Tag Resultaten

Published: 06-04-2018 16:44:00 | By: Nico Scherphuis | hits: 3858263 | Tags:

e-Commerce startup Uzum becomes first tech unicorn in Uzbekistan
Published: 28-03-2024 | 12:10:00 | By: Pie Kamau
























BeatMarket platform launches to empower long-term retail investors
Published: 26-10-2023 | 14:45:00 | By: Pie Kamau


Insurtech startup QuoteWell comes out of stealth, raises $15m Series A funding round
Published: 25-10-2023 | 12:00:00 | By: Pie Kamau
QuoteWell has announced the launch of its brokerage operations.


E-commerce tech platform MarketLeap secures €2.6m to expand brands’ global reach and revenue
Published: 10-10-2023 | 12:03:00 | By: Pie Kamau
MarketLeap has secured €1.5m funding.


Canadian e-Commerce inventory platform Centro launches with $2m pre-seed funding round
Published: 05-10-2023 | 12:16:00 | By: Pie Kamau
e-Commerce inventory platform Centro, announced a $2m in pre-seed funding.


French startup Kamino Retail raises €1.25m pre-seed round to accelerate growth
Published: 29-09-2023 | 12:27:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Kamino Retail announced a pre-seed funding of €1.25m from business angels.


Nigerian mobility startup Mecho Autotech raises $2.4m, ventures into wholesale spare parts distribution
Published: 15-09-2023 | 13:02:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Nigerian mobility startup Mecho Autotech, has closed $2.4m pre-Series A investment.


Harmonya raises $20m Series A to transform CPG and retail with AI-powered product data
Published: 05-09-2023 | 15:51:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Harmonya announced a $20m Series A, bringing total funding to $25 million.


Kids footwear brand jbrds closes $500k seed round, establishes $5m valuation
Published: 04-09-2023 | 14:56:00 | By: Pie Kamau
jbrds has subscribed a modest seed round of $500k, establishing a $5,000,000 valuation.


Swedish fintech Klarna records growth in key European markets
Published: 23-08-2023 | 12:14:49 | By: Pie Kamau
Klarna, the global payments network and shopping assistant, announced strong growth across Europe.


B2B marketplace startup Ghost raises $30m to help brands and retailers move surplus inventory
Published: 22-08-2023 | 13:12:00 | By: Pie Kamau
B2B marketplace startup Ghost has raised $30m Series B funding.


Kenyan agritech startup Kyosk acquires KwikBasket, expands into fresh produce market
Published: 10-07-2023 | 11:09:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Kenyan agritech startup Kyosk, is expanding into the African fresh produce market.


Kenyan fashion e-Commerce startup ShopZetu raises pre-seed funding to fuel growth of its marketplace
Published: 29-06-2023 | 14:25:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Kenyan fashion e-Commerce startup ShopZetu has raised $1m pre-seed funding.


[Interview] Caroline Mutuku, General Manager, Glovo, Kenya
Published: 09-06-2023 | 12:40:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Caroline Mutuku is Kenya's General Manager of multi-category app Glovo.


How payment technology is changing the rulebook on South African retail
Published: 31-05-2023 | 10:48:00 | By: Pie Kamau
The past few years have seen the proliferation of new methods of transacting.


Dental marketplace Wellplaece launches with $5.5m seed round
Published: 31-05-2023 | 10:05:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Dental marketplace Wellplaece announced the company's Private Beta launch.


Genetica raises $500k seed round to make cannabis shopping smarter with AI
Published: 29-05-2023 | 14:04:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Genetica, an AI cannabis retail platform, announced the close of its seed round.


Austrian SaaS startup Shopstory scores million-dollar investment to accelerate growth
Published: 25-05-2023 | 14:31:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Austrian SaaS startup Shopstory has scored another million-dollar investment.


Singapore-based tech-enabled coffee chain Flash Coffee extends Series B round to $50m
Published: 17-05-2023 | 13:01:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Singapore-based tech-enabled coffee chain Flash Coffee has announced the successful completion of its Series B financing round led by White Star Capital, raising a total of $50 million following its latest closing.


Kenya's B2B e-Commerce startup Wasoko expands to Zambia
Published: 11-05-2023 | 14:10:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Wasoko has revealed plans to invest over $1 million in Zambia. The B2B retail and e-Commerce made this announcement while announcing its official entry into the Southern African country. 


Africa’s mezzanine debt fund manager Vantage Capital exits Dynamic Bedding
Published: 03-05-2023 | 09:12:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Vantage Capital, Africa’s mezzanine debt fund manager, announced it has fully exited its investment in Dynamic Bedding, a South African specialist bed manufacturer and retailer.


GCPL to invest $12m in early-stage Indian consumer startups
Published: 12-04-2023 | 13:41:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Godrej Consumer Products Limited (GCPL), announced that it will be investing INR 100 Crore ($12 million) in Early Spring, a new INR 300 Crore early-stage consumer fund being set up by Spring Marketing Capital (Spring).


Forces shaping the retail landscape in 2023, ESW
Published: 28-03-2023 | 16:03:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Brands and merchants are constantly adapting to the ever-changing forces that shape the retail landscape


California furniture startup Woodsy announces pre-seed funding round, launches Kickstarter
Published: 24-03-2023 | 13:41:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Woodsy, a California furniture startup manufacturing affordable solid wood furniture, announced its first product on Kickstarter, surpassing its funding goal in 6 hours.


3 key trends in retail and brand innovation, Plug and Play
Published: 14-03-2023 | 10:58:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Brands and the retail industry are undergoing a rapid transformation. As technology and customer expectations continue to evolve, businesses must innovate to stay competitive and provide a better consumer and user experience.


Vue.ai announces new AI powered models to generate inclusive ad creatives through Meta's Creative Shop
Published: 01-03-2023 | 16:01:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Vue.ai, the retail vertical of AI startup Mad Street Den, announced its partnership with Meta to generate automated and inclusive ad creatives using AI-powered models for brands using Meta's creative services.


Indian SaaS startup Mintoak raises $20m Series A funding round to grow its product portfolio
Published: 23-02-2023 | 14:03:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Mintoak, an India-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform focused on merchant services, has raised $20 million in Series A funding round led by PayPal Ventures.


Berlin's EatFirst acquires London-based foodtech startup Feedr to accelerate growth
Published: 13-02-2023 | 10:41:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Berlin-based corporate food ordering platform EatFirst, has acquired Feedr, a London-based enterprise food technology platform that gives corporate customers software to support healthier daily eating in workplaces.


Bangladeshi B2B commerce platform ShopUp secures $30m debt financing to fuel expansion, strengthen supply chain operations
Published: 03-02-2023 | 11:40:00 | By: Pie Kamau
ShopUp, a full-stack B2B commerce platform in Bangladesh, announced it has secured $30 million in debt financing, to drive expansion efforts and strengthen the company's supply chain operations.


Food Foundry accelerator announces fifth cohort of early-stage foodservice startups
Published: 23-01-2023 | 11:42:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Food Foundry, an accelerator program built by Relish Works and Gordon Food Service for early-stage startups disrupting the food and foodservice industry, announced the five startups that will join the fifth cohort starting in January 2023.


Boulder-based startup Hickey Hack develops first ever concealer for hickeys
Published: 13-01-2023 | 08:34:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Hickey Hack, a startup based in Boulder, Colorado, has developed a concealer designed to eliminate hickeys. This is the first time a product like this has ever been created and is a major breakthrough in the cosmetic industry.


Nigerian online furniture store Taeillo raises $2.5m for expansion
Published: 16-12-2022 | 13:17:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Nigerian online store Taeillo, announced a $2.5 million funding round from Aruwa Capital, a growth equity and early-stage investor.


Senegalese startup Kwely launches made in Africa online store
Published: 16-12-2022 | 12:38:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Kwely, a Senegalese-based startup has launched a B2B e-marketplace to provide African producers and manufacturers with a global window to sell their products at scale.


Netail closes $5m seed funding to advance retail-focused AI development
Published: 01-12-2022 | 10:54:00 | By: Pie Kamau
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.


Nigerian foodtech Orda raises $3.4m seed round to digitize African restaurants
Published: 01-12-2022 | 09:48:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Nigerian foodtech platform Orda announced has raised a $3.4 million seed round to further digitize food businesses across the continent.


Berlin-based AI-powered startup Faircado raises €500K to transform E-commerce into Re-commerce
Published: 25-11-2022 | 08:23:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Faircado, a Berlin-based startup that provides the first AI-powered second-hand shopping assistance, announced it has raised €500,000 in a pre-seed round led by BackBone Ventures.


Tanzanian CPG startup Ramani raises $32m to digitize supply chains
Published: 24-11-2022 | 09:40:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Ramani, a Tanzanian startup focused on consumer-packaged goods (CPG) supply chains,  has raised $32 million in Series A debt-equity funding to introduce new financial services as it expands its operations.


Beverage startup Hangobi raises capital on StartEngine to accelerate growth
Published: 24-11-2022 | 08:35:23 | By: Pie Kamau
Beverage startup Hangobi announced it is raising capital on SearchEngine to expand its footprint beyond NYC,  bringing its healthy drinks to the masses.


Kenyan supply chain and logistics startup Leta secures $3m pre-seed funding to accelerate growth
Published: 23-11-2022 | 09:21:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Leta, the supply chain and logistics startup driving distribution optimization, announced the close of  $3 million Pre-Seed equity round.


Kenyan agritech startup Stable Foods raises $600k funding to grow its climate smart smallholder platform
Published: 22-11-2022 | 10:33:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Stable Foods, a Kenyan agritech startup offering a host of solutions to small-scale farmers, has raised $600k funding round, to build out its climate smart smallholder food production platform.


