financing—now stands at $14.4 million. The Dutch entrepreneurial development bank FMO, Oikocredit, Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund (ARAF),…
ComiBlock, a Nigerian business in the investtech space, has received an unknown amount of money from Expert Dojo, a growth accelerator based in California, to aid in its expansion. ComiBlock, a goal-based investment crypto robo-advisor that was launched in February 2021, provides anyone with a smartphone with access to planning tools, advice, and curated and…
When Vendease debuted in January 2020, its goal was to use a marketplace model that linked suppliers and farmers to restaurants and food enterprises to address the problems and inefficiencies in Nigeria’s highly fragmented food sector, with delivery made possible within 24 hours. But over the following few months, Vendease changed from its middleman role…
Remedial Health, a health-tech firm that develops solutions to enhance the efficiency of Africa’s pharmaceutical value chain, has acquired $4.4 million in seed funding. Leading the seed round of funding was Global Ventures. Notable angel investors Guillaume Luccisano and Christopher Golda joined Tencent, Y Combinator, Cathexis Ventures, LightSpeed Venture Partners Scout Fund, Ventures Platform, Alumni…
Julaya, an Ivorian fintech firm focused on payments, has added $5 million to its pre-Series A financing. The business, which primarily uses mobile money channels to allow B2B payments for companies in Francophone West Africa, has raised a total of $7 million in the financing round. With 56 million active accounts, West Africa has the…
As it prepares for exponential expansion, South African firm LocumBase, an impartial online medical booking platform, has acquired an undisclosed investment round from Grindstone Ventures. Zulé Vuuren founded LocumBase in 2016 to connect independent medical practitioners with South African practices and streamline the locum-finding process. “In order to give your patients the best treatment possible,…
Exits.me, a fintech investment banking marketplace with headquarters in Egypt, has secured $1 million in a Pre-Seed round. Baseeta Investments Holding & Mawelni Holding for Financial Investments, a collection of prominent Egyptian angel investors, Exits.me, a UK-based company, and the founders all contributed to the funding round. Exits.me, a company founded in 2022 by Mohamed…
MetaFi, a UAE-based metaverse startup, has raised $3 million in funding from DoublePeak Group, Maven Capital, OKX Blockdream Ventures, Megala Ventures, Magnus Capital, Legion Ventures, SL2 Capital, X21 Digital, Good Games Guild, MetaGaming Guild, Mintable Go! Fund, and Athena Ventures. Matt Danilaitis founded MetaFi earlier this year to provide a full suite of services related…
According to an announcement from Sanari Capital, the Sanari 3S Growth Fund’s first close totaled $28 million (Sanari 3SG). Investments in South African businesses that are expanding quickly and have the potential to do so throughout Africa and the rest of the world are preferred by the private equity industry. Sanari 3SG will invest in…
The Janngo Funding Startup Fund (JCSF) announced its first closing on the eve of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly with capital commitments totaling EUR34 million (about US$36 million) (UNGA). In order to accelerate development and accomplish the SDGs in Africa, the fund management organization plans to invest about US$63 million (nearly EUR60…
A US$500,000 pre-seed funding round was disclosed by Nigerian real estate data analytics platform Estate Intel, which has now expanded into a number of other African nations. Estate Intel was founded last year. Estate Intel, which began as a real estate blog in 2016 with a focus on highlighting significant building projects in Nigeria, has…
Auto24 is a direct-to-consumer used automobile firm that introduces new, creative technologies to ensure transactions are carried out in a transparent and secure manner. Auto24 is an African used vehicle startup, Africar Group, and Stellantis announce the opening of Auto24 activities in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. By 2030, there will be 1.7 billion people living in…
“5 Quarters,” a Cairo-based medical startup, has raised Seed funding from a Saudi angel investor to fuel its Saudi expansion plans and add new services for medical professionals. 5 Quarters, founded in 2016 by Mohamed Salah and Noha Emad, began as a medical and dental courses startup and has been in the medical education market…
British International Investment (BII), formerly known as CDC Group, the UK government’s development finance institution (DFI), has announced a plan to invest US$100 million in Egyptian startups over the course of its current strategy period. BII announced its future plans for Egypt at a business reception launching its new name, and reaffirmed its commitment to…
Only 33% of persons worldwide are financially literate, indicating a poor level of financial literacy worldwide. The percentage of adults who are financially literate in African nations ranges between 26% (Nigeria) and 42%, according to Standard & Poor’s Global Financial Literacy Survey (South Africa). Comparing the percentage to that of Europe, where it is between…
In order to accelerate its expansion goals, the South African e-health firm BusyMed has secured more money. BusyMed is enhancing communities all throughout the country’s access to pharmacies. Established in 2018, BusyMed gives consumers access to hundreds of items provided by nearby small pharmacies, including prescription drugs, which may then be delivered in 60 minutes…
With a $30 million fully diluted valuation, the gaming DAO Metaverse Magna (MVM) from Nigeria raised $3.2 million in a seed sale token offering. MVM produces developer tools for Web3 gaming and distributes mobile games in developing African markets. The investors included Wemade, a South Korean video game producer, HashKey, Tess Ventures, LD Capital, Taureon,…
A collection of local and regional investors, including EFG EV and Flat6Labs, 500 Global, and Hala Ventures, led a $550,000 pre-Seed round of funding for the Egypt-based enterprise e-commerce solutions startup el-dokan. Every retailer’s business strategy today includes e-commerce, and platforms and technology providers are vying to offer merchants the finest tools possible to help…
An Egypt-based vehicle service app called 3atlana has raised a six-figure seed round from Ghabbour Auto, one of the country’s top automakers, to improve their AI system. Sherif El Adham, Ahmed Hassan, and Amr Hesham established 3atlana in 2020 with the goal of facilitating crucial auto services that drivers may require, such as scheduling maintenance,…