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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

• 🏦 About Investors

• 📈 Deep Dive Bites

• 🚀 Startup Of the Week

• 💼 Investor of the Week

• 🤑 Opportunity Radar

📰 Important News

• The UNDP, with African governments and private sector partners, plans to raise $1 billion for a network of technology hubs across Africa, starting with the launch of the first hub in Lagos, Nigeria, soon.

• The Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) in Ghana is relocating from East Legon, where it has been for 16 years, to a new location in Osu, Accra.

• NeuRaL AI, based in Nigeria and specializing in AI solutions, has launched REACTOR, an AI platform aimed at helping businesses integrate Generative AI into their operations effortlessly.

• NITDA is considering creating Nigerium, an indigenous blockchain, to protect Nigeria's data and enhance national security, following discussions with delegates from the University of Hertfordshire Law School in Abuja.

• Huawei announced its plans to establish a digital prototype village in Uganda with a network tower, digital power micro-grid solar station, and smart classrooms to support the Parish Development Model (PDM).

💸 Top Funding Rounds

• Nala, a Tanzanian remittance startup, raised $40 million in a Series A round led by Acrew Capital to expand its services, including a new B2B payments platform and extending remittance operations to Asia and Latin America.

• CREI has secured $20 million to solarize telecom towers in South Sudan, $15 million from the African Development Bank's Energy Inclusion Facility, and $5 million from Finnfund.

• BasiGo Rwanda received a RWF 300 million ($225K) recoverable grant from Ireme Invest to upgrade charging infrastructure for its electric public transport buses in Kigali, including a new station capable of supporting at least 20 buses overnight.

• NuRAN Wireless, a provider of mobile and broadband wireless infrastructure solutions, closed a $5 million loan facility with Cygnum Capital's Facility for Energy Inclusion (FEI) to expand site construction across Africa.

• Kenya-based Jump Energy has secured €100,000 ($108.8K) in pre-seed funding upon joining the imec.istart accelerator program.

🏦 About Investors

• Innovate Africa Fund has launched with an initial $2.5 million to support up to 20 early-stage startups in its first year, aiming to address issues like security, unemployment, and poverty through purpose-driven technology.

• Oasis Capital Ghana has achieved the first close of Oasis Africa Fund II at $33.3 million, the largest local Ghanaian fund to date, and aims to reach a final close of $120 million by June 2025.

• Ilan Benhaim, co-founder of French unicorn Veepee, has launched MFOUNDERS, an investment club focused on Moroccan entrepreneurs.

📈 Deep Dive Bites

Discover the dynamic forces propelling Kenya's burgeoning startup scene. Uncover the most active Startup Investors, their activity, leadership, and strategic investments. Dive into the full article to explore these influential players, gaining valuable insights into the opportunities shaping Kenya's entrepreneurial landscape.

🚀 Startup Of the Week

Introducing our Startup of the Week 🏆

NALA

Tanzania-born fintech company NALA has raised an impressive $40 million in Series A funding. Acrew Capital led the heavily subscribed funding round, joined by DST Global, Norrsken22, HOF Capital, and returning investors Amplo and NYCA Partners.

Founded in 2017 for local Tanzanian transfers, NALA shifted to international remittances in 2021. Now, it enables money transfers from the EU, UK, and US to 11 African countries. In March 2024, NALA launched Rafiki, a B2B platform for global-to-Africa transactions.

NALA plans to use the new funding to expand beyond Africa into Asian and Latin American markets, while also improving its global payment infrastructure.

💼 Investor of the Week

Introducing our Investor of the Week 🏆

Innovate Africa Fund

Innovate Africa Fund launched with $2.5 million to invest in early-stage African startups. Founded by Kristin Wilson and Christian Idiodi, the fund is planning to invest in up to 20 startups in its first year, with an average investment of $50,000 per venture.

With its founder-first approach, the fund aims to offer a comprehensive support package that includes expert guidance in finance, governance, public relations, and strategy to a comprehensive support package that includes expert guidance in finance, governance, public relations, and strategy

🤑 Opportunity Radar

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