African entrepreneurs are invited to apply for the third annual Land Accelerator Africa 2021.
About the program
Launched in 2018 by the World Resources Institute (WRI), the Land Accelerator Africa, is the world’s first training and mentorship program that targets businesses that focus on replenishing degraded forests, farmland, and pasture.
In support of the AFR100 Initiative’s goal of restoring 100 million hectares of land by 2030, the Land Accelerator equips entrepreneurs across Africa with needed training, mentorship, and networking opportunities and workshops to build up their storytelling and pitching skills.
Land Accelerator Africa 2021
Participants exit the program more empowered to connect with potential investors so that they can take their business to the next stage of growth. Since its inception, the program has attracted nearly 700 applicants in Africa. Its alumni report that they have created 2,200 jobs, worked with 56,000 farmers, restored 38,000 hectares, and grown X million trees.
For this edition, WRI and its partners at Fledge and AFR100 approach the program in the Land Accelerator Africa from another dimension. This year, the size of the 2021 cohort has been expanded.
100 outstanding entrepreneurs from Sub-Saharan Africa will be selected to participate in an all-virtual business accelerator.
Program expectation
The Top 100 stand to receive:
3 months of exclusive weekly training from experts;
3 months of access to Fledge’s online lessons for startups;
Templates to create content to help their business flourish;
Weekly office hours with mentors who will lend their expertise;
Weekly networking sessions to collaborate with and learn from other entrepreneurs in your cohort.
The Top 100 entrepreneurs have the opportunity to apply for a Land Accelerator investment pack, which an expert panel awards to the Top 10 entrepreneurs.
Recipients of the investment packs benefit from
A $5,000 innovation grant;
A coaching meeting with a Land Accelerator organizer to develop your investment and innovation grant plan;
A 90-minute group session with members of the Land Accelerator mentor network, who will provide tailored feedback;
The opportunity to present your 3-minute business pitch at the virtual Land Accelerator Demo Day, an event that brings together the Top 10 and business and social investors from across the continent.
Deadline
Entries close on Wednesday, March 31, 2021.
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
Last week, a $170 million venture investment in Lagos-based Flutterwave, a payments processing startup, set the Nigerian tech ecosystem alight with excitement and pride. That’s because it is one of the few homegrown startups, with local founders and many early local investors, to earn the coveted unicorn status — a startup with a pre-exit valuation at over $1 billion.
It marks another significant validation of Africa’s budding fintech sector. On paper, five-year-old Flutterwave is already more valuable than all but a couple of Nigeria’s biggest banks.
In 2019, Nigerian startups were backed by more than $600 million in venture capital funding. Africa, as a whole, received an inflow of over $1 billion in the same year, the first time the continent’s startups crossed the threshold.
But early on, it was never clear how investors would recoup their investment in these startups or exit their positions. Options for initial public offerings are limited, given the shallow capital markets in most African cities. For instance, Jumia, the e-commerce company serving 11 African countries, chose the New York Stock Exchange for its billion-dollar listing in 2019. But it is often cited as being a rare successful African startup IPO exit.
After almost a decade of investment and growth, insiders in the Nigerian tech — and African — startup community have often wondered privately, and in public, where the next significant exit would come from.
Osita Nwoye, an advisor to early stage startups, told Rest of World that an exit from a startup built by Africans to solve African problems would be a “validation” of the work being done by local founders on the continent’s tech sector over the last decade.
So when news broke last October that U.S. payments giant Stripe would acquire Paystack, a Nigerian payments processor, for more than $200 million, the local ecosystem heartily celebrated one of their own. Founded in 2015 by Shola Akinlade and Ezra Olubi, Paystack is based primarily in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, and serves about 60,000 customers. This was good news for different players within African tech on a “seismic” level, Nwoye said.
“For the first time at scale, it [Paystack] answered the question ‘where are the exits?’” said, Nwoye, who has advised several startups, including Paystack; he held “tiny” shares in the company for his work as an early advisor.
For local tech venture capitalists and investors, the acquisition provided an opportunity for them to show individuals reluctant to invest in technology that they could get handsome rewards if they bet on the nascent tech scene. And for the employees, it “provided validity of tech as a career,” in a country where oil companies are often seen as the gold standard.
Perhaps less measurable but of no less importance is that Paystack’s purchase is being seen as an inspiration, indicating that Africans, too, can build world-class companies worthy of attracting global interest.
