Startups and founders - Afrikan Heroes

Sky.Garden, The Kenyan Startup On The Verge Of Shutdown, Acquired

November 14, 2022

Sky.Garden, the Kenyan startup that recently declared insolvency, has stated that it has found an acquirer. As a result, Sky.Garden will continue to operate under new ownership and management, according to founder and CEO Martin Majlund in a statement.

Sky.Garden raised $4 million in a Series A round of fundraising last year, bringing its total VC funding to $5.2 million. Since 2017, the startup has had hundreds of small and medium-sized enterprises sell through its online marketplace. The startup guarantees “end-to-end” order fulfilment and earns an 8% commission on every sale made through its platform.

It’s a concept that was arguably best popularised by Amazon, albeit the e-commerce behemoth’s success in executing it has been partly due to massive economies of scale, which have given it more diversification and allowed it balance falls in some areas against expansions in others.

Despite Sky.Garden’s reach with merchants and customers in Kenya, the company itself is substantially smaller, with only 46 employees, according to LinkedIn statistics.

Sky.Garden is a well-known company in areas such as Nairobi, where it guaranteed 24-hour delivery of goods purchased on the site. However, it is unclear how much revenue the company was making or how that figure has changed over time.

Sky.Garden acquired — *Credits: Sky.Garden*

Speaking on the lessons he learned from the experience Majlund said:

“Fundraising sucks 99 out 100 times. Damn, we’ve pitched the company over and over again. To the wrong investors just finding the journey exotic. To the right investors where timing wasn’t right. But hey; it only takes 1 yes, so f… the 99 no’s. Resilience is King. We’ve mentally put Sky.Garden in the grave a handful of times during the 6 years. We’ve never done anything ethically questionable, but we’ve definitely continued where normal, sane people would have stopped. This has secured us another 5,5 years of operations.”

“There’s no linear path from A to B. But, there are formulas to succeed and you don’t have to make the same mistakes as other people before you. I now understand why successful startup founders most likely have crashed several companies before succeeding. It’s about the Journey — Not the Destination. And I know other startup founders may disagree with me on this one. But for me it has never been about the money. But the people and the process,” he added.

In Kenya, Sky.Garden competed directly with NYSE-listed Jumia, Africa’s largest e-commerce marketplace, which is still not profitable a decade after its start, despite indications of increased e-commerce adoption in Africa.

Sky.Garden acquired Sky.Garden acquired

Tracking Layoffs And Shutdowns: Is Kenya The New Hotbed Of Failed Startups In Africa?

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexperts.com/view_expert/charles-rapulu-udoh

Nasdaq Warns Egyptian Transport Startup SWVL Of Delisting If Current Less Than $1 Share Price Persists

November 7, 2022

Swvl Holdings Corp (SWVL) (Nasdaq: SWVL), a global provider of transformative tech-enabled mass transit solutions, has reported that the Company received a letter (the “Letter”) from the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) indicating that the Company is currently not in compliance with Nasdaq Rule 5450(a)(1), as the Company’s closing bid price for its Class A ordinary shares (the “Ordinary Shares”) was below $1.00 per share for the last 30 consecutive business days.

Here Is What You Need To Know

The Company has 180 calendar days to return to compliance with the Nasdaq Stock Market Rules. The Letter states that the Company must resume compliance with the minimum bid price requirement by May 1, 2023. If at any time during this 180-day period the closing bid price of its Ordinary Shares is at least $1.00 for a minimum of ten consecutive business days, the Company will regain compliance; in that case, Nasdaq will issue a written confirmation of compliance to the Company, and the matter will be closed.

The Nasdaq staff will inform the Company that its Ordinary Shares may be delisted if it fails not demonstrate compliance by the end of the 180-day window ending May 1, 2023.

However, if the Company meets the continued listing requirement for the market value of its publicly held shares and all other initial listing standards for the Nasdaq Global Market, with the exception of the bid price requirement, it may then be eligible for additional time to regain compliance, of up to an additional 180 calendar days. The Company must additionally give additional written notification of its plan to correct the shortcoming during the second compliance period in order to be eligible.

SWVL says the Company’s top focus continues to be Swvl’s continuous listing on Nasdaq. The company plans to look into all available measures to correct the deficiency and return to compliance with the minimum bid requirement within the compliance period, including perhaps sanctioning a reverse share split, should the situation not improve over the aforementioned term.

