January Industry News

10 Jan 2022

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

Kerry Group acquires Rwanda-based food flavouring company Afribon 

The Kerry Group has expanded its footprint in Africa following its acquisition of Rwanda-based Afribon. Launched in 2012, Afribon is specialised in the development, production and marketing of food flavours and comprises five production sites, in Cameroon and East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania). 

Source: African Private Equity News

4DX Ventures closes US$60m second fund

4DX Ventures, an African early-stage venture firm, announced it has completed the final close of its second fund which launched in Q1 2021, at an amount of $60 million compared to its original target of US$50mn. In addition to the final close of its second fund, the firm has added two experienced general partners, and Dikembe Mutombo as a senior advisor.

Source: African Private Equity News

Egypt-based e-commerce platform raises US$2m in pre-seed funding

Egypt-based e-commerce startup and B2B fashion marketplace Gahez has successfully raised $2 million in its latest funding round. The pre-seed round was led by Disruptech Ventures with the participation of Egypt Ventures, Tanmeyah (an EFG Hermes company), Afropreneur fund, and other strategic angel investors.

Source: African Private Equity News

Nigeria: Solar company raises funding from All On and Katapult

NXT Grid, a one-stop shop for solar mini-grids, has raised $1.4 million from investors All On and Katapult Climate. 

Source: African Private Equity News

Barati Mahloele to lead Tiger Brands Venture Capital Fund

South African food company Tiger Brands has announced the appointment of Barati Mahloele as venture capital fund director from 10 January 2022. Barati will lead the Tiger Brands Venture Capital Fund which aims to invest in entrepreneurs with businesses that align to its consumer-relevant growth platforms of health and nutrition, snackification, and economical food options.

Source: Food Business Africa

African e-commerce platform secures US$6.2mn funding

Afrikrea, the e-commerce platform for “all things made of Africa”, has announced the successful completion of a US$6.2mn pre-series A round led by Investisseurs & Partenaires and the rebrand to ANKA, its all-in-one solution for selling anywhere, shipping globally and receiving payments quickly. The new investment includes participation from Alibaba’s executive vice-chairman Joe Tsai, BESTSELLER Foundation, VestedWorld, Enigmo, Groupe Prunay and Rising Tide Africa. 

Source: Business Day 

Ajim Capital launches US$10mn fund for African companies in the tech space

Ajim Capital has launched a $10 million fund to invest in African tech start-ups. The fund will provide cheques of $25,000 to $150,000 to pre-seed to seed tech-enabled companies across the continent. Ajim Capital is looking for start-ups that fit its established criteria – potential for rapid growth and fast adoption.  

 Source: African Private Equity News 

Kenyan BNPL startup Lipa Later eyes more African markets after raising US$12mn

Lipa Later, a Kenyan tech-led consumer credit platform, is planning to expand to new markets in Africa after raising US$12mn in pre-Series A funding. The equity and debt funding round saw the participation of Cauris Finance, Lateral Frontiers VC, GreenHouse Capital, SOSV IV LLC, Sayani Investments and Axian Financial Services.

Source: Techcrunch

Ghana: AgDevCO sells stake in agriculture business

AgDevCo, a specialist investor in African agriculture, announced that Oba Pack Company Limited, a Ghanaian-owned agribusiness, purchased the Babator Farming Company Limited (BFC) on 31 December 2021. Prior to the sale, AgDevCo Limited was the sole owner of BFC.

Source: African Private Equity News

Capital Eye exits Argility Technology Group in trade sale

Smollan Group – an intelligent commerce solutions business – has acquired Argility Technology Group (ATG) from Capital Eye Investments, a private equity and venture capital company that invests in technology driven businesses with a particular focus on emerging markets. ATG is a software developer and supplier to the retail and supply chain sectors.

Source: Africa Capital Digest

Egyptian ed-tech Orcas raises $2.1m pre-Series A funding as it expands to Pakistan

Egyptian ed-tech startup Orcas has raised a US$2.1 million pre-Series A funding round as it prepares to expand into Pakistan in the early months of this year.  Orcas provides K-12 students with live one-on-one tutoring sessions, both online and in-person. 

Source: Disrupt Africa

Africa50 and Novastar Ventures back Poa Internet

Poa Internet and Africa50 today announced the completion of Africa50’s equity investment into Poa. This funding is part of the US$28mn financing round led by Africa50, which will be used to support the company’s future growth plans across Kenya, as well as launch the business into further African markets.

Source: African Private Equity News

Africa Go Green Fund signs a US$5.5mn loan with clean energy company

The Africa Go Green Fund for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (AGG) signed its second transaction, a $5.5 million medium-term senior secured loan with Bboxx, a holding company for several next-generation utility companies expanding access to clean energy and clean cooking across Africa.

Source: African Private Equity News

Finclusion raises US$20mn to build out credit-led neobank offering across Africa

Finclusion Group, a fintech that uses AI algorithms to provide financial services to African customers via an array of credit-centric products, has raised US$20mn in debt and equity pre-Series A financing. Investors in the round include Andela and Flutterwave co-founder Iyin Aboyeji (who invested via his VC firm Future Africa), LendInvest founder Christian Faes and ComplyAdvantage founder Charlie Delingpole.

Source: Tech Crunch

Ugandan fintech Asaak raises US$30mn to support the acquisition of motorbikes, smartphones by taxi operators

Asaak, a Ugandan asset financing startup, has secured $30 million in pre-Series A equity and debt funding. The round saw the participation of new and existing investors including Resolute Ventures, Social Capital, HOF Capital, Founders Factory Africa, End Poverty Make Trillions, Decentralised VC and a number of angel investors.

Source: Tech Crunch

Ghanaian fintech Float raises US$17mn seed to power cash flow for commerce in Africa

The fintech which provides credit lines for businesses has raised US$17mn, funding that it will be using to bolster its offerings and expand geographically. The seed round was a mix of US$7mn equity and US$10mn debt. While Cauris provided debt financing, Tiger Global and JAM Fund, the investment firm of Tinder co-founder Justin Mateen co-led the equity bit. Other VC firms involved in the equity round include Kinfolk, Soma Capital, Ingressive Capital and Magic Fund.

Source: Tech Crunch

Senegalese logistics and delivery company PAPS raises US$4.5mn led by 4DX Ventures and Orange

Today PAPS is announcing that it has raised a US$4.5mn pre-Series A round to expand its tech-enabled logistics solution across the Francophone region. The round was co-led by pan-African venture capital firm 4DX Ventures and regional telecom operator Orange. Participating investors include existing funds Uma Ventures and Saviu Ventures and new investors Yamaha Motor, LoftyInc Capital, Proparco, Google Ventures, To.org, Kepple Ventures and Enza Capital.

Source: Tech Crunch

BluePeak announces first investment from flagship US$200mn private capital fund to Grit, a breakthrough pan–African real estate platform

BluePeak Private Capital - an alternative asset management firm with a strong focus on Africa - today announced its investment in Grit Real Estate Income Group Limited ("Grit"), a breakthrough pan–African real estate company. The investment operationalises Grit's development plan to boost industrial and health facilities in East Africa - improving access to essential goods and quality healthcare.