African VC/ Startup News Daryn Munnik

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). Apologies a public holiday and family emergency resulted in the delayed newsletter over the last 3 weeks.
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
Insights: Since 21 March 2021, I noticed 28 deals come across my screen, 20 investments, 5 fundraises, 2 acquisitions and 1 exit. Of the 20 investments, South Africa had 8 deals while Nigeria and Egypt had 3 deals each. Fintech was once again the most active sector with 8 investments and 2 in Logistics/ Mobility (see below):

Since 21 March 2021, I noticed the following deals:
Investments (20 deals)
1: Tugende  | $3,6m | Partech; Enza Capital | Series A | Logistics, Mobility
Investee:
Tugende - based in Uganda, they use asset finance, technology, and a customer-centric model to help informal sector entrepreneurs increase their income. They started offering credit to motorcycle taxi owners in Uganda, helping them own instead of rent the motorcycle in 24 months or less.
Investor(s):
Partech - With a current portfolio of almost 180 companies spread across 30 countries in Europe, the US, Africa, and Asia, Partech has been one of the leading international investors helping visionary founders for almost 40 years. With over €1.5B under management, Partech invests from €200K to €50M in B2B and B2C technologies reshaping industries.
Enza Capital - a Kenya based, private investor in early-stage African tech companies solving large and meaningful problems. Enza’s first cheque sizes range from $50k to $1 million.
2: Impulse Biomedical | Undisclosed amount | Futuregrowth  | Seed | Healthtech
Investee:
Impulse Biomedical - an award-winning South African healthtech startup founded by biomedical engineers. They are developing the ZiBiPen which is a reusable adrenaline auto-injector (used in the treatment for Anaphylaxis) significantly reducing the wastage of expired adrenaline injectors, making it much more cost-effective.
Investor(s):
Futuregrowth - a fixed interest investment company that creates opportunities for investors and manages clients'​ assets of around R185 billion across the full range of interest bearing and developmental investments. 
3: Curacel | $450k | Atlantica Ventures; Consonance; Kepple Africa Ventures | Pre-Seed | Fintech, Insuretech
Investee:
Curacel - A Nigerian AI-powered platform that enables insurers to automate claims seamlessly and track fraud, waste and abuse (FWA).
Investor(s):
Atlantica Ventures - an Africa-Focused early-stage investor with offices in Kenya and Nigeria. They provide capital and growth support to early-stage companies and socially responsible startups in Sub-Saharan Africa from Seed through Series B.
Consonance - based in Mauritius and Nigeria, they are an early-stage and growth investment platform that helps entrepreneurs build companies across Sub-Saharan Africa.
Kepple Africa Ventures - a Tokyo, Kenya and Nigeria based early-stage VC fund focusing on Africa.
4: Pricepally | Undisclosed amount | Samurai Incubate; Launch Africa Ventures | Pre-Seed | Agritech, Marketplace
Investee:
Pricepally - a Nigeria based online store that allows customers to shop for items in bulk to earn discounts on food. They connect farmers, manufacturers and wholesalers directly the consumer in an innovative way for everyone to benefit.
Investor(s):
Samurai Incubate Africa - a Japanese investor that supports the growth of companies aiming to solve social problems and inefficiencies in Africa.
Launch Africa Ventures - a Pan-African fund solving the significant funding gap in the Seed to Series A investment landscape in Africa. Targeting B2B and B2B2C early-stage, technology driven startups with strong management teams. 
5: Tanda | Undisclosed amount

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). 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
Insights: Since 14 March 2021, I noticed 11 deals come across my screen, 9 investments and 2 fundraises. Of the 9 investments, Nigeria had 3 deals while South Africa and Ghana had 2 each. Fintech was once again the most active sector with 3 investments and 2 in Agritech (see below):
Within the 3 Fintech deals, 2 were in the Nigerian cross-border payments/ remittance sector. Interestingly Nigeria is one of the largest recipients of remittances in the world, receiving $23,8bn in 2019 (see below). Hopefully these startups will reduce the fees paid on these transactions which average 9%.