“We believe that Paystack’s story is proof that young people in Africa can solve the hard problems that face the continent, and we hope that it paves the way for more investment and support that will help them build their dreams,” Paystack’s head of growth, Emmanuel Quartey, wrote in an email to Rest of World.
Paystack and Stripe are both alumni of Y Combinator, the prestigious startup accelerator, and the relationship between the companies began when Paystack was introduced to Stripe CEO Patrick Collison, who offered to invest, according to Quartey. That offer resulted in Stripe, alongside Visa and Tencent, investing in Paystack’s $8 million series A round in 2018. The American company’s decision to buy the Nigerian startup was an easy fit in the end.
Stripe’s purchase of Paystack capped off a year of big-ticket acquisitions in African technology. MFS Africa, an African payments gateway, set the ball rolling in June, when it bought Beyonic, a digital payments provider in Ghana, Tanzania, Kenya, and Rwanda, for an undisclosed fee.
In August, WorldRemit, the London-based remittances company, reportedly paid $500 million to acquire Sendwave, a Kenya-based remittance company that allows people in Europe and North America to send money to seven African countries and Bangladesh. This represents the biggest-ever form of investment in an African technology startup.
The energy and excitement around Paystack last October has been sparked again with Flutterwave’s latest round, especially after Olugbenga Agboola revealed the next step might be a NYSE IPO. This would be a major boon for its homegrown founders and investors. And it’s not just Silicon Valley or European funders who are showing interest in Africa’s tech scene; Chinese investors are also making a play for the industry. In 2019, OPay, a fintech company, raised $170 million from Chinese investors.
“Everything depends on payments, and, without payments, there’s no business, and everything falls apart.”
African fintech startups have dominated the significant funding headlines on the continent because they are solving problems with legacy financial infrastructure or the lack thereof that hampers African economies. Nwoye, the startup advisor, says fintech — particularly payments — is taking off in Africa because it is the backbone of every internet business on the continent.
“Without payments, there’s no commerce on the internet,” he says.
“Everything depends on payments, and, without payments, there’s no business, and everything falls apart.”
With the eagerly anticipated exits now a reality, there is a general feeling within the African tech industry that they could herald the beginning of a wave of international mergers and acquisitions involving African companies.
Razaq Ahmed, CEO of Cowrywise, a Lagos-based digital savings platform, thinks African startups have now “matured” and predicts more investment from both local and international players, partly due to low global interest rates and the success stories coming out of Africa.
“An important trend coming out strong from late last year is the increased appetite of local capital to participate in the startup ecosystem, says Ahmed. “That is bringing a new spice to the investment opportunity set.”
Aanu Adeoye is a Rest of World reporting fellow based in Johannesburg.
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
Boomplay, the leading music streaming and download service based in Africa and Universal Music Group (UMG), the world leader in music-based entertainment, has announced a new landmark licensing agreement that will extend licensing of UMG’s global music catalog from 7 to 47 countries across the African continent, as part of an extended relationship that will benefit African musicians and talent and expand the listening experience for Boomplay users across Africa. The latest partnership is not unconnected with the entry of Spotify, the leading music streaming service in the world, in Africa.
Sipho Dlamini, CEO, Universal Music Group, South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa
“We are delighted to expand our relationship with Boomplay, who over the past few years have shown themselves to be dedicated to providing the best in music to fans across the continent. Through this extended agreement, Boomplay will now help supply improved access to the world’s largest and most diverse music catalog to their broad user base, as we continue to introduce the best in African and international music to the rapidly growing streaming audience across Africa,” said Sipho Dlamini, CEO, Universal Music Group, South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa
In 2018, UMG became the first major global music company to license music to the service, which has continued to grow its audience reach and influence across Africa in recent years. Boomplay’s catalog currently stands at more than 50 million tracks and it boasts the largest repertoire of local African content globally, with 50million monthly active users (MAU). The renewal and expansion of this licensing deal with UMG, will enable African music fans across the continent to experience the best in both domestic African and International talent.
As one of the first entrants in Africa, Boomplay has been at the forefront of the music streaming market since 2015 and has a deep understanding of the local market. Now the leading African platform, in December 2020, Boomplay surpassed the 100 million app downloads milestone on Google Play.
