February Week 1 – 2022

 
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what’s inside?

• Norrsken & TLcom announce big fund closes • Egypt’s Brimore raises $25M USD Series A funding round • InvestTech startup, Bamboo, raises $15M USD to build Africa’s Robinhood • Nestcoin raises $6.45M USD to democratize access to crypto and Web3 AND MORE!


making the news

Norrsken & TLcom make big announcements about new African tech-focused venture funds Norrsken announced the first close ($110M USD) of its new $200M USD Norrsken22 Africa Tech Growth Fund with LP’s including 30 unicorn founders. TLcom also announced the first close ($70M USD) of a $150M USD fund with participation from Allianz and IFC. 

Startup & Investment Activity

d0528abb-5caf-b811-c725-db419f7e7c15 Egypt – Social commerce startup, Brimore, raises $25M USD Series A funding round to enable SME’s in the FMCG market to sell to consumers 

  d0528abb-5caf-b811-c725-db419f7e7c15 Egypt – Logistics startup, Yalla Fel Sekka (YFS), raises $7M USD Series A round to expand the company’s penetration in the Egyptian market and expand across MENA

6339b12b-ebb3-effc-ef18-1a12f104a9d6 Kenya – Digital logistics startup, Amitruck, raises $4M USD seed funding to accelerate Pan-African expansion 

848337c0-303e-8918-8bf7-daccf477e2b0 Nigeria – InsurTech startup, Casava, raises $4M USD pre-seed funding to expand  affordable and accessible insurance products to Nigerians  

848337c0-303e-8918-8bf7-daccf477e2b0 Nigeria – Cryptocurrency startup, Nestcoin, raises $6.45M USD pre-seed funding to expand its global operations 

848337c0-303e-8918-8bf7-daccf477e2b0 Nigeria – InvestTech startup, Bamboo, raises $15M USD funding round to help scale the company’s digital infrastructure and add a variety of new services 

848337c0-303e-8918-8bf7-daccf477e2b0 Nigeria – Mobility fintech, Moove, secures $10M USD financing from NBK Capital Partners to strengthen their mission to democratize vehicle ownership across Africa 

3b0946d8-32ed-4436-a4cc-74a35be2892d South Africa – Fintechs Stitch & Paystack prepare for inaugural Startup Showcase to support pan-African entrepreneurship 

6f5ef961-5a31-4c25-0faf-1cf17d4fe875 Tanzania – Fintech startup, NALA, raises $10M USD seed funding to continue developing transfers between East Africa and the United Kingdom 

Featured Article : In Africa’s booming startup hubs, the founders have become the funders – Yinka Adegoke in Rest of World  “[I]nsiders said the real energy is found in early stage ventures, where more local angel investors than ever are taking chances on a new generation of entrepreneurs. Increasingly, those investors are themselves former founders and startup executives.” Continue reading, here. 


AFTS partners in the headlines

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Long-time AFTS partner, Bamboo, raises $15M USD Series A as the company’s growth is described as “akin to Robinhood” Bamboo, launched in January 2020, is one such platform in Nigeria. Following two years of significant growth and raising $2.4 million to facilitate it, the investment firm is announcing that it has raised $15 million in a new financing round.” Continue reading, here. 
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Yele Bademosi’s Nestcoin raises $6.45M USD pre-seed funding to democratize access to economic opportunities in crypto and Web3  “[N]ew technologies such as crypto and web3 provide hope to Africans to play a massive role in defining what it looks like in the years to come. Nestcoin, a company founded last November that builds, operates and invests in web3 applications, wants to be pivotal in this transition and has raised a $6.45 million pre-seed round to that end.” Continue reading, here. 

Updates from the AFTS team

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New Podcast: This week, Andrew sits down to speak with Ayman Essawy, the Co-Founder and General Manager at Lucky App. Ayman shares some of his thoughts on the North African fintech ecosystem, lessons learned in transitioning from a B2B to B2C focused fintech, and Lucky’s plans for increasing market penetration and expansion. Listen now, here. 

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#AFTSCairo2021 #throwback 

The Fintech & Sustainability Roundtable at AFTSCairo tackled a new emerging conversation in the global fintech ecosystem about how financial technology can enable and assist with achieving a more sustainable world. Fintech stakeholders at AFTS Cairo explored the best ways to deploy technology-backed financial solutions to ensure a largescale impact on improving lives and no adverse effects on the environment.

  • Aaron Fu – Head of Growth, Catalyst Fund
  • Ruben Walker – Founder & CEO, African Clean Energy
  • Ahmed Ashour – Founder & CEO, Pylon
  • Moderator: Leland Rice – Co-founder & CEO, Dedalus Global & AFTS
 
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