The Company’s Ordinary Shares will continue to trade on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “SWVL” for the duration of the aforementioned cure period, as may be extended, and the Letter from Nasdaq has no immediate impact on the Company’s Nasdaq listing or the trading of its Ordinary Shares on Nasdaq.

A Look At What SWVL Does

With intercity, intracity, B2B, and B2G transportation options available in more than 135 locations in more than 20 countries, Swvl is a leading global provider of innovative tech-enabled mass transit solutions. For those who cannot access or afford private services, the company’s network offers complementary semi-private transportation options in addition to public transportation. Swvl’s parallel mass transit systems enable people to travel whenever they want and anywhere they want, making mobility safer, more effective, and more accessible while also being more environmentally friendly. Customers can reserve their journeys using a user-friendly, proprietary app that offers a variety of payment methods and constant access to high-caliber private buses and vans.

Mostafa Kandil, who started his career at Rocket Internet and created the auto sales platform Carmudi in the Philippines, co-founded Swvl. In just six months, Carmudi grew to be the top car classifieds company in the Philippines. He then held the position of Head of Operations at Rocket Internet. Kandil joined Careem in 2016, the first unicorn in the Middle East and a ride-sharing firm. He encouraged the platform’s development in numerous additional markets.

Tracking Egypt’s Swvl Long After Its SPAC Outing. Three Hard Lessons For African Startups

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexperts.com/view_expert/charles-rapulu-udoh

40% Of Tunisian Startup Founders Are Students -New Report

November 6, 2022

It is no longer necessary to wait for your diploma to begin your entrepreneurial career in Tunisia. At least, that’s what 40% of Tunisian startup founders who are still in college believe.

According to Startup Tunisia’s 2021 annual report, students not only play a vital role in this entrepreneurial dynamic, but more than 14% of startups are formed only by students!

According to the research, 56.7% of student entrepreneurs are from technical courses. Esprit University ranks first with a representativeness of 18.3%, while INSAT ranks second with 4.2%.

Are the younger generations achieving greater gender equality? No, there is only one woman among the five student entrepreneurs.

Think again if you believe that the entrepreneurial momentum is the result of the law on student-entrepreneurs! According to the Startup Tunisia document, 71.8% of startup student founders do not benefit from this legal framework, which is also not applied within universities in 14.7% of situations.

This legal status benefits only 9.9% of student entrepreneurs.

Download the report here.

Tunisian startup founders Tunisian startup founders

Health54, A New $10M Corporate Venture Fund For African Health-tech, Formally Launches

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexperts.com/view_expert/charles-rapulu-udoh

Egypt’s B2B marketplace SPEED Acquired

November 4, 2022

The UAE-based tech-services and logistics company X-ERA has finished acquiring Egypt’s expanding B2B e-commerce platform SPEED. SPEED International for Distribution & Logistics is an affiliate of SPEED.

The acquisition represents a critical turning point in the digital revolution, which intends to use digital platforms to link FMCG suppliers with small- to medium-sized businesses, retailers, and eventually consumers.

As a provider of digital business solutions, X-ERA is currently updating SPEED with the help of its partners to make it more user-friendly and to include even more features and advantages for FMCG merchants and retailers.

Why The Acquisition?

The goal of X-ERA is to revitalise the black market by adopting cutting-edge business strategies and enabling technologies tailored to the requirements of retailers in varied geographical contexts. Its goal is to provide access to a wide variety of items, first-rate service, and operational assistance to empower and enable retailers, merchants, and grocery store owners to elevate their skills in all facets of day-to-day business operations.

“We believe will reshape the Egyptian B2B FMCG e-commerce; by offering micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) a lot of benefits. It will also help SPEED companies to increase its focus in all supply chain and logistics services to all FMCG companies, as well as in the e-commerce ecosystem. One prime aim of the segregation is expansion; SPEED B2B e-commerce app’s current merchant/ retailers base stands at 35,000, and the prospective plans are for this to reach 100,000 by mid-2023,” SPEED Chairperson Ahmed Hassan said.

