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AgDevCo, a specialist investor in African agriculture, has closed $32 million in funding from the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) to launch a new investment initiative to back African early-stage agribusinesses.
In Nigeria today, it is almost taken for granted that you can start a business and begin collecting online payments immediately. But in 2015, when Paystack launched, online payments were as common as electric cars are today, and businesses struggled with things like recurrent billings. Fast-forward to 2024, social commerce has taken off and is…
Fundraising is a critical component of startup success, but it can be a daunting task even for experienced founders. A fundraising strategy for many founders involves cold calling or emailing every investor they can find a contact for and hoping for a response. But while a scattergun approach might yield some results, it’s unlikely that…
The 2024 Olympics came to an end last week, and while I hardly followed it, there’s a sub-plot that provides some food for thought. On the Japanese football team were 22-year-old Joel Chima Fujita and 23-year-old Leo Kokubo. Elsewhere, Giannis Antetokounmpo flew the Greek flag. All three athletes are part of Africa’s rapidly growing diaspora,…
The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) will commit $10 million in junior equity to the KawiSafi II Fund, following board approval, to support local businesses developing climate-focused projects for vulnerable communities.
South African accelerator Founders Factory Africa has rebranded as 54 Collective, a venture capital firm with a $40 million fund. The firm aims to support early-stage African startups across various sectors and back 42 companies by the end of 2024.
Plentify, a South African climate tech company, has closed a 50% oversubscribed funding round to support its expansion efforts within and outside South Africa.
One Acre Fund, a Kenyan-based social enterprise serving around 1 million smallholder farmers in East Africa, says it has raised $1.4 million to enhance its operations.
Swedfund, Sweden’s development finance institution, has partnered with Access Bank to launch a $30 million investment fund to support underserved micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria.
Funding to African startups is down 61% year-on-year. Kenyan startups are still seeing more funding buoyed by debt rounds, while funding for early-stage startups continues to slow down as investors prioritise sustainability.
Innovate Africa, an angel investment fund focused on assisting early-stage founders, plans to support up to 20 African startups following the launch of an initial $2.5 million funding initiative.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in collaboration with African governments and the private sector, has begun constructing tech hubs across the continent. This comes nearly six months after announcing its $1 billion Timbuktoo initiative.
Convergence Partner’s agreement to acquire 100% of Datacentrix, which was subject to certain conditions and approvals, has received a go-ahead from regulators.
IFC, Proparco and RMB have teamed up to finance a funding package of over $50 million to support WIOCC Group’s plans to expand its digital expansion initiative in Nigeria, South Africa, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Breega, a Paris-based venture capital firm, has announced the launch of its first African fund, a $75 million investment vehicle for early-stage startups.
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Orange Ventures invests in startups, leveraging the Orange Group’s reach and expertise. In this interview with Techpoint Africa, Deputy CEO of Orange Middle East and Africa, Brelotte Ba, shares the fund’s strategy for African investments.
David Cohen, the former CEO of Techstars, will return to lead the international accelerator by the end of May 2024. The current CEO, Maëlle Gavet, will leave the company after 3 and a half years to focus on her health.
OpenseedVC, an early-stage venture capital (VC) firm launched in 2024, has announced reaching the first close of its $10 million fund to back early-stage operator-founded startups in Africa and Europe.
Accion, a non-profit organisation, has announced launching the Accion Digital Transformation Fund, a $152.5 million investment, to back companies serving micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) across Africa, South and Southeast Asia, and Latin America.