Ecosystem
Top stories
Satgana, a climate tech venture capital (VC) focusing on mitigating climate change, has closed its first fund to back up to 30 early-stage climate-tech founders in Africa and Europe. Although it initially targeted €30 million ($32.4 million), it closed at €8 million ($8.6 million).
Access Holdings, a Nigerian financial company, has partnered with Coronation Group, Safaricom, and Mpesa Africa to tackle remittance challenges in East and West Africa.
Access Bank Group could acquire KCB Group’s subsidiary, the National Bank Kenya, for about $99.6 million, which is 1.25 times the book value of NBK, valued at about $79.28 million as of December 2023.
After acquiring Transnational Bank Kenya less than five years ago, Access Bank plans to acquire KCB Group’s National Bank of Kenya, another bank in the East African country.
P1 Ventures, a pan-African seed venture capital fund, has announced the second close of its second fund, raising $35 million to fuel its expansion into Dakar and Nairobi.
Kenya-based Bimalab Africa Insurtech Accelerator Program has secured $600,000 to expand its operations to 5 additional African countries.
Simera Sense, a South African company that raised $1.3 million in seed funding in 2018, has raised another $14.75 million in a growth investment round to increase the production of its high-resolution cameras.
Despite a tough funding environment, Nigerian healthtech startups demonstrated resilience, only recording a 2% dip in funding while grants remained a major source of funding for early-stage players.
Saudi Arabia’s equity management platform, RasMal, acquires Pentugram, a cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS) company, to expand its business into private capital investment management solutions.
COTU Ventures, a Dubai-based early-stage VC firm, has announced a $54 million fund to support startups in the MENA region, including Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia.
Sawari Ventures, a Cairo-based venture capital firm, has announced its commitment to set up a $150 million investment fund targeted at tech startups in Egypt.
Following a $263 million initial close of the Partech Africa II fund, Partech has reached a $300 million final close. The firm has also recently opened an office in Nigeria as part of its ongoing expansion into Africa.
Disha, a Nigerian-based no-code platform owned by Flutterwave, has announced that it will temporarily cease operations on March 31, 2024.
Injaro, a Ghanaian investment company, has announced the close of its private equity fund, the Injaro Ghana Venture Capital Fund (IGVCF), at $17.5 million to empower SMEs in Ghana and Ivory Coast.
Over 90% of Nigerian startups call Lagos home, yet other cities are catching up. Experts stress the importance of these cities in spreading startup benefits but caution it demands effort.
NaijaHacks now known as World Innovation League has raised $1.2 million in funding from a Canadian accelerator. Founded by Uchi Uchibeke in 2018, the hackathon gave names like Emmanuel Njoku a platform to showcase their tech skills.
Applications are open for the first edition of the Ignite Lagos accelerator. Startups across Nigeria are encouraged to apply.
In 2023, Nigerian startups secured less funding compared to Kenya, South Africa, and Egypt. However, investors find its large population, robust economy, and advanced tech scene appealing.
Despite a 23% decline in funding to African startups in 2023, Briter Bridges contends that this is a corrective adjustment rather than a crisis moment. Additionally, it highlights that the deal count on the continent continued to increase.
Access Bank has secured a definitive agreement to obtain a majority stake in Uganda’s Finance Trust Bank.