March 12, 2021 - Afrikan Heroes

$2m Jua Fund Backs African Tech Startups

March 12, 2021

About Seven African tech startups have secured backing from the US$2 million Jua Fund which will also provide them with mentorship and advisory support. It could be recalled that industrialist Adam Molai had launched the US$1 million Jua Kickstarter Fund late last year to provide successful applicants with funds to launch or grow their businesses, as well as mentoring and guidance, with the fund then doubling in size by the end of January. Three enterprises from Kenya, two from Nigeria and one each from Madagascar and Zimbabwe have now been selected as the recipients of the inaugural fund, with all having agreed to deals following a week-long “Kickstarter Olympics” during which they pitched their ideas to a high-profile panel of judges.

The final deal closure and disbursement will be contingent on the enterprises passing due diligence and other agreed terms and conditions, with the fund also providing mentorship and advisory support as well as putting them in touch with other investors.

Kenya’s three selected startups were GrowAgric, a crowd-farming platform that connects farmers to much-needed working capital; Side, an e-commerce distribution channel that leverages the power of “community” or “group buying” to provide goods to end customers more cheaply; and Xetova, a technology solutions provider to the procurement ecosystem.

Nigeria was represented by Powerstove Energy, which uses advanced technology to deliver a superior smokeless, IoT-enabled cookstove that generates electricity, and Whispa Health, a mobile app that provides young people with non-judgmental access to Sexual and Reproductive Health information, products and services.

Zimbabwe’s Bryt-Knowledge, a multifaceted online educational platform that connects students with subject matter experts using technology, and Madagascar’s Jirogasy, which manufactures, assembles and designs solar home systems and communication systems for solar, were the other two companies backed.

According to Molai, the exercise had over-delivered on his expectations. Adding that the Jua Fund is a tiny drop in the ocean, “in our effort to unite African grey hairs with our bright young future through funding and mentorship support, after listening to the pitches and presentations during the Kickstarter Olympics, my faith and hope has more than been repaid. We have brilliant entrepreneurs on this continent. I and my fellow judges were immensely impressed by all our finalists, even those that fell away during the week.”

Molai says he was especially delighted that the recipients would deliver the impact that he wanted Jua Fund to have.

“We targeted enterprises that are scalable across the continent and actually address the challenges that are hobbling Africa’s development, and the selected enterprises all do that. Jirogasy and Bryt will be furthering education, one through hardware the other through software; Side and GrowAgric are disrupting the value chain of goods from farm to table; Powerstove Energy is saving the environment with their cooking stove innovation, Whispa Health is taking care of wellbeing, and Xetova is adding African flair to procurement. We look forward to a long and productive future for all of them,” he said.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

IFC Extends $15 million to South Africa’s Fintech, Adumo

The International Financial Corporation (IFC) a member of the World Bank Group, and the IFC Financial Institutions Growth Fund have put mechanisms into place to expand access to electronic payment solutions, especially for underserved small and medium-sized businesses with $15 million funding. The funding to Adumo, South Africa’s largest independent payments processor that offers a range of smart payment solutions to large multinational and independent retailers as well as entrepreneurs and informal traders. Its group companies include Sureswipe, iKhokha, Humble, Innervation Pan African Payment Solutions and Innervation Rewards.

Paul Kent, chief executive officer (CEO) at Adumo.

With presence in 14 African countries, and IFC’s investments will support Adumo to make digital payments systems more affordable and accessible to smaller businesses in Africa, many of which currently rely on cash transactions.

The investment by IFC and the IFC Financial Institutions Growth Fund, a fund managed by IFC’s Asset Management Company, consists of US$15 million in preferred shares to fund the growth of the company.

“The pandemic and associated impact on consumers and businesses are transforming the face of the payments industry with interest in cashless payment services at an all-time high. The funds we have raised from our new equity partners will help us roll out new payment innovations and purpose-based lending services to support consumers and retailers as they navigate an uncertain 2021,” said Paul Kent, chief executive officer (CEO) at Adumo.

“Through this investment in Adumo, we will be helping small businesses tap into the digital economy, which is more important now than ever before. Digital payments are often the first step for a small business to build a credit history, which opens the way to access further financial services such as financing to grow the business,” said Sérgio Pimenta, IFC’s vice president for the Middle East and Africa.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Savannah Fund Launches $25m Africa Tech Seed Fund in Kenya

A US$25 million fund that will be invested in early-stage startups across Sub-Saharan Africa with a focus on supporting women entrepreneurs and disruptive companies in high-growth sectors has been launched by the Kenya-based Savannah Fund. Led by Mbwana Alliy and Paul Bragiel, Savannah Fund is one of the earliest Sub-Saharan Africa-focused tech venture capital firms, starting its investment activities in 2012 when it launched its first accelerator programme in Kenya. In 2016, it transitioned completely to seed and Series A investments, and has to date invested in 31 companies across seven countries on the continent.