Additionally, a statewide expansion is anticipated by the end of 2023, up from the present 9 governorates. The SPEED app would receive fresh branding and identity through the re-launch, increasing its USP for the small- and medium-sized grocery store owners it serves, according to X-ERA CEO Mahmoud El-Enani.

Millions of dollars will be spent by X-ERA on technological advancement and global expansion.

Small and medium-sized grocery store owners in Egypt now have access to a platform that allows them to purchase goods from wholesalers, distributors, and manufacturers at transparent prices. Retailers may now use a one-stop shop to browse a large selection of products from various brands. They are able to put together a basket based on their stock needs, place an order, and receive deliveries within 24 hours, seven days a week. They conduct all of this using their iPhones while operating their own grocery store as usual.

X-ERA Speed Egypt X-ERA Speed Egypt

Egyptian E-commerce Platform Hoods Raises Funding From valU

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexperts.com/view_expert/charles-rapulu-udoh

South Africa’s Spatialedge acquires Cape AI

October 29, 2022

Cape AI, a South African tech firm, has been purchased by Spatialedge, an AI solution provider headquartered in Stellenbosch. Cape AI, founded in 2019 by Pieter Boon and Adit Mehta, assists businesses in growing by helping them to make smart decisions using AI technology. The acquisition is part of Spatialedge’s expansion strategy.

Cape AI, founded in 2019 by Pieter Boon and Adit Mehta

South Africa is the African region’s fourth most funded and transacted geography. South Africa has been particularly active in M&A activity, in addition to being one of the top geographies. South African startups exited 18 times last year, the most in the country’s history. This year, the startup has continued to grow in terms of exit activity, nearly matching last year’s total with Q4 still to go. UCOOK, a meal kit delivery service, and Radar, an HR help programme, have both made major purchases. South Africa is also the location with the highest number of Exits among the major African markets.

JSE Changes Listing Rules in Effort to Attract More Firms

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexperts.com/view_expert/charles-rapulu-udoh

Egypt-based Fintech valU Acquires Minority Stake In Social Fintech Kiwe

October 21, 2022

valU announced the purchase of a minority share in local fintech company Kiwe, the first social payment app in Egypt that allows onboarding of the unbanked group.

EFG Hermes Finance, EFG EV Fintech, dfin Holding, and Marakez are among the company’s current shareholders.

Why The Decision To Acquire Minority Stake In Kiwe

Kiwe’s fintech solutions appeal to young people by capitalising on their everyday payment and social interaction issues by allowing them to effortlessly collect, send, and spend money online.

Habiba Naguib — Head of Strategy and Market Expansion at valU

Furthermore, it provides a modern, easy, and cost-effective payment platform to small businesses and startups, with the purpose of reducing the everyday financial problems experienced by young entrepreneurs doing business.

valU is executing on its aim of becoming a holistic financial powerhouse, providing modern and convenient solutions to every part of people’s everyday life, by merging Kiwe’s service offering with valU’s BNPL plans.

The transaction also complements valU’s recent strategic purchase of Paynas, a full-service personnel management and benefits firm that delivers financial solutions to micro, small, and medium-sized businesses such as payroll cards and digital salary advances (MSMEs).

The acquisition of a minority share in Kiwe expands on valU’s aim to accelerate the growth of cashless transactions, which benefits financial inclusion in Egypt. It also aligns with valU’s objective to expand its customer base of young folks and small enterprises, and it will aid Kiwe’s growth by utilising valU’s broad network of vendors from a variety of industries.

This investment builds on Kiwe and valU’s existing cooperation, which has seen them successfully collaborate on multiple significant events like as Le Marche and Shababco. This collaboration has also made it possible for new exhibitors who did not previously have access to payment methods to participate.

“This strategic investment in Kiwe comes as a natural step to further bolster our portfolio of financial services by extending more innovative solutions to MSMEs and young people. Serving these segments allows us to reach a larger population, ensure that we are alleviating financial hassles, drive financial inclusion, and contribute to greater convenience for millions of customers,” Habiba Naguib — Head of Strategy and Market Expansion at valU — said. “With its unique offering and simplified, engaging user experience, Kiwe will greatly benefit from leveraging our vast and ever-growing network of vendors. Hence, this is an investment that promises growth for all. We believe we can create more innovative financial solutions that unlock many opportunities for us and our users, creating long-term value for the people who rely on our services every day to improve their lives, grow their businesses, and positively impact their communities.”

