Browsing: Venture Capital

• Financing by Venture Capital Firms (VC) is the leading source for injecting capital into startups, accounting for 29 percent of the deals.
• Findings show that venture debt is becoming a crucial funding tool, especially for climate tech startups with limited access to traditional equity financing.
• The survey notes that to support this growth, investments in digital and energy infrastructure are essential.

Kenya is emerging as a leader in sourcing capital for its agricultural technology and food startups across the African continent. A large portion of capital for African startups still comes from foreign countries, with approximately 60 per cent, coming from international sources, primarily the United States and the United Kingdom.

On the continent, however, most investors are concentrated in Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa, where innovation and funding activity are most prominent. Large-scale investments in solar energy solutions and precision agriculture partly drive Kenya’s dominance in the sector.

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• TLcom Capital has raised $154 million  in its second Fund, TIDE Africa II
• With this second fund, TLcom Capital maintains its early-stage, multi-sector focus and expands its mandate beyond Sub-Saharan Africa to Egypt.
• TLcom Capital currently has over $300 million under management.

TLcom Capital, the Africa-focused venture capital firm, announced the final close of TIDE Africa Fund II, its second fund for technology in Africa, at $154 million. Confirming TLcom Capital’s status as Africa’s largest Seed and Series A investor, the new fund accelerates the firm’s mission to partner with elite founders to tackle Africa’s biggest and most complex challenges with innovative solutions that will unlock massive value in the continent’s critical sectors.

At more than twice the size of TLcom Capital’s first fund, TIDE Africa Fund II is oversubscribed and sees participation from several new, high-profile LPs alongside returning LPs from the firm’s first Africa-focused fund, TIDE Africa Fund …

• Initial predictions about Africa’s vulnerability to Covid-19 indicated that the continent would be overwhelmed by the effects of the pandemic
• Not only has Africa harnessed previously unrecognized power to help combat COVID-19, but it also provides indications that can be used to counter future pandemics.
•  Despite the significant economic disruptions caused by the Covid-19 outbreak, Africa’s economies are leading as a resilient continent with enormous promise.
• African start-ups raised US$1.8 billion in the first quarter of 2022, which is 2. (redmanpowerchair) 5 times the capital raised in Q1 2021

Initial predictions about Africa’s vulnerability to Covid-19 indicated that the continent would be overwhelmed by the effects of the pandemic. Critics had argued that the continent’s medical and economic sectors would feel the heat both during and after the pandemic.

However, these worrying predictions concerning the continent and its vulnerability to the Covid-19 pandemic have largely gone unrealized. Globally, …

Norrsken22 plans on capitalizing on its general partners’ years of experience and investment philosophies to back startups in fintech, MedTech, Edtech, and market-enabling solutions such as B2B marketplaces and inventory management businesses.

Kolbe, whose previous firm Actis backed Egyptian fintech giant Fawry in 2019 as it prepared to go public, said Norrsken would look at Egypt ‘opportunistically.’ 

Deals from the country that may be of interest to the firm will be those planning an expansion into the four markets Norrsken22 is currently keen on, including Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa.…

• Amitruck has secured $4m in a seed funding round that had the participation of investors from Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the United States
• The company will use the new funding to expand its presence across Africa and hire new talent
• Better Tomorrow Ventures (BTV), a San Francisco-based venture capital firm that targets early-stage startups, led the funding

Amitruck receives funding

Amitruck receives funding of around $4m in a seed funding round that had the participation of investors from Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the United States.

Better Tomorrow Ventures (BTV), a San Francisco-based venture capital firm that targets early-stage startups, led the funding.

Also in the round were supply chain and mobility venture capital Dynamo Ventures, an investor to Berlin-based Digital Freight Forwarding unicorn, Sennder GmbH.

Other investors included Rackhouse Ventures, founded by Kevin Novak, one of the early members of Uber Freight; Flexport …

Education Business

Exeo capital, an African alternative investment firm, has acquired the Pearson Institute of Higher Education. The acquisition, a joint initiative between EXEO Capital and Stellenbosch Graduate Institution, is set to widen availability and access to higher education in Africa, particularly South Africa. 

Person Institute Of Higher Education operates across 12 separate campuses in South Africa covering over 7000 students. 

The institute of higher learning was formed through the union of CTI Education Group and Midrand Graduate Institution in 2010. The institution offers academic and career-oriented learning programs. 

The investment aims to scale the operation of Pearson Institute within South Africa as well as expand into the pan African market. 

The demand for higher education remains high given the rising population and increasing middle class in Africa. The investment firm projects that the business of education in Africa is anticipated to quadruple in the next ten years. They are …

Salesforce Ventures has announced a second impact investment fund amounting to $100 million dollars. Salesforce Ventures is the investment arm of Salesforce, a company involved in customer relationship management. The fund is the second to come from the company after an initial $50 million impact fund which was launched in 2017.

The funds are earmarked for supporting start-up companies mainly in the technology sphere and cloud-related services. Within this grouping, the focus on the fund is on companies showing a measurable impact on social arenas such as education. The funds also serve start-ups with an environmental impact.

Salesforce ventures drive to promote values of sustainability and social responsibility is expected to see it investing in companies that provide solutions to the challenges affecting the world. Acknowledging the unprecedented nature of the challenges impacting the world including COVID-19, climate change, and racial injustice, Salesforce Ventures said it will continue to invest …

A South African health-tech company Udok has sealed $613 000 (ZAR 10 million) in Venture Capital funding from FinX capital. 

The money raised will be used to spearhead expansion. The Capetown-based startup has partnered with Clicks Stores to provide consultations in Click’s pharmacy clinics. With Clicks being one of the largest pharmacy retailers in South Africa, this will give the firm access to a large clientele base. (www.sullivansusa.net)

The company also plans to roll out laboratory testing using the Clicks network to provide lower-cost testing services for patients. Currently, the costs of laboratory testing are above the reach of many.

Founded in 2018, Udok enables individuals to access healthcare services via a digital platform. This includes virtual consultations with doctors, receiving prescriptions, and getting access to remote admissions.

The company uses smart technology for examinations during the consultation and allows users to access their health records from anywhere. …

Winners of the 2020 edition of the Private Equity Awards Africa are set to be announced on 19 November 2020. There are 19 African focused private equity firms in the running for the house of the year position.

In the previous year’s awards, the house of the year award went to Development Partners International, a firm that manages over US$1.6 billion in pan-African private equity.

Several other subcategories will rate private equity firms in terms of deal size, the exit of the year, debt and infrastructure, and a portfolio company of the year. The competition also includes a category for the best advisors and fund administrators. 

The London Business School Private Equity Institute in conjunction with the private equity awards advisory panel will make recommendations for the deserving winners.

The ultimate winners will be chosen by an autonomous panel of judges which comprises some of the …