Afridigest Week in Review: Three weeks in one
+Deal coverage of Weeks 19, 18, & 17 +The Helios heist +4 Key insights for startup success in Africa +VC is slowing globally, should African startups worry? +How to navigate down markets +More
The Afridigest Week in Review is a must-read weekly recap for Africa-focused founders, executives, and investors, as well as interested observers. Glad to have you here. 😊
Welcome back, friends! After two weeks off to hold my dad’s traditional burial ceremony in Southeastern Nigeria, we’re back.
Let’s get right into it — we pick up here where we left off a couple of weeks ago, so today’s newsletter covers weeks 17, 18, and 19. (We’ll be back to the regular schedule and format as of next Monday.)
If you’re new, welcome 🙌🏽 — you’ll receive a weekly digest like this one every Monday and, generally (but not always), an original essay/article on Saturdays. For past essays and digests, visit the archive.
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Week 19 2022: May 8-14
📰 Deal of the Week
THIS WEEK IN AFRICAN UNICORN NEWS
Interswitch, the Nigerian electronic payments and financial infrastructure unicorn, raised a reported $110M from LeapFrog Investments and Tana Africa Capital.
⛏️ Go deeper:
The Helios heist: In 2010, Helios, the leading Africa-focused private equity firm, reportedly acquired a majority stake in Interswitch (perhaps up to 66%) in a deal that valued the company at roughly $200M.
In 2017, it sold a minority interest to TA Associates while remaining Interswitch’s majority shareholder. And two years later in 2019, it sold another partial stake to Visa in a deal that valued Interswitch at $1B.
Helios now further monetizes its Interswitch investment with this week’s partial exit to LeapFrog Investments and Tana Africa Capital — presumably at a valuation higher than $1B.
What’s more, Ignite Holdco, a joint vehicle of Helios and TA Associates, remains the largest Interswitch shareholder after the transaction.
🔦 Other Week 19 deals
OTHER WEEK 19 FUNDRAISES ACROSS THE CONTINENT
Paymob, an Egyptian digital payment service provider, raised a $50M Series B co-led by PayPal Ventures, Kora Capital and ClayPoint with participation from new investors Helios Digital Ventures, British International Investment, and Nclude, and existing investors A15, FMO, and Global Ventures — Over the last year, Paymob tripled the number of local and international merchants using its payment gateways to over 100,000; the investment is PayPal’s first in the MENA region and second in Africa after Stitch’s February Series A
Jambo, a Congolese (DRC) platform focused on onboarding Africans onto web3 via play-to-earn games and educational incentives, raised a $30M Series A led by Paradigm, with participation from ParaFi Capital, Pantera Capital, Delphi Ventures, Kingsway Capital, Gemini Frontier Fund, BH Digital, Graticule Asset Management Asia, Shima Capital, Morningstar Ventures, and others — This comes after Jambo announced its $7.5M seed round in Week 8 earlier this year
MARA, a pan-African crypto exchange platform, raised a $23M seed round (equity and token sale) from Coinbase Ventures, Alameda Research (FTX), Distributed Global, TQ Ventures, DIGITAL, Nexo, Huobi Ventures, Day One Ventures, Infinite Capital, and others
Mylerz, an Egyptian e-commerce fulfillment platform, raised a $9.6M growth round led by Lorax Capital with participation from Fawry — Launched in 2019, Mylerz has delivered over two million packages to date via a fleet of over 350 vehicles and 21 local fulfillment hubs across Egypt
Kaltani, a Nigerian tech-enabled plastic waste recycling platform, raised a $4M seed round from undisclosed investors
IdentityPass, a Nigerian digital identity verification and compliance platform, raised a $2.8M seed round led by MaC Venture Capital, with participation from Y Combinator, Soma Capital, True Capital Fund, and Sherwani Capital — Since its 2020 launch, the startup has processed over 1 million unique user verifications and it currently serves 200 active business clients across Nigeria, the UK, Kenya, the US, and India
TopUp Mama (formerly Kibanda TopUp), a Kenyan B2B food supply chain platform, raiseded a $1.7M seed round co-led by Ventures Platform and JAM fund, with participation from Next Billion Ventures, Future Africa, Jedar Capital, HoaQ Fund, First Check Africa, and DFS Labs — The company has ~1,000 active merchants making orders on its platform every month
TooMuchWifi, a South African internet service provider, raised a $1M pre-series A round, led by BLOC Smart Africa, with participation from Connectivity Capital, Atreyu Investments and others