Savannah’s second fund, which has closed at US$25 million, is led by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, which invested US$3 million, while the Women’s Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi) invested US$500,000. Other notable investors include Tim Draper of Draper Associates and Visa Forsten, co-founder of Supercell. Senegal-based venture studio UMA also participated. The fund will focus on seed to Series A investments in core markets Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa, with an eye on expansion to emerging hubs across Rwanda, Ethiopia, Uganda, Ivory Coast and Ghana. Key investment sectors include fintech, ed-tech, logistics, e-commerce, SaaS, e-health, agri-tech, and innovation at the bottom of the pyramid.

To achieve set objectives towards this second fund formation, Alliy and Bragiel warehoused seven startups into this latest fund’s portfolio, including South Africa’s Aerobotics, Kenya’s Moringa School, and South Africa’s FlexClub. More recently, it backed pre-seed rounds for Orbit Health in Ethiopia and cloud kitchen company Ando Foods in Kenya.

“Savannah Fund II will continue its long-term mission to partner with ambitious founders, building startups that will scale across Africa,” said Alliy.

“We’re incredibly bullish on startups that have the potential to scale beyond the continent that can expand into Silicon Valley and emerging markets like South East Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, and Latin America,” said Bragiel.

“Early-stage funding is vital to enable more of Africa’s emerging and growing tech founders to grow their business and fuel the transformation of Africa’s Internet economy. By partnering with Savannah Fund, we can help more entrepreneurs to access funding,” said Kevin Njiraini, IFC regional director for Southern Africa and Nigeria.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Tanzania To Increase Data Rates For WhatsApp Callers

To compensate for the financial losses induced by the drop in international telecom voice traffic caused by the massive adoption of the Over-The-Top (OTT) WhatsApp application, the government of Tanzania is currently considering various solutions, including the introduction new data rates. Information and Communication Technology Minister Faustine Ndugulile (pictured) revealed this on Wednesday (March 10) in an interview with mwananchi.co.tz.

Information and Communication Technology Minister Faustine Ndugulile

Acknowledging that banning WhatsApp calls is not a viable option, Emmanuel Manase, the director of sector issues at the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA), said a price adjustment could instead help the country to stabilize its revenues. He argued that the first step will first be to identify the phones that make and receive calls through the OTTs. Through their call data, the regulator will be able to estimate the total value of calls made and received in order to determine by how much to adjust the price of the data.

Over the years, OTTs have been preferred by consumers of telecom services in view of the affordable costs they offer. As a result, the number of international mobile calls increased from 107.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2012 to 27.27 million in the last quarter of 2020, according to the TCRA. That is to say a decline of 81.09% in ten years.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer

South African Car-Rental Startup, FlexClub, Lands Additional $5m Seed

Flexclub, a South African startup that links customers seeking convenient access to long-term cars with partners that sell car subscriptions, has received an additional $5 million in funding to boost drivers’ experiences in these markets.

“When we first started, we were focused on phase one of our strategy, which came from our knowledge about ride-hailing drivers because of our careers at Uber,” Tinashe Ruzane said. “We wanted to help a community of ride-hailing drivers that had been excluded from accessing cars. But right now, we’ve built the product to work for anyone and not just ride-hailing drivers.”

Here Is What You Need To Know

Investors in this round include Kindred Ventures — its lead investor — which had previously invested in mobility-first companies like Postmates, Uber and Virgin Hyperloop. CRE Venture Capital and Endeavor are two other venture capital firms. The round included angel investors such as Matt Mullenweg, the founder of WordPress; Federico Ranero, the COO of KAVAK; Tariq Zaid, formerly of Shopify and Getaround; and Ron Pragides, formerly of Twitter and Salesforce.

In 2019, CRE Venture Capital led a $1.2 million seed round for the company.

This $5 million (in equity and debt) is a seed extension round, according to Ruzane, the company’s CEO, taking FlexClub’s overall investment to over $6 million.

The money will be used to develop the company’s infrastructure, which prevents and reduces partners’ risk exposure, according to the company.

A Look At What The Startup Does

Founded in 2019, by Marlon Gallardo, Rudolf Vavruch and Tinashe Ruzane, FlexClub connects customers seeking convenient access to long-term cars with partners that sell car subscriptions.

The startup has operations in South Africa and Mexico. It maintains partnership with with Uber in both countries, where it helps Uber’s drivers to subscribe for cars.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer

Flexclub startup Flexclub startup

Gabonese Telco Moov Africa Launches Startup Challenge. Applications Are On

Startups in Gabon have a new offer from telecom company Gabon Telecom-Moov Africa.The telco has announced the launch of an innovation program, STARTUP CHALLENGE, dedicated to startups carrying technological innovations which aims to support innovative entrepreneurial projects in the following sectors: “IOT: internet of things, Health-Tech: digital solutions for health, Ed-Tech: digital solutions for education, Agri-Tech: digital solutions for agriculture, Fin-Tech: digital solutions for mobile payment, Smart city: Solutions for smart cities and Transport.