In a statement, Boomplay said the renewal and expansion of the licensing agreement with UMG will allow African music fans across the continent to experience the best of national and international talent. For UMG, he underlines its continued commitment to supporting and developing national musical ecosystems in Africa, “while creating new opportunities for Pan-African talent to reach new audiences at national, regional and global levels. “
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
Zoom, a global leader in the cloud-based video conferencing industry, has provided funding to Kabakoo Academies. The startup is a Malian edtech, a pioneer of “no code” and the first African player to enable individuals to design and deploy applications without coding. The amount raised was not disclosed.
Kabakoo Academies
Zoom funded Kabakoo Academies through its EdInnovation award. It is a prestigious award that recognizes “the most daring and brilliant solutions for underserved students.” It has been awarded to six startups around the world. The African edtech startup seeks to democratize access to educational technologies for the benefit of young Africans.
Founded in 2018, it helps students to acquire skills in technological products, become entrepreneurs or leading employees. It launched its first “no code” training in March 2021, given to 20 young learners. This is an “intensive Fullstack” program, implemented in partnership with Contournement, a European company specializing in the subject.
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
Egypt-based e-commerce platform zVendo has raised a six-figure Seed funding round from EFG EV Fintech and unidentified angel investors, paving the way for it to become the country’s first local e-commerce centre. “Being a part of many startup programmes like the Microsoft Startup programme has helped us achieve our goal of increasing merchants’ businesses online,” says Tarek Bakry, founder and CEO.
zVendo
Sameh Abdel Fattah, the company’s founder and CTO, and Tarek Bakry, the company’s co-founder and CEO, want to provide retailers with “a network that provides merchants and their customers with a localised experience that does not require any technological expertise.” zVendo, they said, introduces comprehensive sales and consumer data, as well as marketing and e-commerce tools and integrations with various ERP and related systems, all from a single holistic dashboard view.
“The main reason why EFG EV Fintech is thrilled to be part of zVendo’s journey is the opportunity to enable more SMEs in the region digitize their commerce activities in both affordable and effective ways. We believe that this partnership will act as a catalyst providing SMEs with a platform for growth in parallel with the government’s economic development and digitization endeavors,” said Mahmoud El-Zohairy, CEO,EFG EV.
zVendo originated from Egyptian developers for the Middle East and the Arab world, and was created in 2018 by the primary founders of leading e-commerce solutions company Business Boomers. It’s an e-commerce software-as-a-service platform that allows companies to start selling online in a matter of minutes using a variety of specialised distribution platforms. Product feeds for social media sites, marketplaces, and product aggregators, as well as product feeds for social media platforms, marketplaces, and product aggregators, ensure that no channel is missed.
Multiple subscription-based packages are available for the Omni-channel enabler to support companies of all sizes. They have more than 20 ready-made payment and shipping integrations, ranging from freemium to full-fledged features. The Arabic language is included as a standard feature in all online store packages.
In 2020, zVendo was able to extend its support to all forms of businesses with additional features specifically tailored for each market due to a recent change and rapid growth in the e-commerce industry. zVendo has also begun to expand regionally in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, with other GCC countries to follow, with the goal of bolstering e-commerce development across the region.
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
After the gruesome death of its founding CEO Fahim Saleh in July 2020, Nigeria-based last-mile delivery, logistics and transportation start-up Gokada has announced a replacement in the person of Nikhil Goel as its new CEO. Goel joined Gokada in 2019 as a Vice President of Rides, bringing with him extensive experience in the global last-mile logistics space as he worked in India as General Manager of unicorn food delivery start-up Zomato, and then as Head of New Verticals at SafeBoda in Kenya.
Nikhil Goel, new CEO of Gokada
A statement from Gokada says that Goel has helped the company increase its revenue by 10X and grow it’s delivery order volume by 100X, enabling the company to reach profitability in the past 12 months. Commenting on Gokada’s current business model, Nikhil Goel said, “Gokada now serves thousands of individuals and businesses across Lagos. Our range of delivery solutions now spans a number of sectors such as food delivery, grocery delivery, parcel delivery, eCommerce fulfilment, and more. What makes me so proud of Gokada is the company’s Never-Give-Up attitude. Even in the midst of the pandemic which shortly followed the ride-hailing ban, we were able to bring most of our pilots back to jobs while in parallel launching reliable logistics solutions to support businesses in Nigeria, which allowed them to continue to provide their services to their customers.”