Badili, a Kenyan used smartphone buy-back ‘re-commerce’ platform, announced that it raised $850K of a targeted $3.5M pre-seed from Artha India Ventures, SOSV, Uncovered Fund, Grenfell Holdings and others
Bridgecard, a Nigerian platform allowing users to manage multiple bank accounts via one app, raised a $440K pre-seed from ABV Funds, Ingressive Capital, Voltron Capital, Ventures Platform, Velocity Digital, Berrywood Capital, and others — In two months of private beta involving 120 users, Bridgecard processed over $70K in transaction volume
Teegara, an Egyptian B2B e-commece marketplace, raised an undisclosed bridge round led by Alexandria Angel Network
Bongalow, a Nigerian real estate marketplace and loan & mortgage origination platform, is participating in the Techstars Toronto Spring ‘22 accelerator program
ADJACENT
Manara, a San Francisco-based training platform focused on growing the tech talent pool in the MENA region, raised a $3M pre-seed led by Stripe, with participation from LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, Y Combinator founder Paul Graham, Lean Startup founder Eric Ries, and Mudassir Sheikha, founder and CEO of Careem
M&A
Radar, a South African HR and payroll platform, is being acquired by Firepay, the parent company of leading mobile payments provider SnapScan for an undisclosed amount
The Automobile Association of South Africa (AA) announced that it acquired a 30% equity stake in South African mobile security platform and personalized security app CASi
VC FUNDRAISING
Algeria-based accelerator Algeria Venture (A-Venture) and the Algeria Investment Fund (AIF) have signed a partnership to launch a $10M VC fund targeting early-stage Algerian startups
Week 18 2022: May 1-7
📰 Week 18 Deal Review
Masa Finance, a DeFi credit protocol and decentralized credit bureau users whose users are predominantly based in sub-Saharan Africa, raised a $3.5M pre-seed from Unshackled Ventures, Lateral Frontiers, Decentranet Intersect VC, Peer VC, Alves Ventures, and others
Norebase, a Nigerian platform facilitating pan-African company incorporation, admin, and trade, raised a $1M pre-seed co-led by Samurai Incubate and Consonance Investment with participation from Kinfolk VC, Future Africa, Ventures Platform, Microtraction, Boleh Venture, Voltron Capital, Wuri Ventures, and others
Hello Tractor, a Nigerian Uber-like platform that allows farmers to book tractors, raised $1M from Heifer International
GoMetro, a South African mobility management platform for transport/logistics operators, raised a $1M (ZAR16.3M) seed extension round from Kalon Venture Partners, Hlayisani Capital, Tritech Global, 4Decades Capital, and E Squared Investments
Kenyan accelerator The Baobob Network invested $25K each in five startups:
Opus Analytics, an Egyptian provider of HR and people analytics software
Lendha, a Nigerian lending platform targeting SMEs
GoodTalent, a Nigerian platform that matches companeis with engineering talent globally
Sidebrief, a Nigerian platform facilitating pan-African company incorporation, admin, and trade
Mighty Finance, a Zambian lending platform targeting SMEs
Kwaba, a Nigerian rent and mortaging finance platform, raised an undisclosed pre-seed from Co-Creation Hub (CcHub) and others
Hadada, a Nigerian open finance API infrastructure platform, raised an undisclosed pre-seed from venture studio Cf2 and others
VC FUNDRAISING
Rali_cap (formerly Rally Cap Ventures) reached its initial target of $20M and is now targeting a $30M close due to strong LP interest — Rali_cap invests at the pre-seed and seed stages in B2B and API-first fintechs across Africa, Latin America and South Asia and its African portfolio includes Mono, Stitch, and Union54; LPs include include Breyer Capital, Propel VC, Better Tomorrow Ventures, FT Partners, Bain Capital, Lateral Frontiers, and others
South African VC firm HAVAÍC announced the final close of its $20M Universum Core African Fund that will invest in early-stage tech companies in South, East, and West Africa — The fund’s current portfolio includes Kuda, Crowdforce, Mobiz, Tanda, and RecoMed
AAIC announced the first close of its Africa Innovation & Healthcare Fund 2 (AHF2) targeting $150M — AAIC’s first fund raised ~$47M and portfolio companies include Chipper Cash, Kobo, and RelianceHMO
Week 17 2022: April 24-30
📰 Week 17 Deal Review
Sun King (formerly Greenlight Planet), an off grid solar energy solutions provider operational in Kenya, Zambia, Uganda, Tanzania, and Nigeria, raised a $260M Series D led by BeyondNetZero, the climate investing arm of General Atlantic, with participation from M&G Investments’ Catalyst and Arch Emerging Markets Partners