Here Is What You Need To Know

Startups with very high development potential will benefit from the expertise, funding and network of partners of Moov Africa — Gabon Telecom, in order to carry out their innovation project and strengthen Gabon’s anchoring in the digital era.

Moov Africa — Gabon Telecom wishes through this initiative to encourage and support entrepreneurship while strengthening its character as a corporate citizen which has placed INNOVATION at the heart of its action.

The selected startups will be supported by Moov Africa Gabon Télécom through practical training sessions provided by external firms of Moov Africa — Gabon Télécom managers on the following components: Legal, Marketing, Digital, Financial, Security.

The challenge takes place in three phases:

Call for applications (March 8 to 31, 2021)

30 startups are shortlisted for the rest of the competition.

Support phase, during which a panel of 10 startups will be selected for in-depth support.

What Startups Stand To Gain

The 10 finalist startups chosen to participate in the grand finale will each be entitled to a package including:

One year broadband internet subscription.

1 year Alphorm subscription.

1 internet security pack.

Cash prizes with a total value of 20,000,000 CFA francs ($36k), offered by Moov Africa — Gabon Telecom, in partnership with BS GABON and HUAWEI.

How To Apply

The registration phase will take place from March 8 to 31, 2021. For this reason, applicants are invited to register from the site “www.startupchallenge.moov-africa.ga“.

They can also consult the rules and obtain practical information on this competition.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer

Moov Africa STARTUP CHALLENGE

How African Startups Can Access The New $25m Fund Launched By Savannah Fund

Nairobi-based venture capital fund, Savannah Fund, is back with a new $25m fund for African startups. This is the second fund of the 9-year-old company headquartered in Ebene, Mauritius, and which pivoted from an accelerator in 2016. Backing the venture capital firm’s latest fund are the International Finance Corporation (IFC), with Women’s Finance Initiative (WeFi), U.S investor Tim Draper via his VC fund, Draper Associates and Visa Forsten, co-founder of Tencent-owned Supercell, joining.

What Startups Is The Fund Looking To Invest In?

The fund’s primary markets are East, West and Southern Africa. The fund had previously invested in South Africa’s Aerobotics, Kenya’s Sendy, Eneza Education, Copia; Nigeria’s Lidya, ACE. However, a majority of its investments are in Southern and East Africa.

Sector-wise, Savannah Fund invests in startups no matter their sectors; but its previous investments fall within the following sectors: logistics, agritech, drone tech, foodtech, cloud computing, fintech, ecommerce, gaming, healthtech, data analytics, regtech, etc.

The fund is also looking for startups at their seed and Series A rounds.

It doesn’t matter where the founder is located. What is important, according to Savannah Fund, is that the founder is building a startup with an African customer base or is selling something uniquely African to the world. The fund had previously invested in a company with traction in Africa run by a Zimbabwean living in Australia.

“At Savannah Fund we are interested in the 3rd High Growth (and consequentially, high risk) type of entrepreneurship which matches up well with technology (web and mobile) sector given the ability to scale out fast and hence achieve rapid growth. It also means we use equity and very little debt initially to get the business going. We bet on the founder and aim to be their business partner, connecting them to both our local and Silicon Valley mentor and investment community who have experience and focus 100% on tech. That’s why for instance, we use a coding test as our filter in the absence of products in the accelerator to ensure that one of the founders is technically outstanding to carry the startup through the long journey and likely many pivots required in iterating the product. Strong technical ability also is a good prerequisite of being able to understand metrics and be coachable in other areas of business- you hope the other founder has these qualities inc. high risk appetite and ability to sell and hire future employees. The founders typically are very “mission driven”, this is very different to impact investors who focus on specific do-gooder goals,” said Mbwana Alliy Founder and Managing Partner at Savannah Fund.

Savannah Fund founders also look most likely to invest in startups which have taken time to build long standing relationships with them.

“An investment in a company is like a marriage, its not a one time deal and then we walk away, some companies we could be working with for 5–10 years. So building a relationship matters, it allows us both to decide if it might be a good idea to work together,” Mbwana said.

How Much Does Savannah Fund Invest In A Startup?

The fund intends to spend as little as $50,000 in pre-seed, but first check sizes will typically range from $150,000 to 250,000. The firm’s ability to participate in subsequent rounds, which would most likely require greater sums, will be determined by whether or not it is a lead investor.

How Can Startups Apply?

For startups interested in applying, it is better to do so by pitching the partners, Mbwana Alliy and Paul Bragiel. Tommy Chia, however, concentrates on investments in Nigeria and South Africa. Alternatively, visit the fund’s website here.

“Generally, those in East Africa around the iHub community have a better visibility to me. If you are startup in Nigeria or South Africa , its just that much harder to build a relationship, but still possible as we showed in our first deal with the company all the way in Australia. We do travel and we are building strong links with other investors across the continent who share in our philosophy and approach to serving tech startups,” Mbwana said.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer