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Gray Matters Capital’s coLABS Calls On Early-stage Startups In Africa With Solutions Targeting Women And Girls To Apply     |     Kenyan Agritech Startup Taimba Raises $100k To Scale Operations     |    
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Gray Matters Capital’s coLABS Calls On Early-stage Startups In Africa With Solutions Targeting Women And Girls To Apply

September 2, 2020

For-profit startups in Africa with solutions targeting women and girls are invited to apply to coLABS, a gender-lens investment portfolio launched by US based impact investor Gray Matters Capital (GMC). 

“We have been so impressed by the many African entrepreneurs who are creating innovative solutions to tackle the barriers affecting women, that we are looking to deepen our presence on the continent by allocating the majority of our committed capital to fund promising enterprises in the region that meet our investment criteria. We are also encouraged by the number of teams made up of local talent who have vast knowledge of the challenges that they are tackling and design customer-driven innovations to address these gaps,” said Jennifer Soltis, Global Lead, coLABS, Gray Matters Capital.

Jennifer Soltis, Global Lead, coLABS, Gray Matters Capital
Jennifer Soltis, Global Lead, coLABS, Gray Matters Capital

Here Is What You Need To Know

  • Social enterprises that align with the investment criteria, advance through the due diligence process, and are successful in pitching their businesses to the Investment Committee have the potential to secure a revenue-share investment between US$100,000 and US$250,000. 
  • In addition to the financial support, coLABS provides technical assistance and strategic guidance to teams by helping them formalise an advisory board, providing access to stronger networks, and offering customised feedforward to help scale their business.
  • Since its launch in 2018, coLABS has invested in nine social enterprises across sectors from civic engagement, to health, livelihoods and agri-tech, and countries spanning four continents.

Read also: Nigerian Health-tech Startup Healthlane Raises $2.4 Million From Sequoia Capital

What Startups Is coLABS Looking For?

coLABS welcome applications from early stage enterprises in Africa that:

  • Are intentional about impacting women and have a product or a service that is tackling a critical barrier faced by women and/or girls
  • Are market-driven and post-revenue
  • Have tested their business model and seen it to be sustainable
  • Are innovative in who they serve (target market), how they serve them (model), and/or the door they’re opening for women (impact)
  • Are ready to scale their business to maximise social impact and financial returns and for revenue-share as the investment structure
  • Are leveraging technology to provide women and/or girls with access to financial capital, healthcare, skill building and job placement, education, and supply chain (specifically around the distribution of essential goods and services)
  • Are run by entrepreneurs who are nimble and laser-focused on their customers
  • Have a gender diverse team with strong local representation

How Startups May Apply

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis via the coLABS website. For more information on the application process, the investment model and funding criteria, visit the website: www.gmccolabs.com.

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

Kenyan Agritech Startup Taimba Raises $100k To Scale Operations

July 26, 2019
Kenyan Agritech startup

Kenyan agritech startup Taimba has joined the league of African startup fundraisers. US impact investor Gray Matters Capital is committing $100 000 in the Nairobi-based B2B agritech startup to help it scale its operations.

Kenyan Agritech startup
 

Here Is The Deal

  • The investment from Gray Matters Capital was made through its gender lens early-stage fund GMC coLabs.
  • The startup explained that the markets it wants to take on in Nairobi are Umoja, Kayole, Pipeline/Imara Daima, Kawagware/Waiyaki way, Kahawa west/Githurai, and Southlands/Langata.
  • Last year, Taimba was one of 15 startups selected to join the Make-IT accelerator. 
  • The startup also emerged the winner of the inaugural Disrupt Africa Live Pitch Competition which was held in Nairobi last year.
    Taimba also won $10 000 at the 2018 Food+City Challenge Prize at SXSW.
  • The deal also marks GMC coLabs fourth investment in Africam with investment ticket sizes of up to $250 000. The impact investor’s other investees include Rwanda’s African Renewal Energy Distributor (ARED), Ghana’s Redbird Health Tech and Nigeria’s Sonocare.
  • In addition, the investor has also supported two other start-ups from the continent — Kenya’s parent advisory turned e-commerce start-up MumsVillageand Sierra Leone based Mosabi as part of its global digital accelerator program — GMC Calibrator earlier this year.

A Look At Taimba

  • Taimba is a mobile-based platform that connects rural small scale farmers to urban retailers, restaurants, hospitals, and schools in Nairobi.
  • The startup was founded in 2017 by Dominique Kavuisya and Joan Kavuisya
  • Taimba aims to remove middlemen, shrink the agricultural value chain, cut wastage and make products more affordable. 
  • Gray Matters Capital said the startup currently works with 2000 farmers as well as 15 farmer savings and credit co-operatives that sell products that include potatoes, tomatoes, cabbages, and carrots.
  • Informal greengrocers make up the bulk of Taimba’s 310 customers at 85%, this while restaurants and cafes make up 10% of its customer list, with schools and hospitals located outside of Nairobi making up 5% of its clientele.

“The funding is a shot in the arm for us to strengthen our warehouse infrastructure by setting up cold storage facilities and also our delivery logistics so that we can cater to six new markets within Nairobi,” noted Taimba’s CEO Kavuisya.

  • Outside of Nairobi, Taimba is planning to launch a pilot in Mombasa and Kisumu City by next year. In addition, the startup is also looking to produce new products that include fruits, nuts, and eggs as part of its farm product catalogue.
  • The startup also has plans to replicate its model in Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Rwanda over the next five years.
  • GMC coLabs portfolio manager Jennifer Soltis said Taimba has built a solution that can be replicated in other markets in East Africa “with minimal tweaks”.
  • The startup’s first deal which was signed last month marks Taimba’s first investment. The company currently employs a team of seven permanent staff and five part-time workers.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.

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