Farmerline, a Ghanaian agritech marketplace that connects farmers with high-quality inputs, raised a $6.4M pre-Series A along with an additional $6.5M in debt; Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund and FMO co-led the equity portion with participation from Greater Impact Foundation, while lenders include DEG, Rabobank, Ceniarth, Rippleworks, Mulago Foundation, Whole Planet Foundation, Netri Foundation, and Kiva
Afriex, a Nigerian stablecoin-powered cross-border remittance platform, raised a $10M Series A at a $60M valuation co-led by Sequoia Capital China and Dragonfly Capital, with participation from Goldentree, Stellar Foundation, Exceptional Capital, and others
OnePort 365, a Nigerian digital freight management platform, raised a $5M seed round led by Mobility 54, with participation from Samurai Incubate, SBI Investment, Flexport, ODX, and others
Kwely, a Senegalese B2B wholesale marketplace for made in Africa goods, announced that it completed a $1M seed round from WIC Capital, Loftyinc Capital, Haskè Ventures and others
SAYNA, a Malagasy gamified learning platform that connects individuals with income generating micro-tasks requested by international companies, raised a $600K round from Orange Ventures, Launch Africa Ventures, MAIC Investors Club, and others
9jacodekids, a Nigerian edtech platform that teaches kids aged 4-16 coding, robotics, artificial intelligence, and other technical skills, raised a $350K seed round from Bolaji Balogun, CEO of Nigerian investment bank Chapel Hill Denham
Filmmakers Mart, a Nigerian film & entertainment marketplace, raised a $120K pre-seed from White Hibiscus Capital
Laboremus Uganda, a Ugandan B2B provider of identity verification and onboardingsolutions for banks and fintechs, received an undisclosed amount from DOB Equity and FCA Investments
DigsConnect.com, a South African student housing marketplace, raised an undisclosed amount from South African venture builder/launcher The Delta as part of an unspecified funding round
roPay, a Nigerian HR-tech & payroll management platform, raised an undisclosed amount from Tekedia Capital
Lafiya Telehealth, a Nigerian provider of telemedicine solutions, raised an undisclosed amount from Tekedia Capital
OneIDTech, a Nigerian identity verification and authentication platform, raised an undisclosed amount from Tekedia Capital
AjoMoney, a Nigerian fintech platform digitizing traditional offline collective/cooperative savings processes, raised an undisclosed amount from Tekedia Capital and Paga CEO Tayo Oviosu
ADJACENT
Zenda, an Emirati payments platform focused on the education sector, raised a $9.4M seed round from STV, COTU Ventures, Global Founders Capital, and VentureSouq — Zenda (formerly nexopay) reached over $100M in annual contracted payment volumes at the end of 2021 and now plans to enter Egypt in the coming months
Inseco, a South African tech-enabled company that transforms organic food waste into sustainable insect proteins using black soldier fly larvae, raised a $5.3M seed round led by Futuregrowth Asset Management, with participation from E4E Africa, Oak Drive Ventures, and others
M&A
Bboxx, a British provider of clean energy solutions across Africa, acquired Ghana’s PEG Africa in a deal valued at over $300M
Egypt’s Swvl announced an agreement to acquire British B2B smart bus operator startup Zeelo in a deal valued at $100M
Egypt’s Swvl announced an agreement to acquire Turkish corporate mobility platform Volt Lines for an undisclosed amount
Nigerian home services subscription platform Eden Life acquired Kenyan informal sector jobtech platform Lynk for an undisclosed amount — the deal accelerates Eden Life’s expansion into Nairobi via Lynk’s customer base
DEBT
westa.solar, an OOLU-owned provider of solar power solutions to commercial and industrial companies in West Africa, announced that it secured a ~$1.6M mezzanine loan from the Development Bank of Austria (OeEB) early this year
Aladdin, a Nigerian digital bank, announced the successful closing of a debt-financing deal up to $3.5M
📚 Quick Hits
FOR YOUR READING PLEASURE
A framework for navigating down markets — “The market has taken a downturn, and [everyone] seems to offer the same general advice: conserve cash, extend runway, shift from focusing on growth to focusing on efficiency… Here’s a diagnostic framework… [to] reevaluate your valuation, understand your burn multiples, and build scenario plans.”