Since 7 March 2021, I noticed the following deals:
Investments (9 deals)
1: Bankly | $2m | Vault; Plug and Play Ventures; Rising Tide Africa; Chrysalis Capital | Seed | Fintech
Investee: 
Bankly - A Nigerian fintech that is helping to digitize the process of collating and saving money for unbanked individuals. Customers can deposit and withdraw cash with at a Bankly agent any time.
Investor(s):
Vault - a holding company, one of their subsidiaries, VANSO, was sold to Interswitch in 2016.
Plug and Play Ventures - experts in facilitating meaningful introductions, investing in startups, and bringing together key stakeholders into one world-changing network.
Rising Tide Africa - functions as part of a Global movement of The Rising Tide Program for Africa. It constitutes a group of women angel investors harnessing their power, network, passion and capital to positively impact and actively create a New Africa.
Chrysalis Capital - a team of operator investors that that solves problems in emerging markets and for its diaspora. It focusses on early stage tech companies in emerging markets.
Detail: the goal is to use the capital to grow the customer base to 2 million unbanked individuals in the next 3 years.
2: Redbird | $1,5m | Johnson & Johnson Foundation; Newtown Partners | Seed | Healthtech
Investee: 
Redbird - a Ghanaian healthtech that is modernising the way that pharmacies test their patients for chronic and acute conditions.
Investor(s):
Johnson & Johnson Foundation - an impact investment vehicle within the Johnson & Johnson Foundation that deploys investments in healthcare innovations, that addresses health workforce and healthcare challenges in low-income and diverse communities.
Newtown Partners (Imperial Venture Fund) - Newtown Partners is an early-stage venture capital firm that actively invests in emerging, disruptive technology startup businesses. They manage the Imperial Venture Fund that prioritises disruptive, startups in the global supply chain and logistics technology stack.
Detail: the capital will be used to grow the operations in Ghana and to expand to new markets.
3: Cowrie Integrated Systems | $750k | Stellar Development Foundation | Undisclosed round | Fintech
Investee: 
Cowrie Integrated Systems - a Nigeria and UK based fintech that provides cross-border payments solutions allowing users to participate in a global financial market by providing access to currencies not widely traded.
Investor(s):
Stellar Development Foundation - a non-profit organization that supports the development and growth of Stellar, an open-source network that connects the world’s financial infrastructure. 
Detail: the capital will be used to expand operations in emerging markets and develop payment corridors between, into, and out of Africa, with an initial focus on Nigeria.
4: Complete Farmer | Undisclosed amount | Ingressive Capital | Undisclosed round | Agritech
Investee: 
Complete Farmer - A Ghana based agritech business that has built the first African digital platform that brings together food growers, foo

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 7 March 2021, I noticed 17 deals come across my screen, 11 investments, 2 fundraises (and 3 bank lending deals) and 1 acquisition. Of the 11 investments, Nigeria had 4 while Egypt and Ghana had 2 deals each. Fintech was the most active sector with 4 investments and 2 in logistics/ mobility .
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
Since 7 March 2021, I noticed the following deals:
Investments (11 deals)
1: Boost Ghana  | $120k | Catalyst Fund  | Undisclosed round | Retail management system
Investee: 
Boost Ghana - provides digital solutions to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Ghana to drive efficiency in the distribution of fast moving consumer goods.
Investor(s):
Catalyst Fund - Managed by BFA Global, Catalyst Fund is an accelerator for inclusive fintech startups.
Detail: The capital was provided as part of the Catalyst Fund Inclusive Digital Commerce accelerator, along with an expert-led venture support.
2: KudiGo | $120k | Catalyst Fund  | Undisclosed round | Retail management system
Investee: 
KudiGo - a Ghana based consumer retail software firm, offering data oriented solutions for African SMEs. They are positioned as an integrator and aggregator of essential technology tools for the consumer retail industry.
Investor(s): 
Catalyst Fund - Managed by BFA Global, Catalyst Fund is an accelerator for inclusive fintech startups.
Detail: The capital was provided as part of the Catalyst Fund Inclusive Digital Commerce accelerator, along with an expert-led venture support.
