News
Proparco joins forces with Digital Africa to provide financing solutions for African tech startups
As part of its 2022-2025 roadmap, Digital Africa, in partnership with Proparco, will support 200 African startups at different stages of their growth with a wide range of offers at their disposal.
Ugandan fintech platform Tugende closes pre-Series B investment round to accelerate growth
Tugende, the East African fintech platform providing asset financing and digital services to small businesses, announced it has raised a pre-Series B investment round led by current shareholder Partech Africa.
Kenyan insurtech startup mTek secures $3m funding for expansion across the country
On the heels of a recent $1.50 million (KSh 170 million) investment, Kenyan insurtech startup mTek has secured an additional $3 million (KSh 340 million) investment, through both debt and equity from African-focused fintech platform, Finclusion Group.
Insurtech startup INSTANDA raises $45m to fund its next phase of growth
INSTANDA, the no-code core insurance platform provider has announced the closing of its $45 million fundraising led by Toscafund, one of Europe’s leading Growth Equity investment firms for financial services companies.
London-based AI startup Peptone closes $40m Series A funding to build a state-of-the-art research facility in Bellinzona
Peptone, the molecular computational physics company focused on protein drug discovery, announced the successful completion of a $40 million Series A financing round.
Live-streaming platform Elevate K-12 raises $40m Series C to address the growing national teacher shortage
Elevate K-12, provider of high-quality live-streaming instruction for US K-12 classrooms, has closed a $40 million Series C round of funding led by venture capital firm General Catalyst.
Israeli AI-powered sales solution Amy raises $6m seed round to boost business professionals' selling power
Amy, the pioneering AI-driven sales intelligence solution that automates pre-meeting prospect research and enables meaningful business connections, announced it has raised a $6m seed round.
Indian no-code mobile startup Plobal raises $8.5m to expand presence in North America
Plobal Apps, a no-code mobile app platform for e-commerce stores, raised $8.5 million, led by Elevation Capital and Bessemer Venture Partners.
Alien Invasive Fruit Flies project comes to the rescue of Southern Africa mango farmers
In a bid to tame the voracious flies, the Alien Invasive Fruit Flies project in Southern Africa has come up with five technologies as part of an integrated pest management (IPM) package.
Amsterdam-based biotech startup CimCure raises € 5m seed round to advance its cancer vaccine
CimCure, a biotech spin-off of Amsterdam UMC, focusing on the development of a novel vaccine-based cancer immunotherapy through its Immune-Boost (iBoost) technology, announced it has raised little over € 5 million in a financing Seed Round.
MFS Africa raises $100m funding to accelerate its expansion plans across Africa and Asia
MFS Africa, Africa’s digital payments network, announced it has secured an additional $100 million in equity and debt funding led by Admaius Capital Partners, taking the total amount raised in the series to $200 million.
South Africa's Private equity fund PAPE acquires interest in fintech provider Entersekt
Entersekt, a global player in device identity and payment authentication, announced a new investment from PAPE Fund 3 (PAPE), a mid-market South African private equity fund.
Greentech startup Green Badger receives $1.125m seed funding to manage sustainable construction
Green Badger, the SaaS developer for managing sustainable construction, announced it has received seed funding of $1.125 million in a financing round led by venture capital firm Shadow Ventures.
Community-centered lifestyle startup Saysh closes $8m Series A round to scale growth
Saysh, the community-centered lifestyle brand co-founded by Olympian Allyson Felix and her brother and business partner Wes Felix, announced a Series A round closed at $8 million.
Y Combinator-backed Proper Finance raises $4.3m to create an integrated reconciliation software for fintechs
Proper Finance, the integrated reconciliation and ledger data platform that enables financial technology companies to maintain complete financial accuracy, closed a $4.3 million seed round
Inovia Capital closes $325m early-stage fund to strengthen the Canadian tech ecosystem
Inovia Capital announced it raised $325 million for its fifth early-stage fund, the latest step in its journey to help build global, sustainable companies that strengthen the Canadian tech ecosystem.
Financial wellness startup Benny closes $1m pre-seed round to help employees build wealth with their benefits
Benny, the platform helping consumers build wealth with their benefits, announced its graduation from Techstars Boulder and the closing of a $1 million pre-seed funding round, led by Matchstick Ventures.