Demand for seamless, convenient way of shopping increase growth of e-Commerce in Africa
Published: 16-11-2022 | 10:14:00 | By: Pie Kamau
The electronic commerce (e-Commerce) transaction of goods and services between business-to-consumer (B2C), business-to-business (B2B), consumer-to-consumer, and consumer-to-business, has become rampant in this digital age.


Ultra-convenient healthy meals startup Proper Good closes seed funding to bring absurdly delicious products
Published: 14-11-2022 | 15:42:27 | By: Pie Kamau
PROPER GOOD, an ultra-convenient home-delivered food service company that offers nutritious prepared meals made with simple and high quality ingredients, announced the closing of $3.5 million in seed funding.


Vue Storefront wins best e-Commerce and retail startup at The Europas Tech Startup Awards 2022
Published: 07-11-2022 | 09:08:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Vue Storefront, a technology company that develops software for businesses to create fast, modern and high-performing online storefronts, was crowned a winner at The Europas Tech Startup Awards 2022.


New York startup Scent Lab personalizes the fragrance industry with immersive digital experiences and AI-tech
Published: 02-11-2022 | 10:04:16 | By: Pie Kamau
Scent Lab announced the launch of its online platform that’s changing the way consumers shop for fragrance. Scent Lab is the first digital destination that leverages immersive video experiences and AI tech.


London-based Sidekick raises £3.33m pre-seed to build a modern investment manager for today’s changing world
Published: 31-10-2022 | 07:39:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Sidekick, a digital active investment manager built for today’s rapidly changing world, announced a £3.33 million pre-seed equity round led by Octopus Ventures.


GS1 Hong Kong unlocks the next generation of trade finance service for SMEs in China
Published: 31-10-2022 | 07:21:00 | By: Pie Kamau
GS1 Hong Kong (GS1 HK) announced it has welcomed the launch of Commercial Data Interchange (CDI) by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA).


Kenyan fintech startup Tanda announces agency banking entry in Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania
Published: 28-10-2022 | 13:32:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Kenyan fintech startup Tanda announced plans for agency banking entry in Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania to accelerate growth within the East African markets.


Nigerian social commerce startup Bumpa raises $4m seed funding to build the future of commerce for African sellers
Published: 25-10-2022 | 14:07:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Nigerian social commerce startup Bumpa announced it has raised $4 million seed round led by Base10 Partners, the largest black-led fund in the world, with participation from Plug & Play Ventures.


Fintech startup Banyan raises $43m Series A to scale world's largest SKU data network
Published: 24-10-2022 | 14:10:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Banyan, the network for SKU data, announced it has raised $43 million Series A round led by Fin Capital and M13. The investment will accelerate Banyan's technology and infrastructure growth.


Kenyan home furniture startup MoKo raises $6m to accelerate growth
Published: 17-10-2022 | 15:26:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Kenyan home furniture startup MoKo announced it raised $6.5 million in a Series B funding round, which is a combination of debt and equity.


Climate infrastructure startup EcoCart raises $14.5m Series A to accelerate sustainable e-Commerce
Published: 11-10-2022 | 14:39:00 | By: Pie Kamau
EcoCart, a software company building the infrastructure for e-Commerce companies to operate sustainably at scale, has raised a $14.5 million Series A round.


Kenyan startup Kyosk Digital expands to Uganda
Published: 07-10-2022 | 14:46:27 | By: Bob Koigi
Kyosk Digital Services aims to address some of the challenges that vendors of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs) go through in sourcing products and restocking their outlets.


Vendease secures $30m to transform procurement and business operations for restaurants across Africa
Published: 26-09-2022 | 14:13:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Vendease, a Y Combinator-backed digital platform that allows restaurants in Africa to buy supplies, access financial services and power their business operations, has raised $30 million funding round.


Crypto tax reporting app Binocs nets $4m funding round as it adds institutional investors to retail base
Published: 22-09-2022 | 13:02:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Crypto tax reporting app Binocs has announced a $4 million fundraise to cater to institutional crypto investors and enter geographies like the US, UK, Australia etc.


Healthtech startup Remedial Health secures $4.4m to provide access to credit for pharmacies in Nigeria
Published: 21-09-2022 | 13:23:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Remedial Health, a healthtech startup that develops solutions to make Africa’s pharmaceutical value chain more efficient, has raised $4.4 million in seed funding to accelerate its expansion across Nigeria.


India's fruits and vegetables platform Sahyadri Farms raises €40m growth capital to support smallholder farmers
Published: 19-09-2022 | 09:19:00 | By: Pie Kamau
India's integrated platform for fruits and vegetables Sahyadri Farms has raised  €40 million growth capital from a group of impact-focused investors; Incofin, Korys, FMO and Proparco.


[Startup Interview] Tesh Mbaabu, CEO, MarketForce, Kenya
Published: 12-09-2022 | 16:47:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Tesh Mbaabu is a serial entrepreneur who lives to blend commerce and technology. He is the Co-founder and CEO of Kenyan-based B2B platform for retail distribution of consumer goods and digital financial services in Africa today, MarketForce.


Austrian SaaS startup Shopstory raises €2.2m in second round funding to back e-Commerce brands
Published: 12-09-2022 | 10:58:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Austrian startup Shopstory is raising a million-dollar investment from tecnet equity, Startup300 and business angels Patrick Pöschl (Co-Founder Scalable Capital) and Hansi Hansmann in its second round of financing.


Kenyan B2B e-Commerce startup Wasoko opens innovation hub in Zanzibar
Published: 01-09-2022 | 14:27:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Wasoko (formerly Sokowatch), an African B2B e-Commerce startup that leverages technology to transform the informal retail supply chain, announced the official launch of the “Wasoko Innovation Hub” in partnership with the Zanzibar government.


Nigerian B2B e-Commerce startup Omnibiz raises $15m for expansion
Published: 29-08-2022 | 13:35:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Nigerian B2B e-Commerce startup Omnibiz has raised $15 million pre-Series A round ($5 million equity and $10 million debt) led by Timon Capital, Ventures Platform, Lofty Inc, Chapel Hill Denham, Chandaria Capital and Musha Ventures.


Budmail announces partnership with Canadian AI startup Lil Durk
Published: 16-08-2022 | 16:40:53 | By: Pie Kamau
Lil Durk (LilDurk.com), a Canadian news & technology company enhanced by AI-driven neural networks, has announced a strategic partnership agreement with Budmail, a retail-focused cannabis company.


South African agritech disruptor AgriKool drives down food costs for consumers, increases profits for farmers
Published: 15-08-2022 | 12:31:00 | By: Pie Kamau
AgriKool, a South African e-trading platform, is connecting agricultural producers to buyers to facilitate the sale of products between retailers and farmers.


Kenyan mobile commerce startup Copia unveils manufacturing unit for sugar and rice production
Published: 08-08-2022 | 09:48:39 | By: Pie Kamau
Copia Global, a Kenyan-based mobile commerce platform has unveiled a new manufacturing unit to enhance its output of affordable sugar and rice to the Kenyan market.


Product search engine startup Vetted raises $15m to vet trustworthy product data for consumers
Published: 03-08-2022 | 15:27:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Vetted (formerly Lustre) announced the launch of its AI-powered product search engine, alongside a $14 million Series A investment round led by global software investor Insight Partners.


Autonomous robotics delivery startup Ottonomy closes $3.3m seed financing round
Published: 03-08-2022 | 14:15:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Ottonomy.IO, the autonomous robotics delivery startup, announced the close of its seed funding round of $3.3 million bringing its total funding to date to $4.9 million, supporting the scale of Ottobots for fully autonomous airport, retail and restaurant deliveries.


VMG Catalyst closes $400m Fund II to scale commerce venture capital space
Published: 03-08-2022 | 13:43:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Venture capital firm VMG Catalyst announced the closing of Fund II at its target of $400 million, bringing the total capital raised to $650 million across both funds.


London-based startup Geomiq raises $8.5m to digitize manufacturing and deliver industry leading service levels
Published: 28-07-2022 | 11:32:00 | By: Pie Kamau
London-based startup Geomiq announced it has raised $8.5 million funding to digitize global manufacturing and deliver industry leading service levels for Engineers and Procurement teams.


Bodybuilding.com partners with Retail Ecommerce Ventures to accelerate growth
Published: 04-07-2022 | 14:45:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Bodybuilding.com, the online fitness store, has struck a deal to partner with Retail Ecommerce Ventures (REV), a global leader in e-Commerce with a rapidly growing roster of well-known brands, to accelerate growth.


London-based healthtech startup Wondr Medical raises £12m seed round to accelerate global collaboration across the medical community
Published: 30-06-2022 | 15:45:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Digital health startup Wondr Medical, announced it has raised £12 million seed round to accelerate global collaboration across the medical community.


Swiss startup Numarics secures leading position in European fintech with $2.2m funding
Published: 30-06-2022 | 15:19:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Swiss fintech startup Numarics is on its way to becoming the standard for state-of-the-art financial management and accounting for creators and small and medium-sized enterprises in Europe.


The Main Stage partners with RedCrow to build white label fundraising platform
Published: 30-06-2022 | 15:04:15 | By: Pie Kamau
The Main Stage, a software technology company that enables startup founders and entrepreneurs to engage with prospects and investors in an efficient and engaging experience, announced a licensing agreement with RedCrow.


Insurtech startup Spot raises $33m funding to ramp up partnerships, offer affordable coverage for customers
Published: 30-06-2022 | 14:50:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Spot, the tech startup offering on-demand injury insurance, announced it has raised $33 million in funding, including $25 million in equity and $8 million in debt.


Dutch-based LUMO Labs invests in edtech startup Metacampus to empower digital professionals
Published: 30-06-2022 | 14:38:16 | By: Pie Kamau
LUMO Fund II Coöperatieve U.A. and a group of international angel investors are investing €1.5 million in Metacampus, a Barcelona-based training platform built for the virtual economy, to empower digital professionals.