Speaking on the current business model, Nikhil Goel said, “Gokada now serves thousands of individuals and businesses across Lagos. Our range of delivery solutions now spans a number of sectors such as food delivery, grocery delivery, parcel delivery, eCommerce fulfilment, and more. What makes me so proud of Gokada is the company’s Never-Give-Up attitude. Even in the midst of the pandemic which shortly followed the ride-hailing ban, we were able to bring most of our pilots back to jobs while in parallel launching reliable logistics solutions to support businesses in Nigeria, which allowed them to continue to provide their services to their customers.”
While the company began as a ride-hailing service, it has since become a leader in food delivery, parcel delivery, and other “last mile logistics” solutions throughout Lagos. With a growing fleet of over 1,000 riders and thousands of SME customers, Gokada plans to expand across other states in Nigeria in 2021. In the last year, the company has tackled and surmounted many challenges; from the okada ban to the ‘EndSars’ protests in October 2020. As they expand into new geographies and verticals, Goel’s strong track record of prior success in the sector is poised to be a big advantage for Gokada.
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
Following its aggressive expansion drive to at least have presence in all the key regions of the continent before further unit expansion, the Ghanaian e-health startup mPharma in partnership with Belayab Pharmaceuticals has launched a new pharmaceutical franchise in Ethiopia called Haltons Pharmacies. This new opening makes it the sixth of such franchises across the continent.
Gregory Rockson, chief executive officer (CEO) of mPharma
mPharma which was founded in 2013 is a technology-driven healthcare company that specialises in vendor-managed inventory, retail pharmacy operations, and market intelligence serving hospitals, pharmacies, and patients. With headquarters in Ghana, mPharma which is a venture-backed startup has expanded its operations to four other African countries, namely Nigeria, Zambia, Kenya, and Rwanda, and currently has a network of over 300 pharmacies serving more than 100,000 patients each month.
In 2019, mPharma acquired Kenya’s second-largest pharmacy chain Haltons, and the new franchise agreement with Belayab will see Haltons launch in Ethiopia, mPharma’s sixth market in Sub-Saharan Africa and third in East Africa.
Through the franchise, mPharma and Belayab Pharmaceuticals will open two operational pharmacies in Addis Ababa this year. Each pharmacy launched will offer Mutti – mPharma’s health membership programme – to patients in Ethiopia. Patients will benefit from discounts on their drugs and financing options that can help alleviate the costs of healthcare. Mutti will particularly benefit uninsured patients in Ethiopia who pay out-of-pocket for their medication and therefore bear the brunt of high drug prices.
“mPharma is connecting and empowering an inclusive universal medical coverage that benefits everyone in Africa by making access to healthcare affordable and safe. We are excited to be entering the Ethiopian market in partnership with Belayab Pharmaceuticals as we continue to build our long-standing commitment to partnerships for the good health of patients,” said Gregory Rockson, chief executive officer (CEO) of mPharma.
“This is an opportunity to develop a commercially-sustainable and scalable health impact in Ethiopia by improving access to quality essential medicines that will help the society-at-large so that everyone can benefit from affordable and safe treatment.”
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
Fast rising South African-based deliveries startup, Quench that deploys app-based platforms to link customers has taken a bold step in its expansionary ambition across the region. This follows the raising of an undisclosed amount of funding to help it build brand awareness and establish more partnerships across the country.
Quench was founded five years ago to provide same-day delivery of groceries, food, medication and alcohol to customers in major centres across South Africa. The startup has seen significant growth over the last year given the effects of COVID-19, expanding from being an alcohol delivery platform to also delivering other items.
Quench
The startup recently secured funding from Imvelo Ventures, a South African venture capital firm founded by Capitec Bank and Empowerment Capital Investment Partners. Imvelo Ventures identifies and funds promising South African small and medium enterprises in the broad spectrum of financial technology, and its investment will help Quench continue to grow.
Quench founder Liam McCreedy was quoted as saying that the investment will assist Quench in growing brand awareness and expanding partnerships throughout the country.
“Our long-term focus remains to ensure growth with our current retail partners, Woolworths, Dis-Chem and Ultra Liquor, along with expanding our restaurant delivery footprint through delivery platform Mr Yum South Africa. More immediately, our attention will be focused on escalating our offering across multiple industries.”
In April, Quench will launch a fully-integrated back-end system with a new consumer-facing app for “Quench Marketplace”, a new B2C channel created to empower suppliers, manufacturers, wine farms, produce farms and many more to sell, advertise and distribute off Quench’s infrastructure.