Kiwe’s first investment this year, although the company expects to raise a seed round in the coming months.

“For us at Kiwe, valU’s investment is proof positive that we’re forging ahead in the right direction and signals confidence in our brand that offers unique services that are in high demand,” Co-Founder of Kiwe Omar Kamel said. “Having a leading fintech player such as valU onboard acts as a pivotal step forward in our expansion strategy by allowing us to benefit greatly from their success and giving us access to their vast network of vendors. With our companies aligned on a common vision set out to give seamless access to financial solutions and enhance financial literacy, we’re positive we will be amplifying sustainable social and economic success.”

Kiwe, which was founded in Egypt in 2018 by Omar Kamel, Fatma Ibrahim, and Mohamed Khalifa, targets youthful users by allowing them to gather, send, and spend money via its app. It also provides a digital payment network for small enterprises and startups, with the purpose of reducing the everyday financial problems that young entrepreneurs experience.

valU, created in 2017, is an EFG Hermes Holding company that offers a purchase now pay later (BNPL) service in Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

valU kiwe valU kiwe

Why Investors Poured $4M Into Nigerian Social Commerce Startup, Bumpa In Seed Funding Round

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexperts.com/view_expert/charles-rapulu-udoh

Egyptian Fintech Geidea Partners With Visa To Accelerate Digital Payments

October 10, 2022

Geidea, one of the region’s largest Fintech companies by market share, has announced a strategic partnership with Visa, the world leader in digital payments, to bring Geidea’s sophisticated payment solutions to the Egyptian market.

Under the strategic partnership, Visa will invest in adding new payment solutions through Geidea’s Point-Of-Sale terminals, to provide seamless and secure payment solutions for merchants and SMEs across the country.

The two parties signed a long term strategic partnership to provide innovative services to merchants and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Egypt, including pay by phone services and the electronic trading services, in bid to consolidate these services, which play an important role in developing Egypt’s payment sector.

Ahmed Nader, General Manager of Geidea Egypt, said: “Geidea is committed to supporting merchants and helping small businesses to thrive in the digital economy, in accordance with Egypt’s Vision 2030. Our partnership with Visa will accelerate digital transformation and financial inclusion across the country by providing businesses with modern digital payment solutions — empowering them to provide a convenient, secure and seamless checkout experience to their customers.”

Ahmed Magdy, Senior Commercial director of Geidea Egypt, said: Geidea aims to apply the latest e-payments technology to provide seamless and secure payment solutions through “Tap-on-Phone. Geidea has a strong infrastructure that allows it to offer the fastest PoS’s to merchants and small and medium-sized companies.”

“Our company is constantly striving to find partners who can further our goal of providing a seamless experience and the best solutions to users. Thus, we are pleased to partner with Visa, as Visa’s extensive network is a key differentiating factor in giving our customers the greatest flexibility.”

Essam El Daly, Head of Merchant Sales and Acquiring for North Africa, Levant and Pakistan, Visa said that “Such strategic partnerships help us advance the future of digital payments in the region, ensuring seamless services to our clients and an increased market share for all the parties involved. These enabling tools are key to achieving the financial inclusion we seek through our work in Visa, as we carefully integrate the needs of both merchants and users in our solutions.”

Founded in 2008, Geidea operates more than 700,000 payment terminals (PoS) across the region and with 150,000 trusted merchants including regional and international brands, SMEs and e-commerce players.

Geidea visa Geidea visa

11 Startups Selected For 212 Founders New Accelerator Program

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexperts.com/view_expert/charles-rapulu-udoh

Looking For An Investor Community In Senegal? LionsTech Invest Is The Newest In Town

September 30, 2022

Launched in Dakar, LIONSTECH Invest is a network with the mission of helping high-potential, creative Senegalese startups speed up their path to finance and strategic collaborations.

The French Embassy in Senegal, the DER/FJ, Bpifrance, the AFD Group, and a number of other stakeholders in the country’s IT scene all contributed to this endeavour.

Support for startups is provided by the second part of the community, according to Kadiatou Traoré, head of Lionstech’s investment group. “We have a number of acceleration programmes that are supported by the partners of this initiative, including support structures in Senegal that will help us structure programmes that will be available to these companies,” she said.