Sustainability data and tech startup ESG Book closes $35m Series B to advance its next-gen technology capabilities
Published: 29-06-2022 | 13:58:00 | By: Pie Kamau
ESG Book, a global player in sustainability data and technology, announced it has closed $35 million in Series B funding to advance its next-generation technology capabilities.


Amsterdam-based employment startup TestGorilla secures $70m Series A to help companies eliminate hiring bias
Published: 29-06-2022 | 13:17:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Amsterdam-based employment startup TestGorilla announced it has secured $70 million Series A to help companies eliminate hiring bias. The round was co-led by Balderton and Atomico.


Medical speech processing startup Cordio Medical raises $18m to accelerate growth
Published: 29-06-2022 | 12:27:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Cordio Medical, a medical speech processing platform, announced its latest successful strategic investment round of $18 million from Ceros Financial Services and Peregrine Ventures.


Real-time compensation platform Pave raises $100m Series C funding, acquires Option Impact
Published: 29-06-2022 | 11:57:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Pave, the real time compensation platform that helps companies plan, communicate and benchmark against the market, announced it has raised $100 million in Series C funding and acquired Advanced-HR from Morgan Stanley.


Indonesian startup Mapan secures $15m Series A funding to enhance financial access and inclusion
Published: 29-06-2022 | 11:26:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Mapan, an Indonesia-based leading startup focused on eliminating barriers to financial access for the masses in the country, announced it has closed a successful Series A round of $15 million.


London-based Screenloop raises $7m for its hiring intelligence platform
Published: 28-06-2022 | 14:49:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Screenloop, the hiring intelligence platform that helps teams hit their recruitment targets faster whilst delivering an enhanced candidate experience, has raised a $7 million seed round.


Rocket VR Health chosen for Newchip's seed-stage global accelerator program
Published: 28-06-2022 | 14:15:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Rocket VR Health was accepted into Newchip's renowned global accelerator program designed to provide all the skills and tools seed-stage founders need to rapidly fund, build and scale their companies.


Breakthrough AI integration platform AI Squared raises $6m seed financing to accelerate growth
Published: 28-06-2022 | 14:02:00 | By: Pie Kamau
AI Squared, the low-code AI integration platform, announced it has raised $6 million Seed financing by global venture capital firm NEA with participation from Ridgeline Partners.


Illumina invests in £30m venture fund to advance breakthroughs in human health
Published: 28-06-2022 | 13:50:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Illumina, a global leader in DNA sequencing and array-based technologies, announced its participation in Time Boost Capital I LP, a £30 million genomics venture fund dedicated to providing match funding to startups graduating from Illumina Accelerator Cambridge.


Givebutter announces $7m seed funding to empower the changemaker generation
Published: 28-06-2022 | 13:37:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Givebutter, a product-led company that developed the first free operating system for nonprofit fundraising, announced it has completed a seed funding round totaling $7 million.


UK-based BotsAndUs secures $13m seed financing for its warehouse data intelligence platform with autonomous robots
Published: 27-06-2022 | 13:35:00 | By: Pie Kamau
BotsAndUs, a cutting-edge intelligence and robotics company has secured $13 million in seed funding to expand its logistics-disrupting solution globally.


Constructiontech startup ProPlanner raises $2.7m to transform construction scheduling
Published: 27-06-2022 | 13:14:00 | By: Pie Kamau
ProPlanner (formerly Ipsum), a web-based and collaborative construction technology platform, announced it has raised $2.7 million in funding led by global software investor Insight Partners.


Africa-focused VC firm TLcom Capital appoints Eloho Omame as Partner
Published: 27-06-2022 | 13:02:00 | By: Pie Kamau
TLcom, the Africa-focused venture capital firm, has appointed Eloho Omame as a Partner, bolstering its capabilities as it ramps up deployment of TIDE Africa Fund II, its new $150 million pan-African tech fund.


Deeptech startup NEU Battery Materials raises S$800,000 seed funding to produce clean and sustainable lithium batteries
Published: 27-06-2022 | 12:44:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Deeptech startup, NEU Battery Materials has raised a total of S$800,000 in seed funding from Momentum Venture Capital and Se-cure Waste Management.


British Virgin Islands-based SithSwap raises $2.65m to build next-gen AMM on StarkNet
Published: 27-06-2022 | 12:25:00 | By: Pie Kamau
SithSwap, the next-generation automated market maker (AMM) on StarkNet, has successfully raised $2.65 million at a $25 million valuation in a seed funding round led by Lemniscap.


Nigerian Lab testing startup HealthTracka raises $1.5m funding for expansion to Kenya and Ghana
Published: 27-06-2022 | 11:31:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Nigerian at-home lab testing startup HealthTracka has raised $1.5 million in funding to expand its operations into Kenya and Ghana. The pre-seed funding which was led by Ingressive Capital.


Proparco completes pre-series-A investment in Moringa to fuel its expansion across Africa
Published: 27-06-2022 | 11:23:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Proparco announced the completion of a pre-series-A investment in Moringa to its expansion across Africa. The funding from Proparco will also facilitate the broadening of the range of courses offered by Moringa.


EuraTechnologies raises €24m to back deep tech startups, open 10 incubators in Eastern Europe
Published: 24-06-2022 | 11:55:00 | By: Pie Kamau
EuraTechnologies announced the raising of €24 million to back deep tech startups and open 10 incubators in Eastern Europe.


Renewable energy startup Posh raises $3.8m seed round to automate EV battery recycling
Published: 24-06-2022 | 11:27:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Y Combinator alum, Posh, announced it has raised $3.8 million in seed funding. The Bay Area startup automates electric vehicle (EV) battery recycling to build sustainable energy storage solutions.


Cleveland-based tech startup Unify Jobs raises $4.5m to enable diversity, equity and inclusion in hiring
Published: 24-06-2022 | 11:12:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Unify Jobs, an equitable hiring technology company, has raised a $4.5 million seed round led by North Coast Ventures with participation from Jumpstart and several other well-established investors.


Gratuity management startup Kickfin closes $6m Series A to fuel growth across the hospitality industry
Published: 24-06-2022 | 10:35:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Kickfin, the gratuity management software for hospitality, announced it has secured its Series A funding to further accelerate the company's rapid growth.


London, Malta-based fintech CityFALCON raises $2m funding to scale growth
Published: 24-06-2022 | 10:19:00 | By: Pie Kamau
London and Malta based fintech CityFALCON closed an equity fundraising campaign on Seedrs of $2 million to scale up the business and bring even more insightful products to market faster.


Nibble Health startup raises $8.5m to humanize healthcare payments
Published: 22-06-2022 | 15:03:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Nibble Health, a B2B healthcare payments company, announced a $8.5 million seed round co-led by Wing Venture Capital and Tiger Global Management, with participation from A* Capital and Expa.


Healthtech startup Spry secures new investment to strengthen its patient management platform
Published: 22-06-2022 | 14:28:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Spry, an end-to-end patient and practice management SaaS platform for physical therapists, announced it has successfully completed a new round of funding to accelerate its mission to build the future of practice management for physical rehabilitation.


Bardeen.ai startup raises $15.3m Series A to bring workflow automation to the masses
Published: 22-06-2022 | 13:56:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Bardeen.ai, the provider of "automation for all" tools, announced an oversubscribed $15.3 million Series A funding round led by global software investor Insight Partners, with participation from existing investors.


Healthtech startup Idoven raises $19.8m funding to redefine detection and precision medicine of cardiovascular diseases
Published: 22-06-2022 | 12:52:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Idoven, a pioneering health tech company advancing early detection and precision medicine of cardiovascular disease, announced it has raised $19.8 million in funding.


Foodtech venture firm Supply Change closes equity investment from Bank of America
Published: 21-06-2022 | 14:38:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Supply Change Capital, a women and Latina powered venture firm investing in early-stage food technology businesses, announced an equity investment from Bank of America.


Nigerian fintech firm VeendHQ secures $330k pre-seed investment to expand operations, scale growth
Published: 21-06-2022 | 14:25:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Nigerian fintech firm VeendHQ announced it has secured $330k pre-seed fund, backed by Magic Fund, The Oak Capital, Future Africa, Berrywood Capital and other angel investors, to expand its operations and scale growth.


Proparco joins forces with Digital Africa to provide financing solutions for African tech startups
Published: 21-06-2022 | 14:21:00 | By: Pie Kamau
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
Published: 21-06-2022 | 14:16:00 | By: Pie Kamau
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
Published: 21-06-2022 | 14:06:00 | By: Pie Kamau
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
Published: 20-06-2022 | 12:49:00 | By: Pie Kamau
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
Published: 20-06-2022 | 12:31:00 | By: Pie Kamau
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
Published: 20-06-2022 | 11:57:00 | By: Pie Kamau
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
Published: 20-06-2022 | 11:37:00 | By: Pie Kamau
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
Published: 20-06-2022 | 11:26:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Plobal Apps, a no-code mobile app platform for e-commerce stores, raised $8.5 million, led by Elevation Capital and Bessemer Venture Partners.


Amsterdam-based biotech startup CimCure raises € 5m seed round to advance its cancer vaccine
Published: 17-06-2022 | 15:03:00 | By: Pie Kamau
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
Published: 17-06-2022 | 14:04:00 | By: Pie Kamau
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.


Greentech startup Green Badger receives $1.125m seed funding to manage sustainable construction
Published: 17-06-2022 | 13:49:00 | By: Pie Kamau
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
Published: 17-06-2022 | 13:37:00 | By: Pie Kamau
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
Published: 16-06-2022 | 16:04:00 | By: Pie Kamau
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
Published: 16-06-2022 | 15:43:00 | By: Pie Kamau
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
Published: 16-06-2022 | 15:31:00 | By: Pie Kamau
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.


DeFi for construction finance startup Rigor raises $3.5m to end housing's affordability crisis
Published: 16-06-2022 | 15:05:00 | By: Pie Kamau
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.