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
Flourish Ventures, a London-based venture capital company, has confirmed its entry into the Kenyan venture capital space in order to invest in Kenya’s increasing demand for fintech innovations. Kenya is the first country in East Africa where the company, which invests in entrepreneurs whose inventions help people achieve financial health and prosperity, has developed a presence. Apollo Agriculture, Fair Money, Financial Services Innovators (FSI), Flutterwave, Lendable, Pula, and Paga are among the dozen startups in the firm’s portfolio, which are based in Nigeria, Ghana, Egypt, and Kenya.
Arjuna Costa, the Managing Partner at Flourish Ventures
“We believe that Africa is on the cutting edge in the development of innovative and groundbreaking fintech solutions globally, and we are delighted that our Nairobi office will give us greater access across the continent,” said Arjuna Costa, the Managing Partner at Flourish Ventures.
Here Is What You Need To Know
According to Costa, establishing the fund’s presence in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital is due to the strength of Kenya’s fintech industry off the back of the Covid-19 pandemic.
This news was also accompanied by the appointment of Efayomi Carr as Principal, who will oversee the company’s Nairobi operations.
“Efayomi has a strong network in Africa and will work closely with Kenyan entrepreneurs building tools and services for fintech — with a special emphasis on embedded finance and insurtech,” said Mr. Costa on Carr’s appointment.
“Flourish Ventures is a deliberative and thesis-driven investor that wants to achieve real and broad impact across all of our investments in Africa. I am excited to be taking part in the growth of African fintech and innovation and I am optimistic that the continent will continue to give is pleasant surprises,” said Carr.
Carr also expressed hope about opening an office in Africa, citing the continent’s fintech industry’s strength in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I am excited to take part in the growth of our firm’s African presence and am optimistic that African fintech entrepreneurs will continue to deliver real results and make a positive financial impact for consumers and small businesses,” he added.
Flourish Ventures provides its entrepreneurs with experts in Data Science, Fraud & Risk, Finance & Operations, Human Capital, Legal, Marketing & PR, Product Management, and Strategy in addition to financial support. Overall, venture capital aims to be a leader in the development of a financial system that empowers people and favours business models that benefit them over those that exploit them.
Flourish published the South African version of its global research survey — The Modern Hustle: Gig Worker Financial Lives Under Pressure — in 2020, which followed the experiences of gig workers who use digital platforms like e-hailing or delivery apps to learn more about how they fared during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the study, 76 percent of the 600 surveyed gig staff have seen a substantial drop in income since March 2020.
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
Algeria has launched a national incubation and acceleration program for startups in the field of tourism. The launch follows a partnership between the country’s Ministry of Tourism, Handicrafts and Labor of the family and the Ministry in charge of the Knowledge Economy and Startups.
Minister for Startups, Yacine Oualid
Here Is What You Need To Know
Initialed by the ministers of the two sectors, Mohamed Ali Boughazi and Yacine El-Mahdi Oualid, the partnership allows startups, through the program, to propose innovative projects in the sectors of technologies relating to the hotel industry (HospitalityTech ), finance (Fintech), agriculture (Greentech), catering (FoodTech), health (HealthTech), organic products (BioTech) and for sale (RetailTech).
Called “Siaha Lab”, this program will be carried out in collaboration with the Hotel, Tourism and Spa Group (HTT) and provides for the creation of several incubators and startup accelerators across the country, starting with the one that will be inaugurated in Hammam Bouhnifia (Ain Temouchent), on the occasion of the organization of the “Oran Disrupt” event on March 20 and 21, while the second incubator will be inaugurated in Ghardaïa on the sidelines of the event “ Ghardaïa Disrupt” scheduled for April 10.
The other cities selected for the first phase of this program are Annaba, Sidi Fredj (Algiers), Guelma, Batna, Oran, Tamenrasset, Bechar and Biskra. Mr. Boughazi described the agreement as “unprecedented step” allowing young entrepreneurs and carriers of innovative projects in the field of tourism to benefit from “the support of the HTT Group” to execute their projects, in particular “by using its infrastructures” and by benefiting from “the expertise of its workforce”.
The program will contribute to the digital transition which is considered by the highest authorities of the country as a way out of dependence on hydrocarbons, he said, appealing to startups to “join” the officials sector in order to develop Algerian tourist infrastructures and enable them to offer “high-quality services”.
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