3: Kuda | $25m | Valar Ventures, Target Global | Series A | Fintech
Investee: 
Kuda - a Nigerian full service digital-only bank with a banking license. Kuda is designed for your smartphone, free of ridiculous charges and great at helping you budget, spend smartly and save more.
Investor(s): 
Valar Ventures - cofounded by Peter Thiel, it is a fund that invests in high-margin, fast-growing technology companies that are pursuing huge market opportunities.
Target Global - an international investment firm headquartered in Berlin, with €1bn+ in capital commitments and co-investments.
Detail: The capital will be used to expand the company’s geographical presence and services, while increasing customer acquisition. A new easy-to-use lending option will soon be trialled with select customers.
4: Kabakoo Academies | Undisclosed amount | Zoom EdInnovation Award | Grant | Edtech
Investee: 
Kabakoo Academies - a Mali based mission-driven organization building the first pan-African learning platform for digital and decentralized manufacturing skills.
Investor(s): 
Zoom EdInnovation Award - supporting ideas that improve student engagement in online learning. The boldest and brightest ideas that support underserved students will be selected to receive Zoom technology, support, and funding.
Detail: The grant was made to support the work, which addresses the education challenges of today.
5: Nomanini | $1.5m | Goodwell Investments, FMO, Standard Bank | Undisclosed round | Fintech
Investee: 
Nomanini - a South African fintech platform for the informal retail ecosystem, they connect merchants, distributors and global service providers, while integrating payments, working capital, and data analytics.
Investor(s): 
Goodwell Investments - a pioneering investment firm focused on financial inclusion, fintech and inclusive growth in sectors providing basic goods & services and income generation opportunities to the underserved.
FMO - the Dutch development bank, founded in 1970. They support sustainable private sector growth in developing and emerging markets by investing in ambitious entrepreneurs. 
Standard Bank - a 155 year old South Afric

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 25 February 2021, I noticed 12 deals come across my screen, 11 investments and 1 fundraise. Regionally, South Africa and Kenya dominated with 4 and 3 investments respectively. By sector, Edtech and Fintech had the most deals, with 3 deals each.
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
I also produce a podcast with Kamo Motaung called The UpStartVC Podcast. It is available on Substack, Apple Podcast and Spotify, check it out and leave us a review!
Since 25 February 2021 I noticed the following deals:
Investments (11 deals)
1: Inoxico | $650k | Undisclosed round | Vumela Fund | Fintech
Investee: 
Inoxico – a South African Information Bureau that provides credit analytics and solutions for corporates.  
Investor(s): 
Vumela Fund - a South African SME investment fund established in 2009 by FNB Business Banking and Edge Growth. The fund’s objective is to create an innovative model to invest in sustainable, independent businesses and earn both an economic and impact returns.
Detail: South African fintech company Inoxico has raised an undisclosed round of funding of $650k (ZAR10m) from the Vumela Fund (managed by Edge Growth). The funds will be used to implement the company’s growth strategy.   
2: HitChat | $255k | Series A | Undisclosed investors | Entertainment
Investee: 
HitChat – a Swedish-South African entertainment company that focuses on providing entertainment for townships within the T-pop concept. The company finds, trains and launches world-class acts consisting of young talents from townships. They also produce songs and music videos that they release both in the local market and globally.
Investor(s): Undisclosed
Detail: South African talent discovery platform HitChat has raised a Series A round of funding of $255k from an undisclosed group of investors. The funds will be used to launch a new talent scouted by HitChat (a new girl group) that will empower individuals from disadvantaged communities.
3: WeThinkCode | $600k | Undisclosed round | E-Squared Investments | Edtech
Investee: 
WeThinkCode – a South African edtech startup that provides tuition-free tech training. The company is dedicated to meet the increasing demand for software engineering skills and drive the continent’s digital economy.
Investor(s):
E-Squared Investments - an impact fund that enables Social Entrepreneurs to build and scale high-impact organisations while creating jobs, eliminating poverty and contributing to South Africa’s transformation.
