July Industry News

01 July 2023

 

A collection of news across the African private equity and venture capital industry

Startup COOKO raises €800k for cocoa traceability

Ag-tech startup COOKO has raised €800,000 in pre-seed financing to develop its traceability system that aims to monitor the cocoa supply chain from farmer to food producer and help support sustainability.

Source: Securing Industry

Berry Health raises $1.6m pre-seed funding

London-based consumer health startup Berry Health raised $1.6m from Lightspeed Venture Partners and General Catalyst to democratize access to healthcare in Africa, starting out with mental health, sexual health and dermatology.

Source: London Business Wire

DRC solar company, Nuru, raises US$40mn

Nuru, a startup focused on energy solutions, has recently attained a significant milestone by securing $40 million in equity funding.

Source: Tech In Africa


Gemcorp Capital supports Walkabout's Tanzanian graphite mine

Gemcorp Capital supports Walkabout's Tanzanian graphite mine to commence production by end 2023.

Source: Gemcorp


Nigerian mobility fintech Moove closes US$8mn

Nigeria's mobility fintech company Moove, Uber's largest vehicle supply partner in EMEA, has secured US$8 million in financing from Absa

Source: Disrupt Africa


SoftBank invests in African renewable energy

Dubai-based AMEA Power secures $75 mn funding from Japan's SoftBank. AMEA Power, a renewable energy developer in Africa, announced this week that it has secured $75 million in equity funding from SoftBank Group (SBG) Corp, a Japanese investment holding company.

Source: Energy & Utilities


Verdant Capital funds Patasente Uganda

Verdant Capital is pleased to announce a revolving credit facility for Patasente Uganda (“Patasente”), a digital trade services platform

Source:  Verdant Capital

TLG Capital leads Zuvy's US$4.5mn funding round

Zuvy, a Nigerian-based invoice financing company, has emerged from stealth with $4.5M in equity and debt funding, led by TLG Capital.

Source: Further Africa

BlueOrchard holds second closing of climate fund 

IIF PE II aims to build resilience against climate change and provide affordable climate risk insurance protection to vulnerable populations and small businesses. It follows in the footsteps of its predecessor, whose nine portfolio companies have so far provided insurance cover to over 48 million beneficiaries in more than 45 countries (as of June 2023).

Source: BlueOrchard

 

Egyptian fintech Flash raises US$6mn in seed round 

Driving financial inclusion through digital payment methods is among the top priorities for the governments of Africa’s biggest tech ecosystems where cash is still king. Several initiatives launched by these governments have increased the number of banked citizens in their respective countries.

Source: TechCrunch

Climate Fund Managers invest in Solar Technology

Climate Fund Managers (CFM), a leading climate-centric blended finance fund manager and manager of renewable energy focused blended fund, Climate Investor One (CI1), today announced that CI1 achieved commercial close of a $102 million investment in Norwegian renewable energy company Release by Scatec (Release), a wholly owned subsidiary of Scatec ASA (Scatec).

Source: Climate Fund Managers