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Nigerian Cleantech Startup Powerstove Secures Funding From GreenTec

October 1, 2020

GreenTec has announced that it has invested in Nigeria-based Powerstove Energy, an innovative smokeless stove and fuel system to address problems of high fuel costs and greenhouse gas emission.

“We design, manufacture, distribute and sell clean cooking stoves that self-generates electricity as a by-product of the cooking process, and we also produce wood pellets from agricultural and wood waste. Our anchor strategy has been that we avoid using the traditional marketing channels to advertise our products. Instead, we rely on word of mouth and referrals, which have grown our sales by an average of 18% month on month,” Founder and CEO Okey Esse said in an interview.

Okey Ibekwe Esse – Global Gathering 2020 — *CEO and Founder of PowerStove, Okey Esse*.

Why The Investor Invested

The latest investment by Greentec Capital Partners is one way the VC firm is diversifying its portfolio. The VC firm has previously invested in startups such as Sumundi, Coliba, Amitruck, Kwiks, Ecodudu, among others. Apart from fintech, retail-tech, ecommerce, cleantech or agritech, the VC firm is yet to make a major inroad into healthcare.

“Powerstove has developed a novel and scalable solution to addressing not just fuel costs and emissions, but more broadly to address issues of hunger and hygiene. Okey and his team have a well-developed product that is an excellent fit for its niche and they are the team to execute on it. We look forward to helping this impactful business grow and bring low-cost and high-efficiency heating to Nigerian and expanding energy access in Africa,” Xavier Chapel, Senior Company Builder for GreenTec Capital Partners said.

A Look At What Powerstove Does

Founded in 2018 by the University of Jos graduate Okey Esse, Powerstove’s solution combines sustainable resource use with tech-driven efficiency innovation into a versatile and affordable to solution. The startup converts non-recyclable paper, wood and agricultural by products of various crops into biomass pellets, which are then used to fuel the affordable, fuel efficient, and smokeless cook-stove. The innovative stove is able to produce 50 watts of continuous power, providing enough energy to charge phones, lights, cameras, and more. The stoves are also equipped with an IoT System with internal pre-programmed and programmable computer chips that controls the fan, electricity supply, and also data transfers over 2G/3G network by using input sensors and output components to control all these functions. Powerstove claims to be currently the world’s first and only clean cookstove that is built on on-board IoT System.

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

Cameroonian Startup Freshbag Secures Funding From GreenTec Partners

September 9, 2020

GreenTec has announced its investment in Freshbag, an innovative digital platform that connects farmers and vendors to ensure a fair and reliable food supply network in Cameroon.

“We are of course pretty excited. Thanks to Greentec Partnership, we now have a real opportunity to go into growth mode, scale our operations and ultimately create a bigger impact for the millions of street vendors across Africa. A dream now closer to become a reality,” Brice, CEO of Freshbag said.

Why The Investors Invested

The latest investment by GreenTec Capital Partners is part of the VC firm’s diversification plans. The firm has previously invested in startups such as Sumundi, Coliba, Amitruck, Kwiks, Ecodudu, among others. Apart from fintech, retail-tech, ecommerce, cleantech or agritech, the VC firm is yet to make a major inroad into healthcare.

“Investing in Freshbag is straightforward for GreenTec Capital. Brice and his team succeeded in creating their platform and the ecosystem in a few months, bringing real added value for agriculture cooperatives and street vendors in Yaoundé. With our support we believe Freshbag will boost its presence in Cameroon and in western Africa,” Xavier Chapel, Senior Company Builder at GreenTec Capital Partners said.

*VC presence on the African startup landscape in 2019. Source: TechCrunch*

A Look At What The Startup Does

Leveraging on their network and in-depth experience in the industry, Freshbag buys from farmers and suppliers at fair market prices and dispatches the products to thousands of street vendors in cities across Cameroon. To further strengthen the ecosystem, Freshbag is offering micro loans and technical assistance to partner farmers, distributors, and vendors. Currently, Freshbag is operating in Yaoundé, working with more than 700 vendors and 2000 farmers in the area. Moreover, Freshbag was able to grow and manage a reliable and easily expandable network of distributors that will help extend their reach and widen the range of available products in the near future.

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

Ghanaian Retail-tech Startup Sumundi Raises Funding From GreenTec Capital

May 2, 2020

Awura Abena Amponsah and Gilbert Blankson-Afful, co-founders of Sumundi

GreenTech Capital is one Africa-focused venture capital firm that is not choosing to invest differently because of the coronavirus pandemic. The VC has invested an undisclosed amount of funding in the Ghanaian startup Sumundi, which has developed an innovative digital retail management platform designed to help retailers manage, grow, and sustain their businesses, has secured funding from GreenTec Capital to help it expand operations.