Tallinn-based NFTPort raises $26m Series A round to become the leading NFT infrastructure
Published: 15-06-2022 | 14:38:00 | By: Pie Kamau
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
Published: 15-06-2022 | 13:44:00 | By: Pie Kamau
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
Published: 15-06-2022 | 12:13:00 | By: Pie Kamau
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
Published: 15-06-2022 | 11:35:13 | By: Pie Kamau
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
Published: 15-06-2022 | 11:16:00 | By: Pie Kamau
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
Published: 15-06-2022 | 11:01:00 | By: Pie Kamau
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.


Early stage VC firm Kairos Ventures closes third fund at $58m
Published: 14-06-2022 | 14:21:00 | By: Pie Kamau
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
Published: 14-06-2022 | 14:08:00 | By: Pie Kamau
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
Published: 14-06-2022 | 13:31:00 | By: Pie Kamau
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
Published: 14-06-2022 | 13:15:00 | By: Pie Kamau
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
Published: 14-06-2022 | 13:01:00 | By: Pie Kamau
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
Published: 14-06-2022 | 12:53:00 | By: Pie Kamau
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
Published: 13-06-2022 | 15:10:00 | By: Pie Kamau
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.


German agritech startup CROP.ZONE secures $11m equity funding to expand to new international markets
Published: 13-06-2022 | 14:42:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Aachen-based integrated weed management startup CROP.ZONE announced it has secured $11m equity funding from existing shareholders and new financial investors.


Swedish gaming startup Lurkit raises $2.7m to empower gaming influencer marketing globally
Published: 13-06-2022 | 14:11:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Swedish gaming influencer marketing platform Lurkit has raised $2.7 million in a seed round from industry investors as the company is launching Quests, a new software suite that enables paid sponsorships between live streamers and gaming companies at scale.


CerraCap Ventures invests in soil microbiome focused agritech startup Solena
Published: 13-06-2022 | 13:55:00 | By: Pie Kamau
CerraCap Ventures, a Global Venture Capital fund headquartered in Southern California, announced an investment in Solena AG, a soil microbiome startup helping farmers improve agricultural yields and optimize agrarian input costs.


Decarbon8 investment opportunity open for agritech innovation and decarbonization startups
Published: 13-06-2022 | 12:33:00 | By: Pie Kamau
The Decarbon8 Fund, an impact investment vehicle established by the E8 climate tech investing community and platform, announced a new Request for Proposal (RFP) for companies advancing regenerative agriculture solutions.


B2B e-Commerce and fintech startup Bazaar raises $70m to revamp the retail industry in Pakistan
Published: 13-06-2022 | 11:57:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Bazaar, Pakistan’s B2B e-Commerce and fintech platform has raised $70 million in a Series B financing led by Dragoneer Investment Group and Tiger Global Management.


Utrecht-based same day and next day delivery startup Trunkrs raises €15 million in growth capital
Published: 10-06-2022 | 13:26:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Trunkrs, specialist in same day & next day delivery for the e-Commerce sector, has successfully raised €15 million in a series B investment round. The financing round was led by Korys, the Belgian investment company of the Colruyt family.


[Column] Alexandra Fraser: Angel investors plugging the early-stage funding gap in sub-Saharan Africa
Published: 10-06-2022 | 12:16:31 | By: Pie Kamau
One of the biggest challenges facing entrepreneurial startups in sub-Saharan Africa is funding – particularly early-stage financial support – even though the landscape across the region has evolved over the past few years with more funders and capital deployed in this space.


Business identity startup Middesk raises $57m Series B round to accelerate growth
Published: 10-06-2022 | 12:10:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Middesk, the business identity platform automating business verification and underwriting decisions, announced it has raised $57 million in a Series B round, co-led by New York-based private equity and venture capital firm Insight Partners.


Taiwanese social CRM startup GoSky AI completes undisclosed seed funding round
Published: 10-06-2022 | 11:23:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Taipei-based social CRM startup GoSky AI announced the completion of an undisclosed seed funding round led by 500 Global venture capital firm.


Canadian digital footprint monitoring startup Flare raises CAD$9.5m Series A to democratize cybersecurity
Published: 10-06-2022 | 11:06:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Flare, the leader in digital footprint monitoring, announced a CAD$9.5 million Series A Round led by Inovia Capital with participation from White Star Capital and Luge Capital.


GreenHouse Capital announces 13 African startups selected for the Microsoft scale-up accelerator
Published: 10-06-2022 | 10:46:00 | By: Pie Kamau
GreenHouse Capital has announced the 13 African startups that have been selected for Microsoft scale-up accelerator program. The programme is targeted at startups a the pre-series A stage looking to expand into new markets.


Vietnam's blockchain gaming startup Ancient8 raises $6m to build infrastructure software for GameFi
Published: 09-06-2022 | 12:33:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Ancient8, a GameFi infrastructure developer and Vietnam's largest blockchain gaming guild and community, announced the completion of a $6 million private round of financing led by Makers Fund and C² Ventures.


Dutch fintech Backbase secures €120m funding to accelerate growth
Published: 09-06-2022 | 12:16:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Dutch financial technology company Backbase, the creator of the category-leading Engagement Banking platform, raised €120 million in growth equity funding from Motive Partners.


Amsterdam-based Instant Commerce secures €2m pre-seed funding to boost its headless storefront builder
Published: 09-06-2022 | 11:51:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Amsterdam-based Instant Commerce announced it has secured €2 million pre-seed funding to boost its headless storefront builder.


Tech startup LibLab raises $42m Series A to autogenerate software development kits for API services
Published: 09-06-2022 | 11:15:00 | By: Pie Kamau
LibLab, a developer tools company that offers a SDK-as-a-Service platform for engineering teams, announced it has raised $42 million in Series A funding to enable the expansion of its core software development kit (SDK) code generator services.


Seed-to-Sale software startup Canix raises $10m Series A funding to accelerate growth
Published: 09-06-2022 | 10:52:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Canix, a market-leading cannabis ERP seed-to-sale platform, announced it has raised $10 million in funding from venture capitalists.


Singapore crypto payments startup Request Finance raises $5.5m seed round to accelerate growth
Published: 09-06-2022 | 10:40:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Request Finance, the Web3 enterprise crypto payments startup, has closed a $5.5 million seed round with institutional backers including Animoca Brands, Europe's leading early-stage venture capital investor Balderton Capital, and XAnge.


French startup CleverConnect merges with Talentry to lead talent acquisition in Europe
Published: 08-06-2022 | 12:36:32 | By: Pie Kamau
CleverConnect, a cloud-based recruiting solutions company, announced the merger with Talentry, a Munich-based provider of talent relationship management solutions, to counteract the current unprecedented shortage of skilled workers.


Fabric tech startup Nextiles raises $5m oversubscribed seed round to fuel growth in smart athletics
Published: 08-06-2022 | 12:19:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Nextiles, a smart fabric technology for athletes, announced its $5 million seed round led by Drive by DraftKings, with participation from the NBA.


Nigerian fintech startup Indicina raises $3m seed funding to expand into other African markets
Published: 08-06-2022 | 12:04:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Nigerian fintech startup Indicina announced it has raised $3 million in seed funding round to foster its commitment to the credit value chain.


Ethena raises $30m Series B for modern and effective compliance training
Published: 08-06-2022 | 11:59:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Ethena, a modern compliance training platform, announced it raised a $30 million Series B, led by Lachy Groom, with participation from existing investors including Felicis, Neo, Homebrew, and others.


Early stage venture capitalist ROBUST primed to bridge innovation gap across borders
Published: 08-06-2022 | 10:59:52 | By: Pie Kamau
Venture capital firm ROBUST has launched on the global stage, with an immediate focus on driving investment into disruptive and innovative companies with high growth potential.


Seae Ventures launches $107m Fund to invest in solutions addressing equity gaps in healthtech and fintech
Published: 08-06-2022 | 10:45:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Seae Ventures, a Boston-based venture capital firm dedicated to advancing equity by investing in women and Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) entrepreneurs, has launched its inaugural fund of $107m.


Oslo-based Findable secures €2m seed round for its first-to-market building documentation automation platform
Published: 07-06-2022 | 11:37:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Findable, the Oslo-based startup that automates building documentation using Artificial Intelligence (AI), raised a €2 million seed round led by KOMPAS, with participation by Construct Venture.


Constant Ventures launches $100m venture capital fund to invest in tech startups across West Africa
Published: 07-06-2022 | 11:24:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Constant Ventures, a part of the Constant Group, is raising a $100 million venture capital fund to invest across a range of technology startups with a focus on financial inclusion, education and healthcare.


Investing platform Pluto raises $4m seed round to make systematic investing accessible
Published: 07-06-2022 | 11:13:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Pluto, a free investing platform that makes it easy for stock market traders to enhance their efforts with systematic investing, has closed a $4 million dollar seed round led by at.inc/ Nadav Eylath.


Stellate raises $30m funding to build the global data graph
Published: 07-06-2022 | 10:45:14 | By: Pie Kamau
Stellate, formerly known as GraphCDN, is bringing its expertise in GraphQL APIs to the masses with the help of a $25 million Series A from Tiger Global and a $5 million seed round led by boldstart ventures.


BRV China-backed eVTOL startup Zerog closes $1.48m seed round to accelerate growth
Published: 07-06-2022 | 10:26:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Zerog, a Chinese electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft developer, completed a $1.48 million seed round with BlueRun Ventures China (BRV China) as the sole investor.


Kenyan E-health startup Maisha Meds hits 1000 active facilities, expands to Nigeria
Published: 07-06-2022 | 10:04:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Kenyan digital pharmacy network Maisha Meds announced it has reached1,000 active facilities, making it one of the largest digital pharmacy networks in sub-Saharan Africa.