Lionstech Invest helps connect businesses with investors both near and far. The entrepreneurial ecosystem in Senegal is another target of this group’s efforts to improve and organise. This project was funded in part by the French Embassy and the Development and Economic Research Foundation for the French Community in the Pacific (DER-FJ).

Mathieu Becue, Attac’s CEO, says, “We have decided to submit a funding file to our Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order to obtain funds to deploy this action. France’s contribution is 1 million euros, co-financed with the DER, which has also invested 1 million euros in this project.”

With “the expectation that this device can be propagated within the DER-FJ,” the programme will run for two years. The four axes that the systems rest on are:

Connect to innovation ecosystems in Europe and Africa through federating the ecosystem around a digital platform;
Assist cutting-edge businesses in obtaining private funding;
Encourage the development of regional angel investing groups to operate in tandem with their global counterparts;
Create means for the DER and other members of the ecosystem to share the cost of financing projects.

The French Embassy has been involved in the development of this project from the beginning, and today marked the official launch of the Lionstech community, which is part of a project that aims to increase the exposure of Senegalese technology startups to the international and Senegalese financial communities.

Investor community Senegal Investor community Senegal

BMCE Capital’s New $4.5M Seed Fund Targets Moroccan Startups

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexpert

Egyptian Transport Startup Swvl Debuts 100% Electric On-Demand Transit In Belp, Switzerland

mybuxi has implemented a new On-Demand Transit service inside the city limits of Belp by making use of the technology provided by Swvl. mybuxi and Swvl’s activities in Switzerland provide assistance to over 50,000 residents, further establishing Swvl as the preeminent provider of intelligent mobility software in the area.

Switzerland’s Belp municipality is a rural Swiss hamlet that has picturesque vistas and a one-of-a-kind natural scenery that is preserved and safeguarded. In an area that is just 23.3 km2 in size, the community of Belp is home to 11,500 people. Despite its close vicinity to Bern, which is only 15 kilometres to the north, Belp suffers from substantial accessibility issues in urban public transportation. These challenges will always be an obstacle in the way of the development of a thriving ecosystem in the city. In this context, mybuxi, Switzerland’s leading mobility on-demand provider, took it upon itself to provide a more accessible, convenient, and reliable public transport by utilising Swvl’s technology. The company’s goal was to provide the convenience of ride-hailing at nearly the same cost as public transportation.

mybuxi has already successfully launched numerous On-Demand Transit businesses in Switzerland, one of which is Swvl, which transports more than 1,100 passengers per week in the regions of Herzogenbuchsee, Ostermundigen, Emmental, and Andermatt. Because of the excellent results obtained in the neighbouring Ostermundigen, the decision was made to link up various parts of the Belp municipality that are spread out across an area of 17.25 km2. The service was initiated by the launch of 81 “virtual stops,” which are very conveniently located near riders. One of these “virtual stops” is the train station, which serves as a first and last mile connection point to the Swiss train system with the neighbouring towns of Bern and Thun, with a travel time of approximately 15 minutes.

The service became live on August 20, 2022, and its hours of operation are as follows: 06:00 to 00:30 during the weekdays, and 06:00 to 1:30 on the weekends. Through the use of a mobile application that is white-labeled with the Swvl brand, passengers are able to reserve seats on mybuxi buses for either immediate or planned excursions. The fact that the vehicles are entirely electric demonstrates Swvl’s dedication to the local economy, as well as its commitment to a more sustainable and environmentally friendly environment.

The introduction of Swvl’s On-Demand Transit service in Belp exemplifies the disruptive potential of the company’s technology in the central European area. Today, the Swvl operation in Switzerland has provided transportation that is cleaner, greener, and more easily accessible to more than 100,000 passengers, serving a total of 100,000 journeys.

South Africa’s Standard Bank Goes All Out For African Tech With New Commitment In $50m Knife Fund III

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexpert

Here’s Why Newly Funded Ivorian Fintech Julaya Chose To Expand To Benin, Togo, And Burkina Faso

September 28, 2022

Julaya has just raised $5 million in funding, only a little over a year after its previous round of fundraising brought it $2 million. During this interview, Olivier Houben, who works as the Country Manager for the firm in Senegal, addresses a variety of topics, including fintech activities, the growth of the industry as a whole, as well as why the startup preferred Benin, Togo, and Burkina Faso for its recent expansion.

