Startup Researcher - Africa: Week 27, 2024

Hello there,

Welcome to another edition of 🔍 Startup Researcher - Africa, your essential digest delivering the latest news and premium insights on startups and venture capital across the region 🌍

If you haven't subscribed yet, now's the perfect time. Don't miss the opportunity to supercharge your understanding and stay ahead in this dynamic world.

Let's delve into the core sections of our weekly newsletter:

• 📰 Important News

• 💸 Top Funding Rounds

• 💰️ Notable Exits

• 📈 Deep Dive Bites

• 🚀 Startup Of the Week

• 💼 Investor of the Week

• 🤑 Opportunity Radar

📰 Important News

• Copia Global, the Kenyan B2C e-commerce startup that raised over $123 million in funding, has ceased efforts to revive its business and will liquidate assets to pay creditors.

• Meta has announced that content creators in Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya can now monetize their content on Facebook and Instagram through In-Stream Ads and Ads on Reels.

• Uganda has implemented a 25% import duty on fully electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles, and electric motorcycles, while local EV manufacturers meeting eligibility criteria will be exempt from this duty.

• Mano, an Angolan grocery delivery startup, has entered the food delivery market in Lagos and Abuja, introducing a new model that allows customers to track their deliveries within a 10km radius of its restaurant partners.

• Mohammed VI Investment Fund's call for startup fund managers has attracted 47 applications including 12 by local bidders, 33 by international bidders, and 2 by mixed consortiums.

💸 Top Funding Rounds

• Egyptian edtech startup El Kheta raised $400,000 from EdVentures, Nahdet Misr Group's investment arm.

• Valu, one of MENA's leading fintech firms, closed its 10th securitized bond issuance worth EGP 1.2 billion ($25 M), part of a larger EGP 9 billion ($190 M) program.

• Nigerian startup Blueroomcare, offering insurance-covered digital therapy, has raised pre-seed funding to advance its goal of making therapy affordable and accessible across Africa.

• Pumpkn, a South African startup focused on closing the funding gap in agriculture, has secured investment from Renew Capital.

• Launch Africa, Africa's leading startup investor, announced last week its investment in Q4 2023 in Servisor, an online platform for car servicing based in South Africa.

💰️ Notable Exits

• Nigerian firm Prembly, specializing in customer identity solutions, has merged with Kenya's Peleza to form the Prembly Group, aiming to expand and strengthen their presence in East Africa.

• Octoco, a fast-growing group of technology companies in Stellenbosch, has acquired Polymorph, a South African software product development consultancy.

📈 Deep Dive Bites

African startups faced challenges in the first half of 2024, with a 24% decrease in deals and a 55% drop in funding compared to 2023. Despite this, Kenya and South Africa led in startup activity, and sectors like fintech, energy, and logistics continued to attract investor interest.

Read the full article for detailed insights on funding trends, top investors, and notable exits in Africa's resilient startup ecosystem.

🚀 Startup Of the Week

Introducing our Startup of the Week 🏆

Prembly

Prembly (formerly Indentitypass), a Nigerian firm specializing in customer identity solutions has merged with Kenya's identity management startup Peleza to establish the Prembly Group.

Founded in 2021, Prembly is an AI-powered Security Infrastructure and Compliance software for the Identity Verification and Fraud Prevention/Detection market. The company went through YC in 2022 and managed to raise $2.8 million in seed funding the same year from Soma Capital and Mac Venture Capital.

💼 Investor of the Week

Introducing our Investor of the Week 🏆

Launch Africa

Launch Africa, the continent's foremost startup investor, announced its Q4 2023 investment in Servisor, a South African-based online car servicing platform. As the leading Pan-African venture capital fund, Launch Africa addresses the critical funding gap in Seed and pre-Series A investments across Africa. With a decade of experience in venture building and partnerships with some of the continent's most innovative founders, they support startups across diverse sectors, regions, and products, targeting Africa's most significant challenges. To date, Launch Africa has invested in over 150 companies across 22 countries through two funds.

🤑 Opportunity Radar

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