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28 – 06 – 2019

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Uber is planning to launch boat taxis in Lagos. The ride-hailing giant launched a similar service in Egypt in 2017 and is currently in talks with the Lagos State Government and regulatory authorities to do the same in Nigeria’s commercial capital. It is also looking to partner with the Lagos Bus company to provide ride services through its platform. Earlier this month, Nigeria-based ride-hailing company, Gokada launched a boat service in partnership with private boat rental company, Lagos Boats.

CcHub has invested an undisclosed amount in Nigeria-based health tech company, DrugStoc from its Growth Capital Fund. DrugStoc is a drug procurement platform that provides hospitals and pharmacies access to genuine pharmaceutical and health care products. The company was founded in 2015 and it currently serves more than 3,000 doctors and pharmacists. Drugstoc is one of nine health tech companies in the pharma subsector, according to Techcabal’s Health Tech report/survey. Growth Capital by CcHub was launched in 2016, initially as a 1 billion naira ($2.78 M) fund, in conjunction with Omidyar Network, Bank of Industry and Venture Garden Group. The fund which now has a new target of $20 million has so far invested in five startups including LifeBank, Edves, Delivery Science and Riby.

Yesterday, members of Kenya’s Digital Lenders Association signed a code of conduct aimed at addressing consumer protection issues. The code expects digital lenders to practice responsible lending, disclose standardized pricing, improve transparency and fairly resolve customer disputes. Members who don’t adhere to the code will be expelled from the association. The association was formed in March 2019 and it represents 12 major digital lenders.

On the 11th of July, Techcabal is convening African governments, regulators, investors, development agencies, multinationals and entrepreneurs at TC Townhall: Renewable Energy to discuss “The Future of Africa’s Energy”. We will be attempting to answer the question “How do we quickly build a modern energy infrastructure, that is affordable and provides last-mile access, using abundant renewable energy resources, in a friendly policy environment?” Register here to attend.

Farmcrowdy, Twitter Threads and the Truth

Twenty-five East African startups pitched at the 2019 PIVOT East startup competition organized by iHub. The startups which were selected from 248 applications include Kenya’s SokoHela, Tanzania’s A-Trader and Uganda’s UG Tickets. Check out the full list of startups here.

According to research from vacation rental data firm, AirDNA, Lagos has become one of AirBnB’s fastest growing markets globally alongside cities in Ghana and Mozambique. Driven by business travellers and diaspora visitors, the number of AirBnB bookings in Lagos grew from less than 300 in July 2018 to over 500 in April 2019. Revenue per available rental has also risen 40% in the last year.

Rensource Energy, a Nigeria-focused solar energy company has won the Excellence in Climate Solutions award at the 2019 Transformational Business Awards organized by the International Finance Corporation and the Financial Times. The award recognizes private sector companies addressing development challenges and helping the world achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Rensource Energy provides low-cost, fixed-price energy to urban SMEs and households with solar-hybrid mini-grids. The company was selected in the ‘Transformational Solutions in Urban Infrastructure’ category alongside Kenya’s Azuri Technologies and Rwanda’s Yego Innovision.

Africa-focused fintech startups; Chipper Cash, Turaco and Salutat have been selected to join Catalyst Fund’s accelerator programme. Each of them will receive between $50,000 – $60,000 in non-equity venture building support and six months of technical assistance. Catalyst Fund is backed by JP Morgan Chase and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Founders Factory Africa has partnered with Netcare to run an incubator and accelerator program for healthcare startups. Both companies will support and fund 35 healthcare startups across Africa. Startups in the incubator and accelerator programs will receive £60,000 and £30,000 in funding respectively. FFA and Netcare will own between 5% and 10% equity stake in each startup. Interested startups can apply here.

From TechCabal 

+  Nigeria’s MDaaS Secures $1 million Seed Round, Plans Expansion Across West Africa

+  Nigerian Solar Energy Startup, Arnergy Closes $9 million Series A Round, A Major Milestone for Local Energy Companies

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