Cash: Kingmaker or killer? — “The advantage a business can get from having a huge amount of cash typically has more to do with the underlying market dynamics, maturity, and user economics, than it does with the cash itself. In other words? All cash-spending activities don't create equal results…Your attitude towards money will always have more impact than how much money you actually have.”
Pair with: Funding simply shifts the bottleneck — “Abundant capital is not a panacea”
Product-Market Fit in different capital environments — “As the market finds its new normal, … will companies need to redefine PMF in 2022 and 2023? Will businesses focus on shorter term milestones again in more capital efficient categories?”
The marketplace retention metric most ignore — “[Here’s] what GMV retention is — including a spreadsheet template for how to calculate it — why you should care about it, and the benchmarks a16z uses to analyze marketplace performance.”
Why NFTs will gain adoption through commerce — “It’s easy to look at the rise of Bored Apes and think that NFTs are about media, money, and (ugly) art … [B]ut … NFTs have utility beyond monetizing art and community. In fact, everything will be an NFT: concert tickets, apartment keys, work badges, digital media, loyalty cards”
So, what makes a great COO? — “The COO ensures the processes and systems ladder up to mission, vision and values. The COO is uniquely responsible for this… The COO helps the CEO be more effective [and] should have a narrow set of responsibilities… A great COO understands the importance of inputs and the role that system design has in creating those inputs… The COO is a force for rigorous execution.”
Bonus:
Dirty secret: Venture reserves are not always a good thing — “Allocating for follow-on dollars, also known as reserves, is an important tool in the arsenal of every fund manager… [but they] can significantly lower overall fund returns”
The top ten lies GPs tell LPs — “‘We are Thesis Driven,’ [but] in reality, many VCs will follow the herd when there is a hot trend. Or write the thesis so that it is broad enough to accommodate many types of investments.”
🕵️♀️ In case you missed it
NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Bank of Uganda warns banks and fintechs against facilitating crypto trading
Techstars and ARM Labs announce the launch of the ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator that will focus on fintech & proptech startups
ESSAYS/REPORTS
Goldfinch’s Sam Eyob and Obinna Okwodu write for The Africa Playbook, ‘If we build it, will debt come?’
Seni Suleyman, Founder of Black Ops and Ventures Platform Venture Partner writes ‘How exactly do Employee Stock Options work again?’
Microsoft’s MD for Africa Development Centre in Nairobi, Jack Ngare, pens an op-ed in The Standard, ‘Yes, Africa, too, has a lot to teach the world about technology’
Mbugua Njihia, head of business and partnerships at Sure Corporation, writes in Business Daily ‘USSD the unsung hero of financial services in Kenya’
TechCabal Insights, in collaboration with Future Africa and The Baobab Network, publishes the report, ‘How investors are betting on Africa’s early-stage startups’
OTHER ARTICLES
How market failures are holding Africa back (The Economist)
Africa’s fastest growing companies 2022 (Financial Times)
Why Nigeria’s biggest telecom companies are getting banking licenses (Quartz)
Venture funding is slowing down globally, should African startups be concerned? (TechCabal)
Stablecoins are gaining currency in Africa (Mail & Guardian)
VIDEO, PODCASTS & AUDIO
Victor Asemota discussed 4 key insights for startup success in Africa
Claudia Makadristo, Head of Africa Expansion at MetaMap, discussed operating in emerging markets on the Global Class podcast
The Afrobility podcast covered Wave — how the mobile money unicorn is disrupting financial services Francophone Africa
INTERVIEWS/PROFILES
Meet the Founder: Jay Alabraba, Paga Co-Founder and Director of Business Development
Meet the Founder: Flexclub’s Co-Founder & CEO Tinashe Ruzane
Meet the Executive: Wiza Jalakasi, VP of Global Developer Relations at Chipper Cash [Video]
🗣️ Community Corner and Opportunities
I see you, friends!
Join the AHL Venture Partners team — they’re hiring a Nairobi-based Investment Associate or Investment Manager
Congrats to Hayden Simmons and Kyane Kassiri on the oversubscribed first close — join the rali_cap team, they’re also hiring
Congrats to Chinedu Azodoh, Adetayo Bamiduro, and Guy-Bertrand Njoya (co-founders of Metro Africa Xpress (MAX)) on their selection as Endeavor entrepreneurs
✨ Have an offer or service that Afridigest readers should know about? See our sponsorship information here.
LA FIN
Thanks for reading 🙌🏽 Send me your news, comments, questions, etc. via Whatsapp, Twitter DM, or email, and feel free to reach out if you just want to chat. 🙏🏽
— Emeka
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