After raising $2 million the previous year, your fintech has now received $5 million in investors. What specifically does Julaya offer SMEs in West Africa?

Julaya is a financial technology company that works in Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire to make it easier for small and medium businesses, major firms, and institutions to process payments. Our company provides a web-based platform that enables mass transfers to any and all Mobile Money wallets as well as bank transfers. This year, in collaboration with our colleagues at Mansa Bank and Mastercard, we introduced prepaid bank cards, both real and virtual, that are designed to be used for business expenses. We have only just begun offering a digital cash collection solution that assists businesses, particularly those in the agriculture and consumer products industries, in carrying out collections in a quick and risk-free manner. To put this into more concrete terms, our solutions now make it possible for more than 500 businesses to pay their employees, suppliers, and unbanked partners; to secure their payments and receipts; to have traceability of their transactions; to facilitate their professional expenses (travel, line, etc.); and, most importantly, to improve their operational efficiency. And very soon, in conjunction with our sponsor bank, we will be able to provide lending options.

Julaya Benin Togo Burkina — *Olivier Houben is the Country Manager for Julaya in Senegal. Image Credits: Olivier Houben*

West Africa and the continent are seeing a rise in start-ups and fintech. Do you think this is a permanent trend, and how has Julaya positioned itself to participate?

The worldwide market for financial technology is expanding at a rapid rate and is anticipated to reach about 700 billion dollars by the year 2030. According to a research that was published by McKinsey in August 2022, the financial technology sector in Africa may reach $30 billion by the year 2025, and the West African zone is the one expected to have the greatest rate of expansion. Due to various underlying trends in West Africa, such as the growth in the number of smartphones, the acceptance of mobile money and hence access to financial services, the extension of network coverage, and the youthful and increasing urban population, fintechs offer exciting development potential. These preexisting trends toward digitization have been sped further as a result of the Covid-19 epidemic. One of the many reasons why financial technology is experiencing such significant traction is the fact that it affects many different kinds of businesses. The solutions provided by Julaya address the challenges of economic growth in the West African region. These challenges include enabling businesses to access solutions for efficient and secure transaction management, reducing reliance on cash, and expanding access to financial services for populations that are not supported by profit. banked. We couldn’t be happier to be a part of this revolution, which is paving the way for a better deal for both enterprises and populations.

You’ve opted to expand Julaya to Benin, Togo, and Burkina Faso with the cash raised. What’s the rationale?

In point of fact, we want to implement Julaya’s services in Benin, Togo, and Burkina Faso in 2021, all of which are anticipated to see economic expansion of 6.6%, 5.3%, and 8.5%, respectively. These are obvious countries in the next steps of Julaya’s expansion as members of the UEMOA zone with several structural characteristics similar to those of the countries in which we are already established (Côte d’Ivoire since the end of 2018 and Senegal since the end of 2021): economic and monetary integration (a common currency, a common Central Bank, etc.), as well as legal integration (OHADA). In addition, we are able to deploy there with partners and technology that we are familiar with, and although the practises of businesses are unique, there are many parallels between them.

In the long run, say five or ten years, what do you want to accomplish?

Our goal is to have a significant and long-lasting influence on the digitization efforts of businesses throughout the whole spectrum of financial products, ranging from payment to credit. Edouard Mendy, who was selected as the best goalkeeper in the world in 2021 by FIFA and African champion 2022 with the Senegalese team, is joining our company as an investor and sponsor of the brand in our markets. Because our company upholds and carries the values of team spirit, cooperation, combativeness, and resilience, we are thrilled to have Edouard Mendy on board. Our goal is to become more than just a digital partner for companies in West Africa; rather, we aim to contribute to the sustainable growth of the continent as a whole, particularly in the complex and crucial context of the energy transition. As a result, we have also established asset finance pilots in the field of electro-mobility (electric cars) for the benefit of our business clients, particularly in the field of logistics.

Julaya Benin Togo Burkina Julaya Benin Togo Burkina

Footballer Édouard Mendy Backs Ivorian Payment Startup Julaya In $5M Pre-Series A Funding Round

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexpert