News
First investment of Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund goes to Aruwa Capital Management
The first investment of the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund has gone to Aruwa Capital Management, a gender-lens $20 million fund dedicated to Nigeria's SMEs, managed by a first-time woman-led fund manager.
Identity verification startup Verified.Africa launches in Kenya
Verified.Africa, the pioneer of ID verification, document verification and digital KYC compliance solutions, announced it has launched in Kenya.
Japanese home health lab startup Bisu collaborates with Polaris Dawn to develop new ways to monitor astronaut health
Traveling in space leads to bone loss, muscle loss, and an increased risk of kidney stone formation, often starting within the first 24 hours of spaceflight as calcium levels in bone and tissue decrease.
Patria Investments announces expansion into venture capital
Patria Investments (Patria), a global alternative asset manager in Latin America, announced the launch of a new Venture Capital strategy, anchored by the acquisition of Igah Ventures, one of the pioneers of the sector in Latin America.
VENCO secures $670K pre-seed funding to deliver digital solutions for residential and commercial properties in Africa
VENCO, a technology company that provides solutions to enhance living experiences in residential and commercial communities in Africa, has secured $670K pre-seed funding round.
Plug and Play Japan selects 74 startups for its Winter/Spring 2023 Batch accelerator program
Global innovation platform, Plug and Play Japan has selected 74 startups from Japan and overseas for the Winter/Spring 2023 Batch accelerator program which will be carried out from December 2022 to March 2023.
HashKey and SEBA Bank partner to accelerate institutional adoption of digital assets in Hong Kong and Switzerland
HashKey and SEBA Bank announced a partnership to leverage their digital asset service offerings as well as custody and asset management products to accelerate institutional adoption of digital assets.
Israeli blockchain security startup CyVers raises $8m to bring proactive security to Web3 economy
CyVers, the provider of state-of-the-art proactive Web3 Security for the centralized, decentralized finance and smart contract applications via detection and interception of crypto attacks across blockchains, announced a $8 million in funding.
645 Ventures closes $347m fourth fund and first opportunity fund to invest in technology startups
645 Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm that partners with exceptional founders building iconic technology companies, announced its oversubscribed fourth fund, Fund IV, alongside the launch of the firm's first opportunity fund, Select I.
Canadian B2B automotive trading startup TRADE X opens new trading facilities in Kenya
TRADE X, a B2B cross-border automotive trading platform based in Ontario, Canada, announced it has opened a new Kenyan trading corridor, which includes both a shared bonded warehouse in Mombasa and an office in Nairobi.
[Nebulab Case] How this e-Commerce tech studio went global to fight talent shortage and improve diversity
Hiring talent has become one of the top challenges for technology companies. The global talent shortage and emerging trends have made finding and retaining skilled professionals more difficult.
Identity hygiene startup SPHERE raises $31m Series B funding to accelerate growth, expand its SaaS platform
SPHERE Technology Solutions (SPHERE), a pioneer in identity hygiene, announced a $31 million Series B investment led by Edison Partners, a Princeton-based growth equity firm.
Yida Gao and Shima Capital invest in Web3 gaming startup Midnight
Shima Capital, led by founder and Managing General Partner Yida Gao, announced their investment in Web3 gaming startup Midnight.
Swedish automotive manufacturer Scania launches Scania Growth Capital II at €182.8m
Sweden-based automotive company Scania, announced it is launching a new €182.8 million investment vehicle, Scania Growth Capital II, following the success of its first venture capital fund, Scania Growth Capital I.
Netail closes $5m seed funding to advance retail-focused AI development
Netail, a technology that enables retailers to auto-identify competitors across the internet and track their assortments, availability and optimize prices in real time, announced the closing of $5 million in seed funding.
Travel startup Wander raises $100m credit facility from Credit Suisse to scale smart vacation homes across the U.S.
Wander, a travel startup with a network of smart vacation homes, announced it has closed a $100 million credit facility with Zürich-based Credit Suisse, a global investment bank and financial services firm.
StartupOS launches platform for early-stage startups
StartupOS announced it has launched a platform for early-stage startups that provides free access to the business tools, guidance, mentors, and investors that founders need to accelerate the growth of their company and raise capital.
Nigerian foodtech Orda raises $3.4m seed round to digitize African restaurants
Nigerian foodtech platform Orda announced has raised a $3.4 million seed round to further digitize food businesses across the continent.
AWARD selects 50 African women for fellowship on improving policy in the agri-food systems
Inspired by the flagship AWARD Fellowship Model, the Gender Responsive Agriculture Systems Policy (GRASP) Fellowship, aims to grow a pool of confident and capable African women to lead policy changes to improve African smallholders’ livelihoods.
Agroforestry startup Propagate raises $10m Series A funding to accelerate growth
Propagate, a commercial agroforestry platform, has closed a $10 million Series A led by Belgium-based The Nest.