Israeli startup Canditech raises $9m seed round to create a world without resumes
Canditech, the Israeli startup helping companies accurately assess job candidates with the world's first online job-simulation platform, announced it has raised $9 million in seed funding led by global software investor Insight Partners and StageOne Ventures.
DeFi for construction finance startup Rigor raises $3.5m to end housing's affordability crisis
Rigor, an innovative decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol for construction lending and payments, has secured $3.5m in institutional seed financing from an honor roll of venture funders.
Egyptian digital logistics startup Khazenly raises $2.5 million in seed funding to drive product development
Proceeds will be used to develop Khazenly’s products and services, and quadruple its existing facilities. Geographical expansion will also be supported as Khazenly continues its rapid growth trajectory during 2022.
Tallinn-based NFTPort raises $26m Series A round to become the leading NFT infrastructure
Estonia's NFTPort announced the closing of a $26 million Series A funding round co-led by Taavet+Sten, the investment vehicle of Taavet Hinrikus and Sten Tamkivi, and Atomico.
Chinese biotech startup Meta Pharmaceuticals raises $15m to accelerate its pipeline development
META Pharmaceuticals, China's first immunometabolism-based small-molecule drug discovery company, announced two consecutive Seed and Pre-A funding rounds totaling $15 million.
Digital wedding planning startup Fêtefully raises $1.3m funding to scale growth
Fêtefully, the revolutionary digital wedding planning platform, closed a seed round of funding worth $1.3 million to allow the company to continue business growth and scale in the marketplace.
Chinese ARHUD solution provider Raythink completes Series A+ financing to accelerate mass production of in-vehicle AR displays
Raythink, the ARHUD solution provider for the automotive and transportation industry, announced it has raised around $15 million in a Series A+ funding round led by Chengwei Capital.
Berlin Business Office launches Skytrain to support U.S. LPs investing into venture capital funds in Berlin
Berlin Business Office announced the launch of Skytrain, a network to support U.S. LPs (Limited Partners) investing into venture capital funds in Berlin.
AfricArena partners with FMO to accelerate tech startups in Ghana, Morocco and Tanzania
AfricArena, the African series of tech events, announced a partnership with FMO Ventures Program, the Rise Open Innovation Challenge, which focuses on accelerating the growth of startups looking to improve the state of Africa.
[Interview] Michelle Matthews, Director, Viridian, South Africa
Following the rising levels of unemployment among young South Africans, the UK-South Africa Tech Hub Launch League initiative undertook a research project.
African tech startup funding will double by 2025, research
African business leaders are forecasting a surge in spending on tech start-ups as foreign direct investment and improved internet connectivity helps establish the continent as a tech superpower, new research for blockchain-based mobile network operator World Mobile shows.
Early stage VC firm Kairos Ventures closes third fund at $58m
Kairos Ventures, an early stage venture capital firm investing in physical and life sciences, announced the close of its third fund (Fund III), with capital commitments of $58 million.
CoachHub startup raises $200m Series C funding to democratize coaching worldwide
CoachHub, the global digital coaching platform, closed a $200 million Series C funding round, led by Sofina and SoftBank Vision Fund 2. The round will be used to further scale CoachHub's product innovation and operations.
ScienceMagic.Studios raises $10m pre-seed to demystify Web3 for brands and talent
ScienceMagic.Studios announced it has secured $10.3 million in pre-seed investment from investors including Liberty City Ventures, Digital Currency Group, Coinbase Ventures, Noam Gottesman and Alan Howard.
BCG Digital Ventures launches new innovation centers in India and Morocco
BCG Digital Ventures (BCGDV), the corporate innovation and business-building arm of Boston Consulting Group (BCG), is opening innovation centers in New Delhi, Mumbai and Casablanca, Morocco.
Tunisian edtech startup GOMYCODE raises $8m Series A funding to expand across Africa
Tunisian edtech startup GOMYCODE, raised $8.85 million in series A funding, one of the highest African funding this quarter to expand across Africa.
Kenyan fintech startup Power Financial Wellness partners with Penda Health to extend healthcare services to users
Kenyan fintech Power Financial Wellness has signed a partnership agreement with private healthcare solutions provider, Penda Health, to see both companies mutually benefit from their tech services.
Green tech startup Ecolibrium launches in the UK with $5m pre-Series A funding round
Advisory and climate tech-led sustainability solution Ecolibrium, has opened a new London HQ after raising $5m in a pre-Series A funding round, to support growing demand from commercial and industrial UK real estate owners.
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