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Kenya’s Twiga Foods secures $10m investment from IFC, TLcom
Kenyan mobile-based B2B distribution platform Twiga Foods has secured a $10-million investment from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), venture capital firm TLcom and the Global Agriculture and Food Security Programme (GAFSP). The startup's previous investors Wamda Capital, DOB Equity, 1776 and Adolph H Lundin also participated in the round. In a statement yesterday (15 November) the IFC said its regional head for venture capital in Africa Wale Ayeni and TLcom managing partner Maurizio Caio will join the Nairobi-based startup's board as part of the deal. Twiga Foods uses mobile phone technology to match supply and demand, aggregating market participants and finding buyers for farmers’ produce. In addition, the startup's web platform...
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Meet the winners of the Feed the Future Fall Armyworm Tech Prize
Nairobi-based startup Farm.ink has clinched the $150 000 grand prize of the Future Fall Armyworm Tech Prize. The announcement was made yesterday (15 November). The US Agency for International Development (USAID), Land O'Lakes International Development, and the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research announced the six winners of the Feed the Future Fall Armyworm Tech Prize yesterday at tech conference AfricaCom in Cape Town. The prize, launched in March, sought digital innovations that could help farmers manage the recent spread of fall armyworm -- a voracious agricultural pest -- in Africa. Kenya's Farm.Ink clinched the $150 000 grand prize of the Future Fall Armyworm Tech Prize Following a competitive...
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View the full 2018 Ventureburn Tech Startup Survey presentation
The 2018 edition of the Ventureburn Tech Startup Survey powered by Telkom Futuremakers, has uncovered a host of detailed insights into the South African startup landscape. From sources of funding and racial breakdowns to the most successful sectors, the survey covered a variety of topics. We have plenty of articles on Ventureburn, but find our comprehensive report embedded below. More information on the Ventureburn Startup Survey: Gauteng home to most tech startups, but Cape firms still more successful – survey SA startups with combination of male-female founders most successful – survey Black tech startups in SA still struggling finds new Ventureburn survey SA tech startups...
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Infographic: the 2018 Ventureburn Tech Startup Survey
The 2018 Ventureburn Tech Startup Survey, powered by Telkom Futuremakers, has delivered plenty of insights into the South African startup landscape. The survey, following on from last year's edition, saw 153 South African startup founders respond. But what should you know? You can view all the articles here, but we’ve also prepared an infographic for your convenience, outlining a selection of findings. Check it out below. *Note on the methodology the survey used: In all there were 169 respondents to the survey which was conducted using an online questionnaire, by data analytics firm Qurio. Of this number, 16 respondents were found to be employees of startups (rather than...
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SA tech startups still out of touch when getting angel, VC funding – survey
Over a quarter of founders or 29% of SA tech startups believe that they will grow their business by securing venture capital (VC) or funding from angel investors – yet the reality is that only about 11% report having been able to secure such funding, a new survey reveals. Are startup founders then out of touch with reality? The figures are revealed in the 2018 Ventureburn Tech Startup Survey powered by Telkom Futuremakers which was released today. The survey sampled 153 SA tech startup founders. The finding is similar to that of a 2017 survey Ventureburn conducted last year of 260 startup founders. In this...
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Black tech startups in SA still struggling finds new Ventureburn survey
While 15% of SA tech startups founded by white entrepreneurs are turning a profit, just seven percent of their black counterparts are making a profit, a new survey by Ventureburn has revealed. The Ventureburn Tech Startup Survey powered by Telkom Futuremakers – which was released today – found that while the number of black (black African, coloured, Indian or Chinese South African) entrepreneurs running technology startups appears to be on the rise, most are struggling to make money or access finance. Black startups on the rise In all, 56% of the 153 startup founders surveyed by Ventureburn in an online survey, listed themselves as black –...
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SA startups with combination of male-female founders most successful – survey
More SA startups that have both male and female founders are generating significant revenue or turning a profit -- than are those with only male or only female founders -- a new survey has found. The 2018 Ventureburn Tech Startup Survey powered by Telkom Futuremakers, reveals that of 153 tech startups quizzed online, 41% of those that have both male and females among their founders (startups like SweepSouth which was founded by husband and wife team Alen Ribic and Aisha Pandor, pictured above) report that they are successful. In comparison, 25% that have just men as founders and 20% with just women are generating significant revenue...
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Gauteng home to most tech startups, but Cape firms still more successful – survey
Gauteng is now home to 55% of tech startup founders — ahead of the Western Cape’s 37%. In all, 36% of Western Cape startups report turning a profit or generating significant revenue, compared to 22% in Gauteng. The percentage of black tech startups has risen from 26% in 2015, to 56% this year. Just seven percent of black tech startups turn a profit, versus 15% of their white counterparts. Over a quarter of startups plan to raise angel or VC funding, but only eight percent receive such funding. Successful startup founders are most likely to be white males from the Western Cape. The Western...
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Here’s why the World Bank Group moved to launch the Afrique Excelle programme
A small turnout by francophone startups at the World Bank's XL Africa accelerator last year could be the reason why the organisation has moved to launch a francophone version of the same programme, Afrique Excelle. Only one francophone startup -- Senegalese mobile classifieds platform CoinAfrique -- made it into last year's XL Africa programme. The World Bank Group's InfoDev programme manager Ganesh Rasagam said at the time that over 900 startups from across the continent had applied to participate in the programme, with an independent panel of experts eventually selecting the 20 startups that participated in the accelerator. Five were Kenyan, nine were Nigerian, three were...
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Joburg based insurance platform Franc Group wins 2018 Seedstars SA finals
Johannesburg based self-insurance platform Franc Group was earlier this evening (14 November) crowned the winner of the 2018 Seedstars SA finals. The startup -- which earlier this month won the Seedstars Johannesburg pitch event -- came first ahead of property tech startup HouseMe which was placed second and peer-to-peer storage and parking platform Sxuirell which was placed third. Seven startups in all pitched. A jury comprised of Naspers Ventures strategy manager Minette Havemann, Nedbank head of disruption and innovation Stuart van de Veen, Seedstars regional manager for Africa Claudia Makadristo and Hybr partner Vuyisa Qabaka (pictured above, right with Franc Group founder and CEO Thomas Brennan)...
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