Happy New Year! Our estimates for the 2021 venture funding in Africa is ready. But while we spruce up the finer details, here is a snapshot of what the first week of 2022 got the African startups.
Ghanaian Healthtech mPharma Raises USD 35 Mn Funding Round
Ghanaian healthtech mPharma raised the highest amount of funding last week in its latest series D round. The startup garnered USD 35 Mn from JAM FUND, Unbound, Justin Mateen, Lux Capital Northstar, Social Capital, Novastar, and TO Ventures to help build the its data infrastructure, triple its talent pool over the next three years, and support expansion plans in its current and new markets.
The financing raised, brings the total amount raised by mPharma to USD 65; a USD 30 Mn equity round and a USD 5 Mn debt from Citibank. mPharma has its Telehealth services available in Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia, Malawi, Rwanda and Ethiopia.
Nigeria’s Metro Africa Xpress Raises USD 31 Mn Series B Funding Round
Metro Africa Xpress (MAX), a vehicle subscription platform for low-to-zero emission vehicles in Nigeria, also secured a heft amount of funding from global private equity platform Lightrock, Global Ventures, Proparco, and Novastar Ventures. The USD 31 Mn Series B round is set to go into deploying electric vehicles and charging infrastructure and providing credit and financial products to over 100,000 drivers.
According to MAX, the funding will also be used to enter Ghana and Egypt by the end of the first quarter of 2022, and other additional markets in Francophone, East and Southern Africa by the close of the same year.
Egypt’s EdVentures Invests In Three Egyptian Edtech Startups
Edtech-focused venture capital EdVentures in partnership with The Academy of Scientific Research and Technology, invested an undisclosed amount into three Egyptian edtech startups. The startups; OBM Education, Super Fny, and Crafty Workshop are also set to participate in EdVentures’ three-month acceleration program.
2 Kenyan, 1 Benin Fintech Secure Funding
Fintechs garnered 27.3% of the total funding raised last week. This was a close tie with Edtechs and E-Commerce startups. Kenyan fintech Paylend raised USD 2 Mn seed funding from Next Chymia Consulting HK Limited. The startup plans to use the capital to expand its operations in the Kenyan market and open new markets in Tanzania, Zambia, and Nigeria as part of its three-year growth plan.
Alvin, a Kenyan smart money manager app raised USD 740 K pre-seed funding from Ingressive Capital, Zephyr Acorn, Voltron Capital, Future Africa, Tahseen Consulting, Tony Nicola, Shola Akinlade, and Forum Ventures to improve its product.
Benin fintech company Fedapay, raised its first round of investment from Benin Business Angel Network (BBAN).
Namibia’s Maiden Investment Of The Year
JABU’s USD 3.2 Mn financing round put Namibia on the funding map alongside giants like Nigeria, Kenya, and Egypt. JABU is a Namibian business-to-business e-commerce startup that helps suppliers effectively manage their orders and market and campaign their businesses. The round was led by Afore Capital with participation from Y Combinator, FJ Labs, Quiet Capital, Kli Capital, Pareto Capital, and other unnamed angels.
Sub-Saharan Mergers And Acquisitions
US-based and MENA-servicing B2B healthcare marketplace Aumet announced its acquisition of Egypt-based Healthcare supply chain solutions startup Platform One to become fully active across Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Jordan with more than 5,000 active pharmacies on its platform. With its acquisition of Platform one, Aumet now has access to Platform One’s network of users where the Cairo-based team will lead Aumet’s operations in Egypt.
Deal Street Round Up
– Isizwe, an internet service provider that offers online access to low-income communities in South Africa, raised USD 460 K in funding from Global Innovation Fund (GIF) to de-risk its model and encourage further investment.
– Egypt-based e-commerce startup and B2B fashion marketplace Gahez raised USD 2 Mn in its latest funding round. The pre-Seed round was led by Disruptech Ventures with the participation of Egypt Ventures, Tanmeyah, Afropreneur fund, and other strategic angel investors.
– Enda, one of Africa’s first running shoe company has raised USD 1.1 Mn Series A round from Talanton, a private U.S.-based impact investment fund to expand its brand.
– Ventures Platform, a Nigeria-based one early-stage tech investor, announced the first close of a USD 40 Mn pan-African fund that will expand its portfolio and double down on winners. The first close was led by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) and featured participation from existing investors including, UAC Nigeria, VFD Group, Gbenga Oyebode, Shola Akinlade of Paystack. Global investors like Y Combinator’s Michael Seibel and Adam Draper also participated.