UK-based tech startup Florence raises $35m series B funding to revolutionise social care
Published: 06-06-2022 | 16:20:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Florence, the UK-based tech innovator for social care, announced it has raised $35 million through a Series B funding round. Florence will use the investment for product expansion to support care in the UK.


Oregon-based Dutch Bros raises $2.3m to help end ALS
Published: 06-06-2022 | 16:02:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Dutch Bros, a drive-through coffee chain headquartered in Grants Pass, Oregon, announced that together with its customers, raised a record breaking $2.3 million during its 16th annual Drink One for Dane day.


Temasek launches investment platform GenZero to accelerate decarbonisation globally
Published: 06-06-2022 | 13:23:41 | By: Pie Kamau
Temasek announced the launch of GenZero, a wholly-owned investment platform company dedicated to accelerating decarbonisation globally.


Santa Barbara Venture Partners launches $11m Fund to help companies accelerate customer acquisition
Published: 06-06-2022 | 13:10:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Venture capital firm Santa Barbara Venture Partners (SBVP) announced the final close of its $11 million inaugural Fund I focused primarily on investing in tech and tech-enabled firms.


Nigerian edtech startup Afrilearn attracts UNICEF Innovation Fund
Published: 06-06-2022 | 12:58:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Nigerian edtech startup Afrilearn has emerged as the only Nigerian startup to join the latest cohort of the UNICEF Venture Fund.


Ugandan fintech startup Eversend rebrands, announces new features
Published: 06-06-2022 | 12:52:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Eversend, a Ugandan fintech startup providing cross-border money transfers for Africans and Africans in the diaspora has rebranded, to reinforce its commitment to users with an all-inclusive payment platform and a modified look to support this transition.


Constrafor raises $100m+ to increase the construction industry's productivity, dispel cash flow problems
Published: 03-06-2022 | 14:49:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Constrafor, a SaaS construction procurement platform with embedded financing, announced its $100 million+ Seed fundraise in debt and equity to build out new functionality.


RH Capital announces three new investments to improve women's heath
Published: 03-06-2022 | 14:29:00 | By: Pie Kamau
RH Capital, the women's health venture capital fund, announced three new investments to improve health outcomes for women in the US.


Text messaging startup Prokeep raises $9m to modernize distributor communications and commerce
Published: 03-06-2022 | 13:06:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Prokeep, the communications and commerce platform built exclusively for distributors, announced the closing of $9 million seed round.


SaaS recruitment startup HourWork raises additional $2.5m funding to accelerate growth
Published: 03-06-2022 | 12:21:00 | By: Pie Kamau
HourWork, a SaaS recruitment and retention platform for quick-serve restaurant (QSR) franchise owners, announced the closing of $2.5 million in additional Series A funding led by MassMutual's MM Catalyst Fund (MMCF).


Binance Labs closes $500m investment fund to boost blockchain, Web3 and value-building technologies
Published: 03-06-2022 | 11:55:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Binance Labs, the venture capital and incubation arm of Binance, announced the closing of $500 million investment fund to invest in projects that can extend the use cases of cryptocurrencies.


Indonesian social commerce startup Super completes $70m oversubscribed Series C round
Published: 02-06-2022 | 16:29:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Super, an Indonesian social commerce platform serving tier-2 and tier-3 cities and Indonesian rural areas, announced it completed a $70 million oversubscribed Series C round led by NEA with additional investment from Insignia Ventures Partners.


Vancouver cleantech startup VoltSafe introduces electrical technology to reduce the effects of inflation
Published: 02-06-2022 | 16:13:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Vancouver cleantech startup VoltSafe has introduced a new electrical technology to reduce inflation effects in marine, automotive and housing industries.


Swiss Web3 payment startup DePay brings Web3 P2P payment gateway to eligible Shopify merchants
Published: 02-06-2022 | 15:57:19 | By: Pie Kamau
Swiss Web3 payment startup DePay, announced its official integration into omnichannel commerce platform Shopify, allowing for the very first integration of a wallet-to-wallet (P2P) payment solution for eligible Shopify merchants.


Upcycling startup Novoloop extends Series A round to $21m to develop industrial capabilities
Published: 02-06-2022 | 15:45:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Advanced upcycling startup Novoloop nnounced it has expanded its Series A to $21 million through an oversubscribed extension led by Mistletoe Singapore and Hanwha Solutions.


Data analytics startup Gigasheet closes $7m Series A to democratize big data analysis
Published: 02-06-2022 | 15:34:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Gigasheet, a startup that brings data science and big data analytics capabilities to anyone who can use a spreadsheet, announced it has closed $7 million in a Series A funding round.


UAE fintech startup Pemo launches all-in-one spend management platform for MENA SMEs
Published: 01-06-2022 | 10:32:24 | By: Pie Kamau
Pemo, the UAE-based fintech startup empowering businesses across the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan (MENAP),has announced that it has launched its all-in-one spend management platform.


Indian data insights startup Synaptic raises $20m Series B funding to accelerate growth
Published: 01-06-2022 | 10:27:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Synaptic, an alternative data insights startup, announced the successful closure of $20 million in Series B funding round led by Valor Equity Partne


Nutrition startup Culina Health raises $4.75m funding to democratize access to clinical nutrition
Published: 01-06-2022 | 10:13:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Culina Health, Co-founded by Registered Dietitian Vanessa Rissetto and Steven Kuyan, announced it has secured $4.75 million in seed funding.


Birmingham-based startup Astound raises $1m seed round to improve university access to corporate-sponsored research funding
Published: 01-06-2022 | 09:56:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Astound, a Birmingham-based startup, secured $1 million in seed funding to develop the first marketplace to allow research institutions and universities to easily find corporate sponsors.


Bonfire Ventures raises $230m for two new funds to help B2B software startups beat the odds
Published: 01-06-2022 | 09:35:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Bonfire Ventures, the firm helping seed-stage B2B software companies beat the odds, announced the close of its third core seed fund at $168 million, and its second opportunity fund, at $63 million.


e-Commerce logistics startup Kubbo begins international expansion, starts Italy operations
Published: 23-05-2022 | 12:50:00 | By: Pie Kamau
e-Commerce logistics startup Kubbo, announced its first international move to expand its model of digitising logistics for brands and ecommerce companies. The operator has launched its activity in Italy.


Dough Ecommerce Capital partners with Byrne Capital to scale DTC businesses online
Published: 11-05-2022 | 13:03:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Dough Ecommerce Capital and Byrne Capital Ventures announced a strategic partnership to invest in and acquire direct-to-consumer (DTC) ecommerce businesses.


Foodtech startup Haofood partners Lawson to accelerate presence in China
Published: 11-05-2022 | 12:30:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Haofood, a food science and technology startup announced a new partnership with Chinese convenience store Lawson where customers will gain greater access to its products.


e-Commerce startup byrd raises $56m Series C to become Europe-wide standard for next-day delivery
Published: 10-05-2022 | 11:07:00 | By: Pie Kamau
e-Commerce fulfillment technology startup byrd has raised a Series C round of $56 million, bringing the funding raised within the last 10 months to $75 million.


Nigerian retail tech startup TradeDepot appoints Chidi Akubuiro as Managing Director for West Africa
Published: 10-05-2022 | 09:32:00 | By: Pie Kamau
TradeDepot, a B2B e-Commerce and embedded finance platform in Africa, has appointed former Coca Cola HBC and Hayat Kimya Nigeria Executive, Chidi Akubuiro as its Managing Director for West Africa.


Food tech startup Tomorrow Farms raises $8.5m seed round to fuel sustainable food revolution
Published: 09-05-2022 | 10:05:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Tomorrow Farms, a food technology company on a mission to fuel the sustainable food revolution with irresistible food and beverage brands, announced a $8.5 million seed round led by Lowercarbon Capital and additional key investors.


The Home Depot announces $150m venture capital fund to fuel innovation in retail and home improvement
Published: 03-05-2022 | 16:28:00 | By: Pie Kamau
The Home Depot announced Home Depot Ventures, a $150 million venture capital fund created to identify, fund and partner with early-stage companies to accelerate emerging technologies.


Glovo announces winners of its tech startup pitch competition in Kenya
Published: 03-05-2022 | 13:46:00 | By: Pie Kamau
On-demand delivery platform Glovo has announced the winners of its tech startup pitch competition in Kenya.


African B2B marketplace Kwely nabs $1m seed round to accelerate growth
Published: 29-04-2022 | 13:52:00 | By: Pie Kamau
African B2B marketplace Kwely finalized a $1 million seed funding round with a $700,000 injection of fresh capital led by WIC Capital with participation from Loftyinc Capital, Afropreneur Angels, Haskè Ventures and other angel investors.


Estonian e-Store startup Upty acquires Finnish peer Rekki, opens up seed round
Published: 26-04-2022 | 13:18:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Estonian startup Upty, the resale e-Store in the Baltic region, announced the acquisition of its Finnish peer, Rekki. In addition, Upty is planning to kick-start the fundraising in the coming months in order to pursue the Company's accelerated expansion across Europe.


Plant-based meat startup Nowadays closes $7m seed round to accelerate health-focused chicken
Published: 22-04-2022 | 14:09:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Health-focused plant-based meat company Nowadays closed its oversubscribed Seed round, raising just shy of $10 million to-date to support commercialization of new plant-based chicken innovation.


SAP.iO launches Resilient Supply Chain startup program in collaboration with Accenture
Published: 21-04-2022 | 11:37:00 | By: Pie Kamau
SAP SE announced the launch of a virtual startup program focused on building a resilient supply chain at the SAP.iO Foundries Munich and Tel Aviv.


Kenyan mobile commerce startup Copia appoints former Amazon Executive to its Board
Published: 07-04-2022 | 16:18:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Copia Global, a Kenyan-based mobile commerce platform has announced the appointment of former Amazon executive Jason Murray to its Board.


