Startups in Africa received a total of at least $141.3m in funding during the week in review across 15 deals with 4 of them raising undisclosed amounts. MFS Africa got the lion share of over 70% with their Series C Extension of $100m which was a mix of equity and Debt.
Worthy of mention is Nigerian BNPL Fintech, Credpal, who received an undisclosed amount from Cairos Angel’s Syndicate Fund, marking CASF’s first investment in a Nigerian firm. A pioneer in the African BNPL space, CredPal has raised a total of $16.7 million in funding according to Crunchbase, including $1.5m in 2020, and $15m this March in a bridge round comprising equity and debt to expand its consumer credit offerings to other key markets namely Egypt, Kenya, Ghana, and Cameroon.
Credpal, previously backed by Y-Combinator, Google, and Greenhouse Capital, allows businesses and individuals to make purchases in instalments by providing them with instant access to credit. CredPal says that it works with more than 4,000 active merchants, and that customers can use the service for transactions from ₦2,000 up to ₦5 million.
In other news from the ecosystem;
● The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank, plans to make an equity investment of up to €25 million ($26.43) into the Partech Africa Fund II (PAF II) by the Paris-based VC firm Partech. The agency said it will commit a further €15 million ($15.9 million) for future co-investment opportunities together with the fund. The PAF II will invest in “seed to Series D rounds, and follow-on rounds in top portfolio companies”.
● Launch Africa Ventures, launched in July 2020 by Zachariah George and Janade du Plessis, with chairperson Margaret O’Connor also on the board, closed its its inaugural fund, Launch Africa Ventures Fund 1 in March at US$36.3 million, with investments from 238 retail and institutional investors in 40 countries.
● In the third version of Hindsight Ventures’ Wazo Challenge, and the first time it is happening in Kenya, ten Kenyan startups have been selected to take part in the challenge, where they will compete for a cash grant of US$10,000 and other perks.
● Egypt-based Tanmeyah for Microfinance Services, a subsidiary of EFG Hermes Holding, has acquired Fatura, a provider of B2B e-commerce marketplace and digital financing services for an undisclosed sum.
● Santam, South Africa’s leading short-term insurer, has increased its interest in local insurtech startup JaSure by acquiring the remaining 49 per cent shareholding, in a bid to enhance its digital offering.
● Ghana, on Tuesday 16th of June, inaugurated its national development bank, which started operations with about US$750 million in seed capital. Called Development Bank Ghana, it is intended to “make long-term financing available to the private sector,” and to “develop the ecosystem for market access, technology, and innovation.”
● Africa Data Centres, part of the Cassava Technologies Group, a pan-African technology group, is building a second data center in Cape Town, South Africa. The new 20 MW facility will cover 15,000 square meters in eight data halls and is situated on the northern periphery of Cape Town’s city center.
● Flutterwave Appoints Former American Express Executive, Oneal Bhambani as Chief Financial Officer. Oneal joins from American Express, where he was Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Head of Capital Markets of Kabbage, one of the world’s largest fintech platforms offering credit, banking and payments solutions.
