Venture capital

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…

Four Cape Town startups land over R2.7m in Savant TIA grants for their innovative ideas

Four Cape Town based startups have collectively landed over R2.7-million in seed grants from the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA), administered by Savant, a hardware tech…

Nigerian fintech Vesicash nets further investment from Ingressive Capital

Nigerian fintech Vesicash has raised an undisclosed amount of investment from Lagos-based investor Ingressive Capital. The startup provides a digital escrow service which helps…

Dutch VC fund takes a stake in SA’s Centbee after Paper Plane Ventures exits startup

UPDATE (21 February): An earlier version of this story had it that Dutch venture capital (VC) company Two Hop Ventures had acquired SA VC…

Santam invests in JaSure, a Gauteng based insurtech that has done away with CEO role

Short-term insurer Santam has invested an undisclosed amount in JaSure — a Johannesburg based insurtech which has done away with the role of CEO….

‘Only 4% of Section 12J funds went to VC in last tax year’

A mere four percent or R120-million of the estimated over R3-billion raised by Section 12J venture capital companies (VCCs) in the 2019 tax year…

InstaDeep raises $7m in round led by Tunisia’s AfricInvest

Enterprise artificial intelligence (AI) startup InstaDeep has raised a $7-million Series-A round led by Tunisian private equity firm AfricInvest. Endeavor Catalyst — the co-investment fund…

Zimbabwe’s Payitup nets $13m from UK’s Thawer Fund Management

Harare-based payments startup Payitup has secured a $13-million Series-A investment from London’s Thawer Fund Management, CEO Aretha Gonyora has revealed. The funding was secured…

Nigerian micro-investment portal Trove to use Ventures Platform investment to scale operations

Nigerian micro-investment platform Trove plans to use its recent investment from Ventures Platform to scale its operations and build its team, CEO Tomi Solanke…

German investor Allianz X chooses Uganda’s SafeBoda as its first African investment

Allianz X, the digital investment unit of German financial services company Allianz Group has made in its first investment in an African-based company —…

SA regtech Intergreatme out to raise R24m through crowdfunding site Uprise.Africa

UPDATE (10 December 2019): While Intergreatme’s equity crowdfunding campaign closed with the startup having raised a total of R32,601,000 against a targeted raise of…

Here’s what you should know about Seedstars’ $100-million fund for African startups [Q&A]

Emerging markets startup competition Seedstars earlier this month announced it would launch a $100-million fund to invest in African startups in collaboration with Paris based First Growth…

SA insurtech Nobuntu to use Blue Garnet Ventures investment to develop, launch flagship product

Cape Town based insurtech startup Nobuntu will use an investment it raised from Blue Garnet Ventures to develop and launch its flagship savings product, the…

Kenyan online marketplace AfricaSokoni raises $455k from European investor [Updated]

AfricaSokoni, a Nairobi-based online marketplace, has raised $455 000 in seed funding from from an unnamed European angel investor. Ugandan tech publication Digest Africa…

World Bank to invest $50m to help scale Egyptian early-stage investment network

The World Bank, as part of a $200-million project that aims to support small businesses and job creation for women and youth in Egypt, will…

Ghanaian startup KudiGO raises $450k in seed round led by Founders Factory Africa

Accra-based consumer retail solutions startup KudiGO has closed a $450 000 seed round led by Founders Factory Africa. KudiGO was founded in 2017 by CEO…

Dakar Network Angels sets sights on making four investments per year

Dakar Network Angels (DNA), which launched last month, aims to make four investments each year in francophone Africa, with investment tickets of between $20…

Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund to invest ticket sizes of up to €15m in African startups

The recently launched Cathay Africinvest Innovation Fund will invest ticket sizes of between €3-million and €15-million or the equivalent in local currency, Cathay Innovation co-founder…

Pearson Ventures’ $50m fund will explore opportunities in SA, other markets

South Africa is one of the markets in which British education company Pearson will explore opportunities through its $50-million Pearson Ventures fund, Pearson Ventures…

Sun Exchange looking to raise $3m in round led by US digital asset investment fund Alphabit

Blockchain-based solar micro-leasing marketplace Sun Exchange is looking to raise $3-million in equity funding in a round led by the startup’s largest investor, US-based cryptocurrency…

Jumia raises $196m in New York Stock Exchange IPO

African ecommerce giant Jumia today raised $196-million in its initial public offering (IPO) at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

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