Luxury clean CBD brand Lure Life closes $750K seed funding round for expansion
Published: 01-04-2022 | 15:13:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Lure Life, (Lure), a luxury, joy producing CBD brand has raised $750,000 in a Seed round of funding supported by a diverse group of investors in the beauty, finance and the consumer-packaged goods sectors.


Colombian-based consumer and fintech startup Leal secures $10m Series A round to scale growth
Published: 01-04-2022 | 14:05:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Colombian-based consumer and fintech company Leal has raised a $10 million Series A round co-led by global internet services leader Rakuten Group – through its investment arm Rakuten Capital – and IDC Ventures global fintech investment firm.


Kenyan social commerce startup Tushop raises $3m pre-seed funding to accelerate growth
Published: 31-03-2022 | 12:41:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Tushop, a Kenyan social-commerce platform that enables group-buying of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs), announced it has raised $3 million in pre-seed funding, led by 4DX Ventures.


French insect farming startup Ÿnsect acquires Nebraska-based Jord Producers to open first mealworm farm in the US
Published: 30-03-2022 | 11:43:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Jord Producers, based in Nebraska, has been incorporated into Ÿnsect’s production portfolio, signifying the global leader’s entry into North American mealworm production.


Plug and Play Japan kicks off 3rd Smart Cities accelerator program in Osaka and Tokyo
Published: 29-03-2022 | 13:48:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Plug and Play Japan has selected 25 startups from Japan and overseas for their accelerator program that promotes open innovation in Smart Cities theme. From the Batch 3 program, it will expand and operate at two locations, Tokyo and Osaka.


Israeli data integration startup Triple Whale raises $27.7m to develop default e-Commerce operating system for Shopify brands
Published: 28-03-2022 | 16:24:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Triple Whale, the all-in-one operating system for Shopify brands, announced it has raised $27.7 million in an extended Series A, the company's first announced funding round since its foundation in May 2021.


Kenyan e-Commerce startup Sokowatch raises $125m, rebrands to Wasoko
Published: 17-03-2022 | 11:32:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Kenyan based B2B e-Commerce startup Sokowatch has raised a $125 million Series B equity round, the largest venture financing round ever raised for a non-fintech startup in Africa.


Product photo performance startup Bloom raises $1.1m seed round funding to bring generative AI to e-Commerce
Published: 15-03-2022 | 11:17:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Product photo performance engine Bloom announced it has raised $1.1 million at the close of its seed funding round.


Canadian tech startup Calico secures $2.1m to revolutionize modern supply chains
Published: 09-03-2022 | 09:50:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Calico, the developer of the first AI-powered smart supply chain management platform, announced it has raised $2 million in seed funding. The growth financing is led by Serena Ventures following 300% growth since January 2022.


e-Commerce startup The Host Co. raises $1.85m to revolutionize short-term rental industry
Published: 03-03-2022 | 12:44:00 | By: Pie Kamau
The Host Co., the first-of-its-kind digital commerce marketplace for short-term rentals, announced an oversubscribed $1.85 million seed funding round, led by HearstLab with participation from The Artemis Fund and Untapped Capital.


South African fintechs Payflex and Merchant Capital launch cash advance solution for small retailers
Published: 03-03-2022 | 11:44:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Two South African fintechs, alternative lender Merchant Capital and buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) specialist Payflex, have launched a cash advance solution for small and mid-sized retail sector.


Food startup Next Gen Foods debuts TiNDLE in the U.S., announces $100m Series A funding round
Published: 28-02-2022 | 14:28:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Food startup Next Gen Foods announced its first product TiNDLE, now available in a range of iconic restaurants across the East and West Coasts in some of the country's leading "foodie" cities.


Retailtech startup Cortina raises $6m seed round to accelerate growth
Published: 28-02-2022 | 12:45:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Cortina, a revolutionary software solution that gives any retailer, from big box to mom-and-pop, the power to become a player in the fast-evolving marketplace revolution, announced it has closed $6 million in seed money.


Kenyan foodtech startup Kune starts commercial operations in Nairobi
Published: 24-02-2022 | 10:38:05 | By: Pie Kamau
Kenyan foodtech startup Kune has officially launched commercial operations with four meal hubs located in strategic locations in Nairobi.


Cross-border fintech startup Dowsure raises $20m to fuel growth of e-Commerce sellers in China
Published: 22-02-2022 | 12:07:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Shenzhen-based fintech startup Dowsure Technologies, has attracted the attention of global strategic investors, fueling the growth of millions of e-Commerce sellers from China on marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, Shopee and more.


Kenyan retail tech startup MarketForce raises $40m Series A to scale up super app for Africa’s informal merchants
Published: 22-02-2022 | 10:44:00 | By: Pie Kamau
MarketForce, the Nairobi-headquartered B2B platform for retail distribution of consumer goods and digital financial services in Africa, announced the closing of a $40 million Series A round.


African fintech Flutterwave rebrands, introduces new products and services
Published: 21-02-2022 | 14:31:00 | By: Pie Kamau
African fintech startup Flutterwave has unveiled a significant re-brand and identity during the Flutterwave 3.0, virtual event held on Friday, 18th February 2022.


[African Startup Review] Pie Kamau: Nigerian fintech Flutterwave is now Africa's highest valued Unicorn
Published: 18-02-2022 | 18:28:00 | By: Pie Kamau
As the African fintech industry continues to bloom, so does the funding. Flutterwave has now become Africa's highest valued startup after closing $250 million Series D funding, bringing the company’s valuation to over $3 billion.


German startup Cansativa closes $15m Series B to become the ‘Amazon’ of cannabis for Europe
Published: 17-02-2022 | 12:36:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Cansativa Group announced it has closed a $15 million Series B investment led by Casa Verde with participation by Argonautic Ventures and Munich-based family office Alluti.


Raydiant startup raises $30m Series B to reimagine in-store experiences for brick and mortars
Published: 17-02-2022 | 11:56:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Raydiant, the in-location experience management platform for brick-and-mortar enterprises, announced it has raised a $30 million Series B funding round led by 8VC and Atomic Ventures.


MENA's c-Commerce startup Zbooni launches in Egypt
Published: 16-02-2022 | 09:59:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Zbooni, MENA's c-Commerce (connected commerce) platform, has announced its official launch in Egypt. The rapidly scaling startup, which is backed by regional and global investors, will support the backbone of the Egyptian economy.


Fraugster partners with Dutch-based fintech startup Payaut to provide fraud prevention services to e-Commerce marketplaces
Published: 14-02-2022 | 09:45:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Fraugster, a German-Israeli payment intelligence company, has partnered with marketplace payout specialist Payaut, an Amsterdam-based fintech startup, to provide fraud prevention services to marketplaces.


[African Startup Review] Pie Kamau: Capital funding for tech startups gain momentum in 2022
Published: 11-02-2022 | 07:51:00 | By: Pie Kamau
The startup ecosystem in Africa is taking shape. A lot of technological innovations especially in the areas of fintech, e-mobility, e-commerce, healthtech, foodtech and cleantech have seen accelerated growth towards Africa’s digital transformation and innovation.


SaaS startup Aramid Technologies raises $2m seed round to redefine quality certification management in global supply chains
Published: 09-02-2022 | 13:56:00 | By: Pie Kamau
SaaS startup Aramid Technologies announced it has raised $2 million in seed funding to expand its flagship product, SmartCert.


Vietnam-focused retail investing app Infina closes $6m seed funding to accelerate growth
Published: 09-02-2022 | 12:18:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Vietnam-focused retail investing app Infina, announced the closing of $6 million in seed funding from Sequoia Capital India’s Surge, Y Combinator, Saison Capital, Starling Ventures, Alpha JWC, and AppWorks.


Amsterdam-based Polestar Capital opens €100m circular economy fund, largest of its kind in Europe
Published: 08-02-2022 | 13:56:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Amsterdam-based Polestar Capital Polestar Capital announced the launch of the biggest circular economy fund in Europe. The fund, called the Polestar Capital Circular Debt Fund (PCDF), has opened at €100 million


Fintech startups hub Abaca crosses $2b in compliant cannabis commerce
Published: 07-02-2022 | 12:39:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Cannabis banking fintech company Abaca surpassed compliantly processing more than two billion dollars in commerce for the cannabis industry.


B2B marketplace startup Retailo raises $36m Series A funding to empower community commerce in the MENA region
Published: 01-02-2022 | 13:47:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Retailo, the B2B marketplace startup for retailers in Middle East, North Africa, and Pakistan (MENAP), has raised $36 million in its Series A investment round which was a mix of equity and venture debt.


Cloud-based-AI startup Inspectorio raises $50m to reinvent production chain with AI-powered platform
Published: 01-02-2022 | 13:41:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Inspectorio, the cloud-based AI-powered SaaS solution, announced the company has raised $50 million in a Series B Round led by New York-based global private equity and venture capital firm, Insight Partners.


Grocery logistics startup EasyBins raises $2m late stage seed round for expansion
Published: 26-01-2022 | 12:21:00 | By: Pie Kamau
EasyBins, a company solving the grocery logistics problem for suburban markets in North America, announced $2 million late stage seed round funding to expand its geographic footprint and invest in technology and staff.


Morocco fintech startup Chari closes a bridge round to pilot BNPL services with grocery stores in Francophone Africa
Published: 21-01-2022 | 13:13:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Aiming to take a serious step towards the Fintech space, Chari has announced the closing of a bridge round led by the Saudi-based venture capital fund Khwarizmi Ventures (KV).


Kenyan mobile commerce startup Copia raises $50m to ramp up African expansion
Published: 21-01-2022 | 12:54:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Kenyan-based mobile commerce platform Copia Global raised $50 million in a Series C equity round led by Goodwell Investments.


