Ecosystem
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TLcom Capital announces final close of $154 million fund for seed and Series A African startups.
Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures (VKAV) has announced the final close of its first fund at $60 million, with plans to back up to 21 Series A and B startups.
Procera Group, a South African business process outsourcing (BPO) company, has secured R346 million ($18.8 million) from Vantage Capital to expand into foreign markets.
Funding to African startups fell 62% YoY as mobility and fintech startups lead the way.
The Trade and Development Bank (TDB), an African-focused financial institution, has announced a $100 million financing facility to aid Africa’s agricultural development in the face of high inflation, currency depreciation, and debt.
With its eyes set on a 51% to 100% controlling stake in several companies it intends to invest in, including fintech, telecom, and healthtech, Adenia Partner has announced closing its fifth Africa-focused fund at $470 million.-
African startups are raising less money than they once did, but experts believe a focus on strong fundamentals and exit opportunities would improve the funding outlook.
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.