Chinese web3 startup Viide shows ambition to leverage advertising through Decentralized Screen Network
Viide, a web3 startup has shown its ambition to leverage the value of web3 advertising in China through its Decentralized Screen Network.
Second Century Ventures expands REACH program to Latin America, opens applications for 2023 program
Second Century Ventures, the strategic investment arm of the National Association of Realtors, announced the expansion of the award-winning REACH technology growth program to Latin America.
Kenyan fintech startup Hisa unveils realtime stocks trading
Fintech startup Hisa has launched an application that allows Kenyans to invest in the stock market directly from their phones using mobile money.
Nigerian fintech startup Pivo raises $2m seed round to accelerate growth
Nigerian fintech startup Pivo, announced the closing of $2 million seed round with participation from Precursor Ventures, Vested World, Y Combinator, FoundersX and existing investor, Mercy Corp Ventures.
Cyndx launches Valer to generate faster and more accurate startup valuations
Cyndx, an AI-powered search and discovery engine built to simplify deal origination, has announced the launch of Valer, the company's new corporate valuation tool.
[ Lithuanian Unicorns] An insatiable hunger to prove their talent drives Lithuanian startups' growth
Smashing its records year by year, Lithuania's startup ecosystem has proved that there're no limits to growth. According to Dealroom.co, over the last five years, it has accelerated 16.6 times and is now valued at €10 billion.
Israeli foodtech startup ChickP raises dairy-free ice cream to new heights
ChickP Protein, a food-tech startup, has introduced chickpea protein isolate for plant-based ice cream. Protein from this ancient crop zeroes in on the non-dairy category to make a tasty plant-based frozen dessert.
Speech AI startup Deepgram completes $47m Series B round to define the future of speech understanding
Speech AI startup Deepgram announced it has raised $47 million in equity funding led by Madrona, with Alkeon participating as a new investor, to define the future of speech understanding.
Canadian SaaS startup Produce8 closes $6m investment to accelerate growth in the future of workforce analytics
Produce8, a startup SaaS company aiming to reduce distractions and increase productivity for distributed and digital-first teams, announced $6 million in funding to support strategic growth.
Belgian coliving startup Cohabs joins forces with real estate investors to accelerate growth
Cohabs, a Brussels-based company specializing in coliving, announced the entry into its capital of three new institutional investors: Ivanhoé Cambridge, Belfius Insurance, and the real estate arm of the Belgian Sovereign Fund (SFPIM - Real Estate).
Medical device startup Nyra Medical closes $20m Series A financing for its transcatheter heart valve repair technology
Nyra Medical, a medical device company that is developing a novel transcatheter mitral valve repair technology, announced the closing of a $20 million Series A financing.
Heidelberg-based FundaMental Pharma launches with €10m seed financing to advance a First-in-Class neuroprotectant
FundaMental Pharma (FundaMental), a preclinical neuroscience company spun out of Heidelberg University, announced it has launched with €10 million in seed financing led by BioGeneration Ventures (BGV).
eureKARE co-leads €5m seed investment in Biomemory which is advancing cutting-edge DNA-based data storage solutions
eureKARE, an innovative investment company for disruptive synthetic biology applications, announced it has co-led a €5 million seed funding round in Biomemory.
MyMonty calls to all banks, MNOs and startups: the time for digitization is now!
In 1998, Mountasser Hachem founded Monty Holding, which has since become a giant in the telco sector, achieving unprecedented global penetration.
New Adevinta Ventures report reveals that B2B Marketplaces outperform other tech segments in VC funding
Adevinta Ventures, the early-stage investment arm of Adevinta, an online classifieds specialist, is launching a new B2B marketplaces report.
Interviews.
[Interview] Caroline Mutuku, General Manager, Glovo, Kenya
Caroline Mutuku is Kenya's General Manager of multi-category app Glovo. Caroline joined Glovo in December 2022 from Swvl Kenya where she also served as the General Manager from December 2021. In this interview...read more here
[Interview] Renate Swanepoel, COO, INC. Networking
Renate Swanepoel is an entrepreneur, global networker and inspirational speaker that has helped thousands of people around the world to find their purpose. She has gained significant networking and communication...read more here
[Interview] Anne-Marie Chidzero, Chief Investment Officer, FSD Africa
Anne-Marie Chidzero is the Chief Investment Officer at the Financial Sector Deepening Africa (FSD Africa) Investments. In this interview, she talks about the risks and opportunities in backing Africa’s early-stage startups...read more here
[Interview] James Kilpatrick, Chair, Gravitilab, UK
Gravitilab is a "Space as a Service" business providing research, testing and qualification facilities to space agencies, government, academia and commercial enterprises. The company’s Chair and Chief Finance Officer...read more here
[Interview] Ramanjeet Singh, CEO, Woosper, USA
Woosper is a US-based digital advertising and marketing agency focused on creating experiences that help clients discover their place in the digital world. The CEO Ramanjeet Singh...read more here