Kenyan fintech startup Zanifu closes $1m seed financing round to accelerate growth
Published: 20-01-2022 | 11:15:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Kenyan fintech startup Zanifu announced it has successfully closed a $ 1 million seed financing round to scale its business and improve on its platform.


Israeli foodtech startup Plantish unveils whole-cut plant-based salmon fillets
Published: 18-01-2022 | 10:55:38 | By: Pie Kamau
Israeli foodtech startup Plantish is giving consumers a first look at its flagship product, a 100% plant-based whole-cut salmon fillet, which mimics cooked salmon in texture, taste, appearance and structure.


Ivorian e-Commerce startup Afrikrea raises $6.2m pre-Series A funding, rebrands to 'ANKA'
Published: 13-01-2022 | 10:49:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Afrikrea, an Ivorian e-Commerce startup has raised $6.2 million pre-Series A funding round led by Investisseurs & Partenaires. The startup has also rebranded to 'ANKA'.


Ampla secures $40 Million in Series A Funding to accelerate hiring and recruitment efforts
Published: 23-12-2021 | 11:56:17 | By: Bob Koigi
This announcement brings the Company’s total funding to $380 million in equity and debt financing, which will enable Ampla to impact even more small-to-medium sized businesses (SMBs) in the consumer brands space.


Kenyan fintech startup Tanda inks deal with Twiga Foods to enable vendors vend its digital financial services
Published: 20-12-2021 | 14:12:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Kenya’s fintech startup Tanda announced a new partnership with Twiga Foods that will see Twiga vendors become a one-stop-shop for a variety of digital and financial services offered by Tanda.


REEF acquires foodtech Startup 2ndKitchen
Published: 08-12-2021 | 15:21:10 | By: Bob Koigi
REEF and 2ndKitchen’s existing businesses will be combined under the REEF brand, and will operate under REEF’s Hospitality division.


Kenyan-based Penda Health partners with femtech e-Commerce startup Kasha to ease contraceptive access for consumers
Published: 06-12-2021 | 15:16:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Healthcare solution provider Penda Health announced a partnership with Rwandan femtech e-Commerce startup Kasha, to enable increase access to contraceptive products via the Kasha digital platform.


Nigerian B2B e-Commerce startup TradeDepot raises $110m to extend ‘Buy-Now-Pay-Later’ services to African retailers
Published: 06-12-2021 | 14:51:00 | By: Pie Kamau
TradeDepot, the B2B e-Commerce and embedded finance platform in Africa, has raised $110 million in an equity and debt funding round to support the delivery of Buy-Now-Pay-Later services to SME retailers.


[Startup Interview] Sophie Tarif, Nina van Boxtel, Founders, BOETIEK, Netherlands
Published: 30-11-2021 | 13:57:00 | By: Bob Koigi
BOETIEK, a Dutch startup, works with local boutiques and brands to increase audiences and increase online sales. The platform offers a wide range of products and services from latest fashion trends to new online boutiques and concept stores.


Estonian startup Gelatex raises €1.2m seed round for affordable and scalable manufactured cell-cultured meat
Published: 26-11-2021 | 10:06:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Estonian startup Gelatex announced it raised €1.2m seed round for affordable and scalable manufactured cell-cultured meat, making it cheaper than ever.


Brazilian fintech startup TruePay raises $32m Series A funding for team and product development
Published: 24-11-2021 | 08:15:00 | By: Pie Kamau
TruePay, a Brazilian startup whose innovative payment solution helps small and medium sized retailers have free and secure access to credit, has raised $32 million in Series A funding led by Addition.


Fintech startup and shareholder loyalty pioneer TiiCKER launches Android app
Published: 23-11-2021 | 07:36:00 | By: Pie Kamau
TiiCKER hit the trifecta with the addition of an Android app to its web and iOS portals, giving America's estimated 130 million retail investors instant access to loyalty rewards.


London-based healthcare startup Gravitiq raises $55m seed round to expand portfolio of e-Commerce healthcare brands
Published: 19-11-2021 | 11:33:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Gravitiq, the doctor-founded and led healthcare brand aggregator, announced the close of its seed funding round, raising a total of $55 million.


Indonesia's Hypefast emerges from stealth mode as the largest house of e-Commerce native brands in Southeast Asia
Published: 17-11-2021 | 12:01:14 | By: Pie Kamau
Hypefast, Southeast Asia's (SEA) largest house of e-Commerce native brands, announced it has grown its portfolio to more than 25 brands and has been achieving full profitability.


Indian full-stack agritech startup DeHaat raises $115m Series D round
Published: 03-11-2021 | 12:18:00 | By: Pie Kamau
DeHaat, the technology-based platform offering end-to-end agricultural services to farmers in India, announced it has raised $115 million in Series D funding, led by Belgium based investment firm Sofina and Lightrock India.


Four Ghanaian startups join the Catalyst Fund Inclusive Digital Commerce accelerator
Published: 02-11-2021 | 12:01:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Four startups from Ghana have joined The Catalyst Fund Inclusive Digital Commerce Accelerator, a programme that supports innovators building digital commerce solutions.


Indian e-Commerce startup LoveLocal raises $18m Pre-Series B investment round to accelerate growth
Published: 29-10-2021 | 16:33:00 | By: Pie Kamau
LoveLocal, India's hyper-local e-Commerce platform empowering local retailers, has raised $18 million in a Pre-Series B investment round.


Female-founded winery startup BOXT raises $9.35m to expand luxury brand of fine wine offerings
Published: 28-10-2021 | 08:13:00 | By: Pie Kamau
BOXT, the female-founded, direct-to-consumer winery, announced it has raised $9.35 million in equity and debt funding to drive the continued expansion of its luxury brand of fine wine offerings.


Nigerian e-Commerce startup Sendbox raises $1.8m to digitize deliveries for African SMEs
Published: 19-10-2021 | 08:01:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Nigerian e-Commerce fulfillment startup Sendbox announced the completion of $1.8 million seed round from investors including 4DX Ventures, Enza Capital, FJLabs and Golden Palm Investments.


Unilever invites startups to partner through Positive Beauty Growth Platform
Published: 30-09-2021 | 16:19:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Unilever announced the launch of the Positive Beauty Growth Platform, a new initiative which aims to partner with scaleups and startups to drive innovation and brand growth.


Industrial automation startup Agtonomy launches out of stealth to address farm labor crisis with $4m seed round
Published: 24-09-2021 | 13:58:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Agtonomy, a hybrid autonomy and tele-assist service platform, launched out of stealth and announced a $4 million seed round from Grit Ventures, GV (formerly Google Ventures), and Village Global.


Canadian supplier enablement startup Convictional raises $6.7m Series A funding
Published: 24-09-2021 | 13:14:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Convictional, the first supplier enablement platform for retailers and distributors to power drop ship, marketplace and wholesale business models in one solution, announced it has secured $6.7 million in Series A funding.


Healthtech startup bttn. adds PlastCareUSA to burgeoning supplier ecosystem
Published: 22-09-2021 | 14:36:00 | By: Pie Kamau
bttn., a Healthtech startup providing a B2B e-Commerce platform for purchasing medical supplies, announced an expansion to its product catalog with the addition of 93 PlastCare USA products for dental practitioners.


Organic food startup Teatis closes seed funding round to advance production and marketing in the U.S.
Published: 15-09-2021 | 17:12:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Teatis, makers of superfood powders for diabetic consumers, announces the close of its seed funding round. The science-backed brand that specializes in sugar-blocking teas accrued $700,000 from various high-power angel investors.


Workwear startup BRUNT raises $8.4m Series A funding to accelerate growth
Published: 15-09-2021 | 15:54:00 | By: Pie Kamau
BRUNT Workwear, a modern work boot and apparel brand designed for today's construction workers and tradespeople, closed an $8.4 million Series A round to accelerate its growth and meet demand as the company disrupts a $12 billion-dollar category in the US.


Lectra joins Plug and Play open innovation ecosystem
Published: 14-09-2021 | 16:12:27 | By: Pie Kamau
Major global player in the 4.0 Industry for the fashion, automotive, and furniture market, Lectra is joining the Brand & Retail program of the Plug and Play network, the world's leading innovation platform connecting startups, investors, and pioneering companies.


Canadian plant-based food innovation startup TMRW Foods raises $2.6m in seed round funding
Published: 08-09-2021 | 12:09:00 | By: Pie Kamau
TMRW Foods, the growing Canadian plant-based food innovation company, announced a seed round investment of $2.6 million.


Foodtech startup GrubMarket acquires Bartolotta, further expands in Eastern US and Canada
Published: 07-09-2021 | 16:04:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Food technology startup GrubMarket announced it has completed the acquisition of Bartolotta, a full-service provider of fresh fruits and vegetables to customers in New England, the Mid-Atlantic and Eastern Canada.


[Startup Interview] Nicolas d'Audiffret, Co-Founder, Ankorstore
Published: 06-09-2021 | 11:29:00 | By: Bob Koigi
Ankorstore is an online B2B marketplace connecting brand and retailers, all around Europe.


Wine & spirits e-Commerce startup Speakeasy Co. raises $2m seed round to accelerate growth
Published: 02-09-2021 | 13:29:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Speakeasy Co., a technology company and e-commerce platform for the wine & spirits industry, announced a $2 million seed round led by Trog Hawley Capital LLC with participation from other notable investors.


Kenyan retail tech startup MarketForce raises $100,000 funding from Harambeans Prosperity Fund
Published: 31-08-2021 | 12:44:00 | By: Pie Kamau
The Harambeans Prosperity Fund, a donor advised investment vehicle formed through the Harambe Entrepreneur Alliance’s network of prominent families and corporations co-invested $100,000 in Y Combinator Harambean venture MarketForce.


Egyptian B2B e-commerce startup MaxAB acquires distribution platform WaystoCap
Published: 25-08-2021 | 13:05:58 | By: Bob Koigi
MaxAB, Egyptian B2B e-commerce platform that serves food and grocery retailers, has acquired WaystoCap, the Morocco-based B2B e-commerce and distribution platform that connects retailers with suppliers across Africa.