Detail: South African social entrepreneur WeThinkCode has raised $600k in an undisclosed round of funding. The funds will be used to open a new campus in KwaZulu Natal, the third biggest metropole in South Africa.
4: ImaliPay | Undisclosed amount | Pre-Seed | Various investors | Fintech
Investee: 
ImaliPay – a Kenyan financial health platform offering financial products to freelancers and blue collar gig-workers in partnership with gig-platforms.
Investor(s): 
TEN13 – an Australian syndicated investment platform that gives Sophisticated Investors access to early stage technology startups and visionary founders.
FINCA Ventures - an impact investing initiative that leverages a global microfinance network to catalyze market-based solutions to end poverty.
Optimizer Foundation - an early stage impact investor dedicated to impact orientated early-stage companies who create positive social impact in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Mercy Corps Ventures - a venture capital firm that partners with pioneering social entrepreneurs who harness novel business models to fuel social change. The firm is the investment arm of Mercy Corps, a global team of humanitarians.
Change Com - an Os

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 19 February 2021, I noticed 8 deals come across my screen.
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. Please note that for the next few weeks I will not be updating the database as it is going through an upgrade!
Recently, I started a podcast with Kamo Motaung called The UpStartVC Podcast. It is available on Substack, Apple Podcast and Spotify, check it out and leave us a review!
Since 19 February 2021 I noticed the following deals:
Investments (7 deals)
1: Deya | Undisclosed amount (>$50k) | Pre-Seed | Undisclosed Angel Investors | Fintech
Investee: 
Deya – an Angolan, tech startup that is the first Angolan crowdfunding platform that also aims to increase access to financing for social impact causes and entrepreneurs.  
Investor(s): 
Undisclosed Angolan Angel Investors
Detail: Angolan tech-startup Deya has received pre-seed funding of over $50k from a group of Angolan angel investors. The funds will be utilised to make improvements on the company’s digital platform, to scale up the business model and generally boost income and revenue.   
2: Raise | $25k | Undisclosed round | Microtraction | Fintech
Investee: 
Raise – a Kenyan fintech platform that provides end-to-end fundraising and equity management facilitation where startups can manage electronic cap tables, automate financing contracts like SAFEs and share private deal rooms.
Investor(s): 
Microtraction – a Nigerian investment platform that provides seed capital to technology entrepreneurs at the earliest stages of their venture.
Detail: Kenyan fintech firm Raise has received $25k from Microtraction for its capital raising platform. The funds will be used to build out Raise’s platform and scale the business.
3: Stitch | $4m | Seed | Various investors | Fintech
Investee: 
Stitch – a South African fintech startup that provides full Application Programming Interface (API) access to financial accounts. Stitch allows users to share their transaction history and balances, confirm their identities, and initiate payments.
Investor(s):
Firstminute Capital: a $225m seed fund backed by 81 unicorn founders investing across Europe and the US. Founded in 2017 by Brent Hoberman and Spencer Crawley.
The Raba Partnership: an investment partnership focused on partnering with entrepreneurs in emerging technology ecosystems.
CRE Venture Capital: partners with visionary entrepreneurs building category-defining tech companies in Africa.
Village Global: an early stage venture capital firm backed by some of the world's most successful entrepreneurs.
Norrsken VC: a non-profit foundation that invests in both for-profit businesses and non-profit organizations, whatever we believe makes most sense to have a positive impact on society.
Various angel investors
Detail: Stitch Money, a South African fintech startup with API infrastructure technology, has raised $4m in seed funding. The funds will be used for new hires, consolidation of growth in South Africa and the launch of its product in West and East Africa.
4: Diool | $3.5m | Undisclosed round | Lundin Group | Fintech
Investee: 
Diool – a company based in Cameroon which provides payments fintech that helps small merchants sell consumer goods, collect payments from their customers and pay their suppliers easily. Through usage, they gain access to other financial services such as savings, credit and insurance products.
Investor(s): 
Lundin Group – an investment group led by the Lundin Family and focused on mining and the resources sector.
Detail: Cameroonian payments fintech startup Diool has raised $3.5m in an undisclosed financing round, from the Lundin Group. The funds are to assist Diool expand in its local