Venture capital

Cote D’Ivoire startup Afrikrea lands €1m investment

Ivorian tech startup Afrikrea has secured €1-million in investment from its existing investor Saviu, a French venture builder and venture capital (VC) fund, as…

Egypt’s Garment IO lands $450k seed investment for clothing factory smart device

Egyptian startup Garment IO has landed $450 000 in seed funding from Egypt Ventures and 500 Startups via its 500 Falcons fund. The startup,…

Fintech JUMO secures $55m from new and existing investors [Updated]

UPDATE (3 March 2020): Subsequent to the publication of this story, JUMO told Ventureburn that of the $55-million, $30-million was in equity and $25-million…

GreenTec Capital Partners invests in Moroccan personnel sourcing platform

German investment firm GreenTec Capital Partners has invested an undisclosed amount in Moroccan tech startup Kwiks, a digital platform that specialises in rapid personnel sourcing….

Kenyan ecommerce startup Sokowatch raises $14m

Nairobi based B2B ecommerce platform Sokowatch has raised $14-million in a Series-A investment round. Sokowatch — which was founded in 2013 by CEO Daniel Yu…

Namibia to get its own business angel investors network

The African Business Angel Network (ABAN), in partnership with Greentec Capital Africa Foundation, has announced that it will next week launch the Namibian Business…

Almost 20 years on, two SA inventors haven’t given up bid to launch portable gym

After almost 20 years of trying to develop a mobile gym and fitness analytics machine, John van Niekerk and Newtown Fortuin are still at…

SA startup Howler secures second round of funding [Updated]

UPDATE (10 February): This article has been updated to reflect that one of the three investors, Techstars, contributed $150 000 in Howler’s latest round….

Ethiopian startup Gebeya raises $2m in seed funding

Ethiopian edtech startup and online marketplace company Gebeya has raised $2-million in seed funding in a round co-led by Partech and Orange Digital Ventures…

How Partech Africa took on the headache of counting VC money in African startups

How do you define an African tech startup? It’s a question that has come to bug Partech Africa’s Tidjane Dème, particularly when counting how…

Egyptian ecommerce platform Homzmart raises $1.3m

Egyptian startup Homzmart has raised $1.3-million from a number of investors. MenaBytes reported on Monday (3 February) in an article that the Cairo-based startup,…

TLcom’s Tide Africa fund rises to $71m after latest commitments

Africa-focused venture capital firm TLcom has secured an additional $31-million for its Tide Africa fund, bringing its Sub Saharan Africa (SSA)-focused fund to $71-million….

SA’s Facebook for vehicle buyers and sellers, YouSellCars out to raise R6m in campaign

Promising to be a “Facebook for vehicle buyers and sellers”, SA’s YouSellCars platform is looking to raise R6-million in an equity crowdfunding campaign for what…

Village Capital announces advisory board for NextGen Ecosystem Builders Africa 2020

US venture capital (VC) company Village Capital has announced the names of those chosen to serve on its advisory board for a management training…

Egyptian food discovery and ordering platform Elmenus raises $8m Series-B round

Egyptian food discovery and ordering platform Elmenus has raised $8-million in a Series-B round. Elmenus provides users with digitised restaurant menus from food carts…

Mauritius the ideal base for entering SADC for newly funded African mobility startup Vite

Two Ghanaians and a Nigerian who have just netted seed funding from a Nigerian investor for their mobility platform, believe Mauritius is the ideal…

ChefDirect looking to raise R5m to become Uber of food delivery for SA restaurants

Farmers have long had a raw deal when selling their goods on the market. They’re often hapless price takers, while middle-men such as farm…

Lateral Capital holds initial close of $50m venture fund

Lateral Capital, a US venture capital fund focused on sub-Saharan Africa, has announced that it has exceeded its initial closing target of $20-million for…

Tech firms serving Africa raised over $2bn in funding in 2019 reveals Partech report

Venture capital (VC) investments in tech companies that serve the African market last year grew 74% over 2018 — to total over $2-billion, through…

Logistics vertical hotting up, as Kenya’s Sendy closes $20m Series-B round

Nairobi-based on-demand delivery platform Sendy has raised $20-million in a Series-B investment round led by Atlantica Ventures. Sendy connects businesses and individuals to third party…

SA VC HAVAÍC reveals it’s funded Kenyan startup Tanda

Cape Town based venture capital (VC) company HAVAÍC revealed yesterday that it has concluded an investment in Nairobi based Dukapay Ltd (trading as Tanda)….

Changes to Section 12J VC regime won’t spell doom for all funds says venture capitalist

Experts last year raised concern over new deductions limits for investors under Section 12J of the Income Tax Act, saying it will reduce the…

African venture capitalists bullish over VC sector ahead of Nigerian Interswitch’s IPO

The World Bank has forecast growth in Sub-Saharan Africa to slow from 3.4% (forecast) in 2019, to 2.9% in 2020. But despite slower growth,…

FNB Connect drops its once-off data prices, increases Lifestyle data

Deezer opens a three-month free trial for users under lockdown

Dark Sky ditches Android users, weather apps after it joins Apple

Russia’s StudyFree named the winner of Seedstars World 2020

SA’s Custostech lays off staff after VC sues startup for $4.5m over failed investment bid

Covid-19 and African tech startups roundup [03/04/2020]

Apple’s next budget phone will likely be called the iPhone SE… again

Fitbit Charge 4 debuts in SA with GPS, effort monitoring for R2999

Huawei Y7p: a full, affordable photography studio in your pocket [Sponsored]

Toyota’s new Corolla blends sharper style with upgraded features

The Suzuki S-Presso is now South Africa’s cheapest passenger car

Mazda 2 road test: a compelling, compact Japanese hatchback