African VC deals since 4 March 2021 African VC/ Startup News
-
- Firmengründung
Hi and welcome to African VC/ Startup news, a weekly newsletter where I highlight transactions in the African startup ecosystem over the past week (or two). Since 4 March 2021, I noticed 8 deals come across my screen, 7 investments and 1 fundraise. Of the 7 investments, South Africa had 3 and Egypt and Nigeria had 2 deals each. Fintech was the most active sector with 3 investments.
In addition to sending the weekly newsletter, I maintain a database of deals, investors and portfolio companies in the African startup ecosystem, it is available: here
The UpStartVC Podcast released a new episode on Thursday, we spoke to Simon Ellis from SmartWage. You can find our episodes here: Substack, Apple Podcast and Spotify, Please leave us a review!
Check out our research note on SmartWage:
Since 4 March 2021, I noticed the following deals:
Investments (7 deals)
1: FlexClub | $5m | Seed round | Kindred Ventures; CRE VC; Endeavor | e-Commerce; Marketplace
Investee:
FlexClub – a South African car subscription marketplace offering flexible ways to get a car online. The company partners with car rental companies and automotive groups to building the future of automotive retail in markets like South Africa and Mexico.
Investor(s):
Kindred Ventures (lead) - a seed-stage venture capital fund based in San Francisco, California.
CRE Venture Capital - a New York based venture capital firm that invests in technology enabled startup companies in Africa.
Endeavor - US based non-profit organization that supports high-impact entrepreneurs around the world.
Detail: South African e-commerce startup FlexClub has secured $5m in seed round funding. Funds raised will be used for scaling the company’s business.
2: Dayra | $3m | Pre-Seed round | Various investors | Fintech
Investee:
Dayra – an Egyptian data-driven fintech company providing financial services to unbanked gig-workers and micro-businesses via API integration. The company offers financial services to unbanked individuals.
Investor(s):
Tanmiya Capital Ventures (lead): an Egyptian SME private equity manager investing in small and medium enterprises with investment tickets of $2-7million.
EFG EV Fintech: a fintech focused startup accelerator that is a partnership between Egyptian financial services company EFG Hermes and Egypt Ventures.
Y Combinator: a US-based accelerator that invests in startups twice a year. In each round the company invests $125k in exchange for a 7% stake in the business. The program lasts for three months and helps founders to refine their investor pitches.
Detail: Egyptian fintech startup Dayra has raised $3m in a pre-seed round. This is ahead of the startup being selected for the Winter 2021 cohort of Y Combinator. The funds are to be used to double the company’s team and create new features for its product.
3: Quench | Undisclosed amount | Undisclosed round | Imvelo Ventures | Logistics; Mobility
Investee:
Quench – a South African startup that provides an on-demand delivery app for delivery services to locals. The company offers groceries, alcohol, and other essential items.
Investor(s):
Imvelo Ventures - a South African venture capital and growth firm funded by Capitec Bank.
Detail: South African mobility tech startup Quench has raised an undisclosed amount in an undisclosed round of funding from Imvelo Ventures. The company aims to expand its delivery offering across industries and its delivery footprint.
4: Flutterwave | $170m | Series C round | Various investors | Fintech
Investee:
Flutterwave – a payment service fintech that provides technology, infrastructure, and services to global merchants and payment service providers to enable them to build secure, seamless payment solutions for their customers.
Investor(s):
Avenir Growth Capital (lead) – a New York based future-focused growth equity firm backing category-defining technology and technology-enabled companies.
Tiger Global Management LLC (lead) - US based
Hi and welcome to African VC/ Startup news, a weekly newsletter where I highlight transactions in the African startup ecosystem over the past week (or two). Since 4 March 2021, I noticed 8 deals come across my screen, 7 investments and 1 fundraise. Of the 7 investments, South Africa had 3 and Egypt and Nigeria had 2 deals each. Fintech was the most active sector with 3 investments.
In addition to sending the weekly newsletter, I maintain a database of deals, investors and portfolio companies in the African startup ecosystem, it is available: here
The UpStartVC Podcast released a new episode on Thursday, we spoke to Simon Ellis from SmartWage. You can find our episodes here: Substack, Apple Podcast and Spotify, Please leave us a review!
Check out our research note on SmartWage:
Since 4 March 2021, I noticed the following deals:
Investments (7 deals)
1: FlexClub | $5m | Seed round | Kindred Ventures; CRE VC; Endeavor | e-Commerce; Marketplace
Investee:
FlexClub – a South African car subscription marketplace offering flexible ways to get a car online. The company partners with car rental companies and automotive groups to building the future of automotive retail in markets like South Africa and Mexico.
Investor(s):
Kindred Ventures (lead) - a seed-stage venture capital fund based in San Francisco, California.
CRE Venture Capital - a New York based venture capital firm that invests in technology enabled startup companies in Africa.
Endeavor - US based non-profit organization that supports high-impact entrepreneurs around the world.
Detail: South African e-commerce startup FlexClub has secured $5m in seed round funding. Funds raised will be used for scaling the company’s business.
2: Dayra | $3m | Pre-Seed round | Various investors | Fintech
Investee:
Dayra – an Egyptian data-driven fintech company providing financial services to unbanked gig-workers and micro-businesses via API integration. The company offers financial services to unbanked individuals.
Investor(s):
Tanmiya Capital Ventures (lead): an Egyptian SME private equity manager investing in small and medium enterprises with investment tickets of $2-7million.
EFG EV Fintech: a fintech focused startup accelerator that is a partnership between Egyptian financial services company EFG Hermes and Egypt Ventures.
Y Combinator: a US-based accelerator that invests in startups twice a year. In each round the company invests $125k in exchange for a 7% stake in the business. The program lasts for three months and helps founders to refine their investor pitches.
Detail: Egyptian fintech startup Dayra has raised $3m in a pre-seed round. This is ahead of the startup being selected for the Winter 2021 cohort of Y Combinator. The funds are to be used to double the company’s team and create new features for its product.
3: Quench | Undisclosed amount | Undisclosed round | Imvelo Ventures | Logistics; Mobility
Investee:
Quench – a South African startup that provides an on-demand delivery app for delivery services to locals. The company offers groceries, alcohol, and other essential items.
Investor(s):
Imvelo Ventures - a South African venture capital and growth firm funded by Capitec Bank.
Detail: South African mobility tech startup Quench has raised an undisclosed amount in an undisclosed round of funding from Imvelo Ventures. The company aims to expand its delivery offering across industries and its delivery footprint.
4: Flutterwave | $170m | Series C round | Various investors | Fintech
Investee:
Flutterwave – a payment service fintech that provides technology, infrastructure, and services to global merchants and payment service providers to enable them to build secure, seamless payment solutions for their customers.
Investor(s):
Avenir Growth Capital (lead) – a New York based future-focused growth equity firm backing category-defining technology and technology-enabled companies.
Tiger Global Management LLC (lead) - US based