“We find this collaboration a great opportunity. Beyond GreenTec’s bespoke support, we are looking forward to working with their incredible team and learning from their years of expertise. We are certain that this partnership will help Sumundi create immense value for Africa, beyond what we can imagine or put a price tag on,” said Awura Abena Amponsah and Gilbert Blankson-Afful, co-founders of Sumundi.

Here Is What You Need To Know

Although this amount involved in this round of funding is undisclosed, Sumundi hopes to use the funding to pre-finance its hardware components, engage in consistent marketing and public education, and build a team suited for bigger scale.
The Germany-based GreenTec Capital, which makes small investments in African tech startups says its real value-add comes from its “company-building” model.

Why The Investor Invested

GreenTec Capital is a German-based venture capital firm that invests in African startups and SMEs with a focus on combining social and environmental impact with financial success. The German investment firm has invested in a host of African startups, including Kenyan AI startup SuperFluid Labs, Nigerian logistics startup Parcel-it, Kenyan insurtech platform Bismart, and Zambian energy company WidEnergy.

“Small shops, formal and informal, are a very strong economic engine in Africa. Sumundi’s solution is fast-tracking the digital inclusion of these small businesses, in turn allowing them to become more efficient, grow their revenues and create new jobs. We are thrilled to be starting this journey with Sumundi’s co-founders and their team,” said Maxime Bayen, senior company builder at GreenTec.

‘‘GreenTec Capital Partners invests in African start-ups and SMEs with a focus on combining social and environmental impact with financial success. We use capacity building, process optimization and a diverse team of international experts to help them implement and adapt the latest technologies to their models so they can extend their value chains and have more impact locally. Our mandate is to maintain at least 75 percent impact focused enterprises and we aspire to grow 400 companies by 2023,’’ the VC notes.

Read also: Startups In Namibia To Get $800 From Covid-19 StartUp Grant

A Look At What Startup Sumundi Does

Founded in 2018, Sumundi has developed a retail management platform, available online and offline, that helps store owners record sales, generate receipts, and track inventory, allowing them to keep track of what is going on in their shop in real-time.

The easy-to-use point of sale (PoS) software and inventory management software makes it easy for small shops and retailers to adopt technology into their businesses, benefitting from inventory management, accounting, e-commerce, fulfilment, and logistics services.

Sumundi was not co-founder Awura’s first startup. In 2017, she launched DiggiMall Food, a failed logistics startup where customers could get their orders delivered to their doorsteps. It seems 3 years after, there has come some help from GreenTech Capital.

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.

New Partnership To Enhance Investment Readiness For Startups, Smes Initiated

September 18, 2019

A new partnership for startups in Namibia is now in place. Business Financial Solutions and Germany-based GreenTec Capital Partners have entered into a strategic partnership to strengthen capacity building, investment readiness, and fund-raising assistance to local start-ups and SMEs in Namibia.

Here Is All You Need To Know

The newly formed partnership comes as Germany plans to invest about N$2 billion in Namibia over the next 2 years.
By applying a unique Venture Building model, the partners aim to tackle the maturity, infrastructure, and funding gaps that young SMEs and start-ups are facing in Namibia, while at the same time de-risking them for investors by applying their support and expertise.
Jointly, Business Financial Solutions and GreenTec will support high potential local start-ups and SMEs in their growth from the proof-of-concept stage to market fit and sustainability by providing customised operational support, company formation and building, investment readiness, and go-to-market strategies and execution.

How To Apply For The Fund

The partners are launching a Call for Applications addressed to entrepreneurs that are interested in receiving support through the venture building model – check www.bfs.com.na for more details as well as the application form.

Ventures will be selected based on their impact, the value they can add, and their economic sustainability.

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

GreenTec Capital Partners Signs MoU with Senegalese General Delegation for the Acceleration of Entrepreneurship for Women and Young People

July 26, 2019

The Senegalese General Delegation for the Acceleration of Entrepreneurship for Women and Young People (DER), under the auspices of the Presidency of the Republic of Senegal, signed a partnership agreement with GreenTec Capital Partners the premier German investor into African Start-ups. The purpose of the agreement is the foundation of the first regional Venture Building Center in Africa to tackle investment challenges by providing investment tickets between € 10,000 and € 500,000 for entrepreneurs at the cusp of their growth stages.

The needs of Start-ups, MSMEs, and SMEs in Africa today revolve around a balanced combination of financing and operational support.

The entrepreneurial boom and the entrepreneurial spirit on the African continent are primarily supported by the growth of new ecosystem stakeholders such as incubators, hubs, and accelerators. This momentum is nevertheless hindered by the systemic operational deficiencies that still exist within the ecosystem today. Additionally, the Start-ups are most often not well prepared to use conventional financing vehicles such as venture capital.

The agreement was signed by the Minister Delegate for Entrepreneurship, Papa Amadou Sarr, and the CEO and co-founder of the German investment company, GreenTec Capital Partners, Erick Yong, joining the mutual ambitions of the two entities to the benefit of young Senegalese entrepreneurs by providing financing of the digital sector. Strengthening the operational capacities of Start-ups, and setting up a common infrastructure to enable startups to develop sustainably.

