Another Friday, another month’s end, the end of quarter two, and half of 2023 is over. Chew on that for a bit.
Meanwhile, here’s what happened in the African VC scene the week of June 19, 2023.
Seedstars, Fondation Botnar Launched a $20M African Youth Wellbeing Venture Fund
Last week, Seedstars Capital and Fondation Botnar announced their plan to introduce the Seedstars Youth Wellbeing Ventures Initiative, which aims to provide financial support of $20m to purpose-driven start-ups at an early stage.
The focus of these investments will be on companies that strive to enhance the overall welfare of young individuals in low- and middle-income nations throughout the continent.
The fund’s main aim is to assist start-ups in the pre-seed to Series A stages which operate across multiple sectors. These sectors include health services, environmental sustainability, local food security, water and sanitation, waste management, digital technologies, quality education, access to employment, financial services, safe transportation, and affordable housing.
Google Announced 2023 Black Founders Fund Cohort in Africa
Last week, Google for Startups announced the selection of 25 African start-ups for the third cohort of the Black Founders Fund (BFF).
These start-ups are part of a larger group of 40 start-ups from Europe and Africa chosen for the cohort. As part of the program, each selected start-up will receive non-dilutive cash awards of up to $150k and about $200k in Google Cloud credits, advertising support, one-on-one mentorship from industry experts, and invaluable connections within Google’s extensive network.
Notably, 72 per cent of the designated start-ups are either led or co-founded by women, highlighting a commitment to diversity and inclusion.
Nigeria has the most grantees (10) with Kenya (5) and South Africa (3) completing the top three. Ghana (2), Uganda (2), Côte d’Ivoire (1), Rwanda (1), and Senegal (1) round up the list.
PayGo Solar Start-up Yellow Raised $14M Series B Round
Yellow, a Malawian asset financier for solar energy and digital devices in Africa, raised the highest funding round of the week.
The PayGo Solar start-up raised $14m series B funding in a round led by Convergence Partners with participation from the Energy Entrepreneurs Growth Fund managed by Triple Jump, and Platform Investment Partners.
Yellow distributes solar home systems that provide rural households with access to electricity in the East African country. The company allows pay-per-use of its solar home systems via the mobile payment solutions available in Malawi.
Yellow plans to deepen its reach in its current markets of Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia, and Madagascar.
Deal Street Wrap-Up
- Kubik, a pioneering start-up specializing in the transformation of hard-to-recycle plastic waste into affordable low-carbon building materials, raised a $3.34m seed round. The round included investors such as Plug & Play, BESTSELLER Foundation, GIIG Africa Fund, Satgana, Unruly Capital, Savannah Fund, African Renaissance Partners, KAZANA Fund, Princeton Alumni Angels, and Andav Capital.
- Egyptian fintech start-up, Agel, raised a seven-figure pre-Seed round from Plus Venture Capital (+VC) and Seedstars International Ventures, Flat6labs, with participation from SEEDRA Ventures, Banque Misr Acceleration Program, and angel investors.
And that’s a wrap.
Until next week and next month!
Source: weetracker.com
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