The Africa SMME Tech Report
Issue No. 74. Africa-Middle East SME tech news and insights for 11 April 2024.
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The Africa-Middle East News Digest
SMME Tech News for 11th April 2024
IFC Puts $10.5M into African Climate, Health, Fintech
The International Finance Corp. (IFC) is investing $10.5 million in a new fund created by New York-based 4DX Ventures to invest in early-stage African companies across sectors that include fintech, e-commerce, edtech, climate tech, and health tech.
The IFC notes in its announcement of the Africa investment that Africa remains one of the world’s regions least served by venture capital, with “just 2% of global venture deal volume in the third quarter of 2023. Access to capital on the continent has been further exacerbated by a slowdown in global venture capital investment.”
The IFC says the $10.5 million investment in 4DX Ventures Fund III will come from its $225 million venture capital platform, which the organization launched last year to support VC ecosystems in emerging markets and to invest in early-stage startups in Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and Pakistan.
"IFC and 4DX Ventures share the commitment to supporting tech entrepreneurs with innovations that will help Africa leapfrog in critical areas such as climate, health care, fintech, e-commerce, and education," said Walter Baddoo, 4DX Ventures’ Co-Founder and General Partner. "We look forward to partnering with IFC to help promising tech startups build transformative businesses and realize sustainable development impact on the continent.”
Read more
Verod-Kepple Closes $60M Fund to Narrow Funding Gap
Lagos-based Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures announced it has closed its first fund at $60 million with investments from investors including SBI Holdings, Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Japan International Corporation Agency, and Japan ICT Fund.
The firm says its objective is to address “the growing gap of funding available, particularly from locally-based investors, for companies moving to Series A and B stages in Africa,”
The firm also says that the fund “will focus on 3 key themes: companies building digital infrastructure across different sectors; inefficiency solvers who are solving for friction primarily between businesses or between businesses and consumers; and market creators who are creating economic opportunities for people.” Read more
Launch African Invests in Proptech Bosso
Cape Town-based VC Launch Africa Ventures announced it has invested in Bosso, a Zambian e-commerce platform for hardware stores and home builders. According to this chart, Launch Africa is among the nine busiest African VCs thus far in 2024, second only to Catalyst Fund.
So why did Launch Africa choose to put money into Bosso, which was founded in 2022?
“Bosso's remarkable traction and continued revenue growth underscore its potential to make a significant impact in the construction sector,” the VC firm said in announcing the investment. “With the housing deficit in Zambia projected to double by 2030, and Africa facing a staggering backlog of 60 million housing units, the need for efficient supply chains in construction has never been greater.” Read more
Found on LinkedIn
It should come as no big surprise that South Africa dominates the list of African companies with annual revenues exceeding US$1 billion. Thanks to Axel Peyriere for sharing this chart.
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