Member News

The investment will support UsPlus’ expansion of working capital solutions tailored to Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) operating across various critical sectors in South Africa.

Proparco has announced a €10 million investment in the latest fund dedicated to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from AfricInvest, a long-standing partner and major player in impact investing in Africa.

Egypt’s Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise Development Agency (MSMEDA) a government body focused on empowering small businesses, has made a strategic move to bolster the country’s growing startup ecosystem with a USD 7.5 M investment across three regional venture capital funds.

DEG is providing South African online insurance platform Naked with USD 4 million in equity capital. This new injection of capital will support the company’s growth by deepening its investment in automation and AI, product and market expansion, and enhancing advertising to attract and grow its customer base. DEG first invested in Naked in 2023. The total volume of the current round of financing is approximately USD 38 million. The investors also include global impact investor BlueOrchard and the existing backers IFC (a member of the World Bank Group), Yellowwoods and Hollard.

Visa has joined African fintech Moniepoint as a new investor. The business banking and payments platform confirmed to TechCrunch that it received a “strategic investment” from the global payments giant as both companies look to drive financial inclusion and support the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Africa.

Mauritius/Abidjan, 22 January 2025 - Adiwale Fund I (“Adiwale”) announces a follow-on investment in Enko Education, a group of African international schools, to support its expansion across the continent. With 16 schools across 10 African countries (Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Mozambique, Senegal, South Africa, Togo and Zambia), Enko Education is the largest network of International Baccalaureate schools in Africa. It provides quality education to 7,500 students, half of which are female.

NAIROBI, Kenya, January 21, 2025 — Sevi, a fintech company regulated by the Central Bank of Kenya, is revolutionizing stock financing for wholesalers and retailers through its “stock now, pay later” platform. Sevi addresses the challenge of insufficient working capital by providing users with access to credit while ensuring suppliers are paid upfront.

London and Nairobi, January 14, 2024—Sistema.bio, a global leader in the delivery of biogas technology, financing, and services for family farmers worldwide, announces Novastar Ventures as its newest investor. Novastar has joined Sistema.bio’s recent internal financing round of USD 7.75 million with a USD 3.5 million investment. This will accelerate Sistema.bio’s expansion into new African markets, new agricultural and energy products and its overall growth.

Holder of an MBA from IAE Paris Sorbonne Business School and from Université Paris Dauphine and Fellow Member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA), Varounen Goinden brings extensive expertise in the international financial services sector. His professional career is marked by strategic positions, notably as Director of Operations of Management Companies and Head of Business Development for Mauritius, India and Africa.