It’s Friday, and time to delve into the venture capital activities (and more) in the African start-up ecosystem.
Here’s what happened between July 17 and 21, 2023.
UNDP & Egypt Government Launched Project to Accelerate Digital Innovation
Last week, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) affiliated to the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, signed a new project agreement in Cairo’s Smart Village.
The new five-year project seeks to bring financing opportunities and mentorship into Egypt’s tech sector, to its innovators and entrepreneurs, which could open doors to new and exciting advancements.
The project will focus on building a resilient, reliable, relevant landscape to foster innovation, ease access to financing flows for start-ups and innovators, and create networks of peers and mentors at various stages of start-up development.
Women Who Build Africa Announces Call for Founders, Partners to Join the First Annual WWBA Assembly
Last week, Women Who Build Africa (WWBA), a community created to convene and support women working in tech across Africa, announced an open call for women founders, investors, and ecosystem partners to express interest in joining the first annual WWBA Assembly. The assembly will take place in Nairobi on September 13 and 14.
A diverse selection committee will provide 10 founders with the opportunity to attend the assembly on an all-expenses paid trip to Nairobi, pitch to a room of the region’s leading investors, and network with ecosystem partners.
Start-ups participating in the pitch will be selected from the applicant pool by a diverse panel of investor partners. Selected founders will also be matched with mentors from the WWBA community to support them ahead of their pitch.
Applications are open now until August 14, 2023. Start-ups taking part in the pitch must have at least one active woman or non-binary founder and must be pre-Series A.
10 Southern African FinTech Start-ups Secured $5K Grant Funding from World Bank
Last week, the World Bank-supported FinTech Challenge honoured 10 start-ups from Southern Africa for their innovative solutions in addressing the financial access gap among underserved communities.
Each start-up received $5k to get their business investment ready.
South Africa was home to six of the winning start-ups – abela, Bento Technologies, Fintr, Moya Money, Sum1 Investments, and Thumeza; two were from Lesotho (Chaperone & Prime Capital); and one each from Bostwana (Ipachi Capital) and Namibia (FundRoof).
Rwandan E-commerce Platform, Kasha, Raised $21M Series B Round
Kasha, a Rwandan female-focused e-c0mmerce platform, recorded the highest funding round last week. The start-up raised a $21m series B round led by Knife Capital with participation from Finnfund, DFC, Tim Koogle (ex-Yahoo CEO), Beyond Capital Ventures and other investors.
Kasha provides a digital retail and last-mile distribution platform for pharmaceuticals and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs) with a specific product focus on women’s healthcare needs and household items.
The start-up, which recently registered in South Africa, will use the investment to push its platform in the country and West Africa later this year.
Deal Street Wrap up
- Flash, Egypt’s new cashless payment app, completed a $6m seed round led by Addition with participation from Flourish Ventures and other strategic angel investors.
- Nigerian insurtech start-up, MyCover.ai, raised $1.2m in pre-seed funding led by Pan-African venture capital fund, Ventures Platform, with participation from Founders Factory Africa and follow-on investors, Techstars.
- Kaco, a Tunisian start-up seeking to revolutionise the electric scooter industry, secured a new fundraising round from UGFS North Africa.
And that’s all for now.
Friday next week will bring another post.
Source: weetracker.com
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