| It’s raining deals this week. First up, Flutterwave. The Nigerian fintech company co-founded by Gbenga Agboola and Iyin Aboyeji and now present in ten African countries, has raised a US$35 million Series B round. The round was co-led by Greycroft & eVentures with additional participation from CRE Venture Capital, FIS, VISA, and Green Visor. The new funding will be used to support its expansion across Francophone and North Africa as part of its mission to connect Africa to the world as well as drive efforts to boost market share in existing markets. Flutterwave has also signed commercial agreements with Visa and FIS to incorporate its solution into Worldpay, FIS’ payment solutions to its merchant clients in Africa. |
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Africa-focused venture capital TLcom Capital has received US$15 million in funding from CDC Group (the development finance institution and impact investor of the United Kingdom) to boost its TIDE Africa Fund. The fund is focused on early-stage and high-growth startups from sub-Saharan Africa. TLcom will invest between US$500k to US$10 million per venture, to enable high-growth companies achieve scale and attract later-stage funding from global VC investors, regional PE firms, and strategic partners. TLcom already has some exciting companies in its portfolio including Kobo360, Andela and Sim Shagaya’s uLesson. |
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Johannesburg-based fintech firm MFS Africa has raised US$1.2 million from Nairobi-based FSD Africa Investments. The new fund raised will help the company implement its new partnership with Visa to improve service delivery to last-mile consumers. Founded in 2009, MFS Africa partners with banks, mobile operators and money transfer companies to transact across several platforms and operators including mobile money, e-commerce, peer-to-peer messaging platforms and money transfer.
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If you’re a woman in business in Zimbabwe, AfroDigital is hosting a Digital Skills Workshop for you. The workshop holds on the 25th of January at The Nexus, B2C Co-Working Space at Batanai and will cover topics on digital marketing, graphic design and branding. If you’d like to attend, please register here.
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Kenyan online bus booking platform, QuickBus, has raised an undisclosed amount of money from UAE-based Shorooq Partners with participation from other investors including EchoVC and the Oman Technology Fund. With operations in Kenya, Uganda, and Angola, the firm is set to esxpand into seven major markets across Africa and then expand across the entire sub-Saharan Africa region in the next three years.
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The countdown to Afrobytes 2020 continues. Afrobytes is the premier event that brings together entrepreneurs, innovators, investors, and more to explore business opportunities between the African tech ecosystem and players in the global tech world. Here are key reasons why you should attend Afrobytes 2020:
- Finance: pitch world-leading Africa-focused tech funds
- Network: connect with global companies and African tech leaders
- Scale: find tech partners at the largest startup campus
- Feature: talk to international media covering African markets
Get your early bird ticket here
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Mauritian travel company, Timbu.com plans to invest US$12,000 in 20 Kenyan travel startups to grow the existing tech ecosystem in Kenya as well as lay stronger foundations for its East African expansion. Interested startups are required to submit a document containing the following information to funding@timbu.com with the subject line as “Kenyan Startup Funding Application”:
- Company name
- Company URL, if any
- Name and email of the founder(s)
- Role of each founder
- What your company is making and the problem it aims to solve in Kenya
- Who your competitors are and what gives your company edge over them
- How your company intends to make money
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Global fintech accelerator Catalyst Fund has secured a US$15 million commitment from UK Aid and JP Morgan to advance financial inclusion in emerging markets. Catalyst Fund will use the funding over the next three years to support the growth of 30 additional startups across five key emerging markets for fintech innovation: Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, India, and Mexico. Already, its latest cohort of fintech companies, Kenya’s Pesakit and Kwara, Nigeria’s Cowrywise, and South Africa’s companies Meerkat and Spoon are billed to receive US$104,000 in grant funding as well as accelerator support for the next six months.
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Are you an African innovator who’s in California for the next few months? Or an investor looking to invest in African innovators? If you’re in the Bay Area this weekend, Future Africa and Afropolitan would love to hang out with you. Join them for an evening of networking, great conversation and of course, great food and drinks. R.S.V.P. here if you’d love to come. |
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| On February 28, 2020, TC Townhall: Emerging Tech will convene entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers and corporate organizations including telcos and financial institutions to examine how businesses, individuals and countries across the continent can maximize the benefits of emerging technologies, specifically AI and Blockchain.
There will be a session dedicated to VR/AR, 5G, Big Data and other emerging technologies asides AI & Blockchain.
Tickets are now available for purchase and a 15% early bird discount is available for readers who buy their tickets by January 31st with the code TCEM15%OFF.
Further discounts apply for companies/individuals buying at least 5 tickets. Click here to redeem our 20% corporate discount. |
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That’s all,
We’ll be back tomorrow
– Kay
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