A new and better-structured ecosystem is needed to enable entrepreneurs to move efficiently from the proof-of-concept stage with low revenues (post-accelerator) to a stage of sustainable growth, thereby overcoming the “valley of death.”

The relevance of this partnership is rooted in the alignment and the sharing of resources between different actors, ranging from the public and private sectors and including development banks and civil society organizations. The joint initiative will further enable entrepreneurs with high potential to get better access to the support they need to grow.

Accessing support in the form of personalized operational assistance will create value for entrepreneurs who have matured past the phase in which incubators and accelerators have added value. This will help to further improve the quality of Start-ups and improve their chances of success.

The guiding principle of this initiative is that Africa must not be a passive observer of its own development, but an active player that invests resources and co-designs the agenda of development. Following this thought, it is in line with the political will of Senegalese President, H.E. Macky Sall, that the Republic of Senegal has decided to integrate the venture building model developed by GreenTec Capital with the coordination of DER.

The DER, created in 2017 and operational since March 2018, has been provided with a budget of $ 5 million per year until 2023 to achieve these goals.

DER, the Senegalese General Delegation for the Acceleration of Entrepreneurship for Women and Young People is an initiative of the President of the Republic of Senegal, H.E. Macky Sall. Its priority is to support and finance Senegalese entrepreneurs in the Senegalese National Development Plan’s priority sectors, which are agriculture, the digital economy, tourism, crafts, services, and several others.

The collaboration between the Republic of Senegal and GreenTec Capital Partners coincides with the ambitions of the French initiative digital Africa led by Karim Sy. Mr. Sy has guaranteed to lend the full support of the French initiative to this new ecosystem building center, which is based on the sharing of resources and the catalyzing of actors in the African entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Through its innovation fund, the DER has already invested in 44 Senegalese startups in 2018, with ticket sizes ranging from € 10,000 to € 100,000. In 2019, the DER aims to support more than 150 digital Startups and SMEs, by investing more than 10 million euros, while supporting an additional twenty Start-ups with the GreenTec Capital venture-building model.

It is not a coincidence that the day of the signature of the agreement between the DER and GreenTec coincides with a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of “The DER Innovation HUB.” The objective is to position Senegal as a major player in the field of innovation on a regional level. The Hub will host major technology companies, innovators, incubators, and accelerators… and of course the GreenTec Capital Partners team.

The agreement also includes the establishment of the new GreenTec Capital regional office in Dakar. Designed to support and develop the operations of the largest investment structure in Germany for African start-ups in Francophone Africa. The local team will help raise the critical operational capabilities of companies to help make them more attractive to international investors.

In the last four years, GreenTec Capital’s investment model has already proven successful in 10 African countries – 4 of them in Francophone Africa, among them Rwanda, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Benin, and several others. Now, this model will be implemented in Senegal contributing to a new investment ecosystem adapted to the structural specificities of entrepreneurship on the African continent.

Due to its high adaptation to the African context, the innovative investment model is scalable across the continent. It provides opportunities to design and develop new innovative solutions formed by international partnerships that can benefit the entire continent.

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.

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/Afrikanheroes/

Zambia: Startup WidEnergy Secures Funding From GreenTec Capital

July 1, 2019

Startups in Zambia don’t have field days raising funds, like their counterparts in Nigeria, South Africa or Kenya. WidEnergy appears, however, ready to break this jinx. The startup has secured an undisclosed amount of funding from the Germany-based GreenTec Capital to expand its operations.

A Look At WidEnergy

WidEnergy is a woman-led for-profit social enterprise which is dedicated to female empowerment and the expansion of affordable energy access. It leverages an innovative pay-as-you-go (PAYG) model to provide solar-powered homes and appliances.
The company’s name is an acronym for “Women in Development,” reflecting its goal of engaging women as active participants in Africa’s energy transition.
WidEnergy works with 80 female sales agents to distribute renewable energy solutions across Zambia, focusing on core competencies in lending and distribution to develop a high-quality lending portfolio with minimized default risks.

Image result for Zambian startup — The numbers that show Africa is buzzing with an entrepreneurial spirit

It has developed partnerships to be the Zambian distributor for d.light, Greenlight Planet, and Little Sun solar appliances and home systems, and expects to connect more than 1,250 households connected by next month.
It has now secured funding from GreenTec Capital to assist it as it develops its approach and model. WidEnergy recently completed an integration with MTN-backed mobile-money payments into its platform.
The investment is GreenTec’s seventh in Africa so far, and its second this year.
The firm invested in Kenyan AI startup SuperFluid Labs in January and has also backed the likes of Nigerian logistics startup Parcel-it, Kenyan insurtech platform Bismart, Namibian CPU producer PEBL, and Kenyan recruitment platform Netwookie.

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.