The Kenyan startup has secured $2 million in pre-seed funding and is headed for its next phase of growth, which will involve extending loans to traders offering more relief to those that are often left out and regarded as high risk by the traditional banking sector. Fredrik Jung Abbou; a two-time unicorn founder and Norrsken Impact Accelerator were among the investors that funded the firm while the debt round had the participation of French Public Investment Bank (Bpifrance) and GreenTec Capital Partners. The funds include $1 million equity and $1
The recent events where Davido asked his loyal fans, friends, and colleagues for money – raising a whopping 200M Naira, which will be distributed to organizations helping vulnerable Nigerians, has shown the power of technology and how it can be used for good. On November 17 – the musician took to Instagram and Twitter and asked fans and friends who believe “I’ve given you a hit song” to send money to a bank account he detailed under his name. He asked them to send one million nairas each, and they
DrugStoc has raised $4.4 million in a Series A funding round led by Africa Healthcare Master Fund, Vested World, the German Development Bank and others. The investors will play a vital role in the sector’s continued growth. The firm plans to open more fulfillment centers and increase transit points and routes. It also hopes to provide more improved logistic alternatives for deliveries projected to be tardy. The founders plan to tap into more investment prospects in cold chain infrastructure with the hope of creating safer distribution for perishable items. To
Shuttlers, a “tech-enabled scheduled bus sharing” company, has raised $1.6 million in seed funding from several investors to blitz scale within and outside Nigeria. Via its ridesharing platform, the firm provides companies with better mobility options for their employees. It also offers a fully functional app that allows mobile professionals on its three plans to book rides. In addition, through the platform, commuters can book a seat on one bus that goes along predetermined and scheduled routes. The company said that some of its other features include live bus tracking, optimal routing
An African healthcare startup running several hospitals has secured $18 million in a Series A round. These funds will build its “tech-forward healthcare system” across Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria. The funding round for Africal Health Holdings, led by Asia Pacific Land/Natural World Limited, saw the participation of several investors, including TRB Advisors, Breyer Capital, M3, Inc., Valiant Capital, Kepple Ventures, and SUNU Capital. Based in West Africa, Africa Health Holdings will use the new capital to expand its telemedicine service beyond Ghana to countries like Nigeria and Kenya. The startup’s MyCareMobile
A minority-owned platform that allows you to compare colleges, course options, and tuition fees all in one go has just managed to raise $1M in a pre-seed round that will go towards improving its search and recommendation technology. Craydel was launched earlier this year by co-founders Manish Sardana, John Nguru, and Shayne Aman Premji. It was inspired by the lack of a reliable portal in Africa to guide the big decisions on which college and course selection students will take. The trio then decided to bring to life a platform that would eliminate this
Of course, the closure announcement was a big shock to everyone since Disha had reportedly bootstrapped to more than 20,000 users and had claimed to have a monthly growth rate of about 100 percent. No one expected this would happen, but as with most startups – resources are a significant problem, and a lack of them can mean great companies fall through the gap. The Nigeria-based platform allows digital creators to curate, sell digital content, create portfolios, and receive payments from their audience globally. This is a $100 billion economy.
MFS Africa, an inter-operability hub connecting mobile network operators across the continent through a single API, has raised $100 million in a Series C round. That’s a pretty significant number for a Series C funding round, and it’s split between $70 million equity and $30 million debt. Private equity fund AfricInvest FIVE co-led the round with existing investors Goodwell Investments and LUN Partners Group. New investors CommerzVentures, Allan Gray Ventures, Endeavor Catalyst, and Endeavor Harvest joined in while ShoreCap III returned as an existing investor with other funds. For someone who spent more than
Less than half of Britain’s Black business owners – 43 percent – trust banks to support their interests, a new survey has revealed. The report, entitled ‘Black British In Business and Proud’, highlights the issue of structural racism in terms of accessing capital, and its impact on Black business owners. The research, which was sponsored by Lloyds Bank and undertaken by Savanta, surveyed 808 participants from Black communities in Britain – 345 of whom were Black business owners. It revealed that Black business owners are 21% more likely to be self-financed than
Google has teamed up with the University of Nairobi and Africa Centre for Advanced Technology to honor the 71st birthday of Professor Duncan Okoth Okombo in their latest Doodle illustrated by Kenyan artist Joe Impressions. The Doodle of Okombo was featured on Google’s homepage. His contributions throughout his lifetime, spanning 66 years, have pinned him as the founder of African sign language studies. In addition, the University of Nairobi held a virtual commemoration on the University of Nairobi’s YouTube Channel from 11.30 am. Speaking during the virtual commemoration the Vice-Chancellor, University of Nairobi, Prof. Stephen G. Kiama,
