Venture capital

MFS Africa secures follow-on funding, bringing Series-B round to $14m

Johannesburg-based fintech company MFS Africa has closed a Series-B funding round led by China-based VC firm LUN Partners Group. The raise is an extension round to a $4.5-million round the…

Nigeria’s Microtraction announces investment into Lagos-based fintech Riby

Nigerian investment platform Microtraction has announced its seventh deal, with an undisclosed investment in Lagos-based fintech Riby. Microtraction’s principal investment officer Dayo Koleowo made the…

Local venture capitalist blames Silicon Valley for over valuation of SA startups

Over valuations are becoming increasingly prevalent among early-stage entrepreneurs in South Africa and Silicon Valley is to blame. So, says venture capitalist Clive Butkow of Kalon Venture…

Naspers to launch R1.4bn fund to back SA tech startups

SA investor Naspers has announced that it plans to next year launch a R1.4-billion (about $96-million) startup fund to boost the SA tech firms. The initiative…

Bank, local hub launch $1-million fund for Somalian startups

Mogadishu-based Premier Bank and Somalian business support organisation iRise Hub yesterday launched a $1-million fund aimed at backing the country’s startups. Premier Bank chairman…

GreenTec Capital Partners invests in Namibian computer manufacturer PEBL

Frankfurt-based venture capital (VC) firm GreenTec Capital Partners has invested an undisclosed amount in PEBL, a Windhoek-based startup that manufactures computer hardware. GreenTec Capital Partners announced…

Eight important lessons when raising venture capital [Opinion]

It is important for every entrepreneur to recognise that to raise venture capital (VC) is only one way to build and scale a business…

8 questions you should ask yourself before pitching your startup

So you’ve had the next big idea, or your startup’s been going along quietly for a little while. Now you’re ready to take it…

SA gets R400m VC fund for startups and SMEs

This is big news anyone involved in the running of a startup. Business Partners, a specialist risk finance company, has launched a R400-million fund…

Innovative new funding platform Corculture.com launches in SA

A while ago, we wrote about the partnership between FNB Private Clients and AngelHub, which gives startups access to a pool of high-income investors….

Prepaid voucher business-in-a-box Nomanini raises series-A funding

Nomanini, the company behind the little orange device that empowers individuals to earn an income while selling prepaid vouchers, recently raised US$600 000 in…

75% of US startups fail says new study

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal reveals that the number of startups that fail to return their investors’ capital, might be significantly…

Beauty subscription startup rubybox receives funding from HPV Africa

Rubybox, the innovative, try-before-you-buy beauty subscription startup, announced that it has received funding from venture capitalist Hasso Plattner Ventures Africa, for an undisclosed sum….

Angel group invests in African low-cost housing solution

This is interesting. South African angel investment group AngelHub’s is taking a swing at the low-cost housing market by providing funding for Namibian-developed technology,…

Google nestles in with Kenya’s 88mph, SA expansion planned

Looks like Google’s African startup footprint is about grow a little more. Kenyan startup accelerator 88mph has signed a partnership with the tech giant…

South African VC Knife Capital receives international recognition

To the people living on the African continent, the brilliant innovation emerging from the continent’s unsung entrepreneurs is axiomatic. The rest of the world…

Law firm offers 6 tips for courting investors

Law firm Dommisse Attorneys is a small team of attorneys with a big interest in startups. Speaking to BizCommunity, the firm’s founder and senior…

Microsoft launches angel fund and incubator: Bing Fund

Could the next Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest emerge from the Bing Fund? Microsoft hopes so. Officially announced late last week, Microsoft’s new “angel fund…

FNB Private Clients and AngelHub partnership heats up SA startup scene

Readers of Ventureburn are probably well aware of AngelHub, the business angel investment group that pools funding, expertise and networks from a range of…

4 reasons big-time VCs are investing in emerging markets

With technological advancements in developing nations speeding the growth rate of high impact tech start-ups, many American venture capital firms are now looking further…

Y Combinator: Investors should back the jockey not the horse

Y Combinator, a leading seed investment incubator, recently announced that it would be accepting startup applications for this years fund from startup founders WITHOUT…

The hows and the whats — 5 tough questions VCs ask

Over the past six months I have spoken with a wide variety of people who have shown, in varying degrees, interest in investing in…

Why you should network when raising funds for your tech venture

The value of attending networking events is often hard to quantify, as it takes valuable time, but it is worth the effort especially if…

MTN delays launch of 5G network to end of June

SA’s Pineapple, Tautona.AI make Sønr and Insurance Post’s Insurtech 100 list

Covid-19 and African tech startups roundup [05/06/2020]

UNOPS Global Innovation Challenge seeking solutions to address SDGs

New EA games and EA Access to launch on Steam

Huawei P40 Pro review: steadily built on compromise

Samsung Access turns the smartphone into a subscription service

BMW’s new 4 Series design is potentially divisive

Isuzu’s MU-X SUV gets upgraded safety features, design tweaks

The new BMW 5 Series is now a high-performance hybrid