End-to-end e-Commerce startup Cart.com raises $98m Series B to deliver integrated solutions for e-Commerce brands
Published: 17-08-2021 | 13:34:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Cart.com, the end-to-end e-Commerce services provider, announced the close of a $98 million Series B round, bringing the company's total funding since its launch eight months ago to more than $140 million.


Ghanaian startup Plendify launches B2B e-Commerce marketplace
Published: 17-08-2021 | 12:29:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Ghanaian startup Plendify has launched a B2B e-Commerce marketplace to connect customers with small and large African wholesalers, manufacturers, exporters, and importers.


Full-stack delivery scale-up Merqueo raises $50m Series C to expand its grocery delivery service across Latin America
Published: 04-08-2021 | 12:20:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Merqueo, a full-stack delivery scale-up, landed a $50 million series C round led by IDC Ventures, Digital Bridge and IDB Invest. The company is the first and largest full-stack grocery delivery player in Latin America.


Fintech startup Rapyd raises $300m Series E to further enhance its service offering
Published: 04-08-2021 | 12:04:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Rapyd, a global Fintech as a Service company, announced a $300 million Series E funding round led by Target Global.


B2B sales productivity startup Nektar.ai closes $8.1m to accelerate product development, launch in the US market
Published: 04-08-2021 | 11:11:00 | By: Pie Kamau
B2B sales productivity startup, Nektar.ai has raised an additional $ 6 million seed round of funding led by B Capital Group, 3one4 Capital and Nexus Venture Partners.


Nigerian healthtech startup Field Intelligence expands into eleven new cities across East and West Africa
Published: 29-07-2021 | 14:26:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Nigerian healthtech startup Field Intelligence announced its expansion into Rivers, Edo, Kaduna, Kano, Enugu, Delta and Kwara States in Nigeria, and Eldoret, Mombasa, Kisumu and Naivasha in Kenya.


[Startup Interview] Dimitri Kalamoudacos,Co-founder, Entrepreneur Suite, South Africa
Published: 27-07-2021 | 12:13:45 | By: Bob Koigi
Entrepreneur Suite is a South African startup targeting micro retailers with an application that records valuable sales information that is then served back to the business owner as demand forecasting suggestions which are designed to provide profiting opportunities.


Egyptian social e-Commerce startup Taager raises $6.4m seed round
Published: 20-07-2021 | 14:28:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Taager, an Egyptian social e-Commerce startup raised a $6.4 million seed funding round to help it scale its platform and expand across the Middle East.


Dragonboat closes $3m seed round to bring product portfolio management to outcome focused teams
Published: 16-07-2021 | 15:04:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Dragonboat, the Product Portfolio Management platform, announced a $3 million seed round by Act One Ventures, Roble Ventures and GingerBread Capital.


unybrands startup raises $300m in growth capital to acquire and scale e-Commerce businesses
Published: 15-07-2021 | 12:30:00 | By: Pie Kamau
unybrands, an integrated platform for e-Commerce businesses looking to scale their operations on and off Amazon, announced the closing of up to $300 million in growth capital with Crayhill Capital Management.


Kenyan startup Marketforce appoints Ore Omolaja as Country Manager, Head of Business for Nigeria
Published: 14-07-2021 | 12:06:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Marketforce, the Kenyan-based B2B platform for retail distribution of consumer goods and digital financial services in Africa, announced the appointment of Ore Omolaja as the Nigeria Country Manager and Head of Business, effective 15th July 2021.


Kenyan startup MarketForce raises $2m pre-Series A to scale B2B retail marketplace, RejaReja
Published: 14-07-2021 | 12:00:00 | By: Pie Kamau
MarketForce, the Kenyan-based B2B platform for retail distribution of consumer goods and digital financial services in Africa, announced a $2 million pre-Series A round, bringing total funding to-date to $2.5 million.


FDJ announces partnership with Plug and Play Brand & Retail France
Published: 12-07-2021 | 15:29:00 | By: Pie Kamau
FDJ announced the beginning of a partnership with Plug and Play, world's open innovation platform.


Alchemy Home Products startup launches The AutoSpout prevent basement flooding after heavy rains
Published: 07-07-2021 | 12:56:32 | By: Pie Kamau
Alchemy Home Products, a Salt Lake City startup, has created a new product that will help prevent basement flooding after heavy rains, The AutoSpout.


Female-founded wellness startup House of Wise raises $2m, launches full line of organic CBD products
Published: 25-06-2021 | 12:06:00 | By: Pie Kamau
New female-founded CBD brand House of Wise announced a $2 million seed funding round to improve the lives of women everywhere through community, content, and trustworthy CBD products.


Seattle based healthtech startup bttn. raises $1.5m to automate the future of medical supply
Published: 25-06-2021 | 11:11:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Healthtech startup bttn. closed a $1.5 million seed round from a group of technology and supply chain leaders.


Cannabis marketplace and purchasing platform MainStem named Microsoft Partner for Startups
Published: 22-06-2021 | 13:55:04 | By: Pie Kamau
MainStem, the cannabis industry's only marketplace and combined integrated purchasing platform, announced it has been selected as a Microsoft Partner for Startups.


Predictive Kids' e-Commerce startup Ten Little raises $5m to disrupt children's marketplace with personalized guidance
Published: 18-06-2021 | 13:02:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Ten Little, the predictive e-Commerce platform helping parents navigate the cluttered kids product space, announced the close of its $5 million seed round led by Kindred Ventures.


MarketForce acquires Digiduka startup to consolidate distribution of consumer goods with digital financial services in Africa
Published: 18-06-2021 | 12:08:43 | By: Pie Kamau
MarketForce, the end-to-end retail distribution platform for consumer brands in Africa, announced the strategic acquisition of Digiduka, a startup on a mission to bring informal retailers in Africa into the digital economy.


Women's wellness startup Kindra raises $4.5m seed round to drive continued growth and expansion
Published: 17-06-2021 | 13:42:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Kindra, a modern wellness brand for menopause essentials, announced it closed a $4.5 million seed funding round. The new capital will be used to drive the continued growth and expansion of Kindra.


Brazilian logtech startup Uello concludes $4m Series A investment deal led by the Btomorrow Ventures
Published: 17-06-2021 | 12:44:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Uello, a Brazilian logtech startup that uses technology and a collaborative network to provide express freight services with superior experience, concluded its Series A investment deal with an investment injection of $4 million.


Sustainability-focused pet care startup Petaluma launches plant-based diet for dogs
Published: 16-06-2021 | 11:10:48 | By: Pie Kamau
Petaluma, Inc., a pet care startup focused on sustainability, launched the world's first baked and plant-based formula for adult dogs of all breeds. The company's mission is to offer environmentally responsible diets that meet 100% of a dog's nutritional requirements.


SaaS startup Synder raises $2m in late seed round to revolutionize accounting for e-Commerce
Published: 16-06-2021 | 10:58:00 | By: Pie Kamau
TMT investments venture fund invested $2 million as a lead investor in a late seed round into Synder, an easy accounting solution for e-Commerce businesses.


Floral tech startup Something Borrowed Blooms raises $1.5m Series A funding to accelerate growth
Published: 11-06-2021 | 15:01:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Something Borrowed Blooms, the pioneer of the silk wedding flower revolution, announced a $1.5 million Series A funding round led by Callais Capital. This investment brings the total raise by the company to just over $2 million since 2015.


Food startup OZO expands plant-based proteins to international retail starting in Canada
Published: 11-06-2021 | 14:44:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Planterra Foods, an innovative plant-based protein startup based in Colorado, announced a supply agreement with UNFI Canada, a subsidiary of UNFI, the largest publicly traded grocery distributor in North America.


Plug and Play Japan selects 91 Startups for its Summer/Fall 2021 Batch
Published: 01-06-2021 | 11:28:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Global Innovation Platform, Plug and Play Japan has selected 91 Japanese and international startups into its Summer/Fall 2021 Batch, which will be carried out from June to September 2021.


Plug and Play Canada selects 12 startups to participate in Toronto Supply Chain and Logistics Program
Published: 18-05-2021 | 13:24:26 | By: Pie Kamau
Plug and Play Canada announced the selection of 12 startups into the first batch of the Toronto Supply Chain & Logistics Program.


Consumer warranty startup Upsie secures $18.2m Series A round to accelerate growth
Published: 14-05-2021 | 11:34:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Upsie, a consumer-centric platform for purchasing product warranties, announced it has raised a $18.2 million fundraising round led by True Ventures.


On-demand delivery management startup Cartwheel raises $1m seed round to accelerate growth
Published: 13-05-2021 | 12:54:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Cartwheel, an on-demand delivery management platform for restaurants and retailers, announced it has raised a $1 million seed round led by TenOneTen Ventures with participation from Act One Ventures and Portillo's Hot Dogs,


Foodtech startup GrubMarket acquires Vaccaro & Sons to expand to St. Louis, Missouri
Published: 05-05-2021 | 13:24:00 | By: Pie Kamau
San Francisco-based food technology startup GrubMarket announced it has completed the acquisition of Vaccaro & Sons in St. Louis, Missouri.


Hashflow raises $3.2m seed round to bring professional market makers to DeFi
Published: 04-05-2021 | 11:49:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Hashflow, a decentralized exchange connecting DeFi traders with top crypto market makers, closed a seed funding round of $3.2 million from leading venture capital firms and angel investors.


Israeli customer intelligence startup Affogata raises $5.5m seed funding to bring consumer's voice to customer-obsessed brands
Published: 29-04-2021 | 09:57:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Affogata, the customer intelligence platform enabling brands to harness data to guarantee their consumers a perfect experience, announced a $5.5 million financing round of seed funding co-led by Mangrove Capital Partners.