Moove is the top headline this week. The Nigerian vehicle financing platform closed a $100 million in a Series B funding round led by Uber. Moove offers vehicle financing for business owners in the transport sector from ride-hailing, logistics, mass transit, and instant delivery platforms. The company embeds its alternative credit-scoring technology onto ride-hailing, logistics, and last-mile/instant delivery platforms allowing access to proprietary performance and revenue analytics of mobility entrepreneurs to underwrite loans.
Seeing Uber, a global giant, participate in such a funding round in Africa is impressive. This is Uber’s first dive into African startup funding and this particular funding round is the largest we have seen in Africa this year. This is encouraging and may be a sign of good things to come.
Moove now has a valuation of $750 million thanks to this finding round.
Do you think we will see more rounds from other global companies this year.
Besides Moove, this week we saw kenyan startup, tappi announce its expansion to Côte d’Ivoire in Partnership with MTN. The startup provides end-to-end digital commerce SaaS solution tailored for Africa’s micro, small and medium-sized businesses (MSMEs).
Tappi helps businesses find customers online, engage with them and build a reputation. Through the platform, businesses:
Get a free website and SEO marketing to make your business visible online.
Create ads (advertisements) in three quick steps and post to Facebook & Instagram.
Get SMS and online reviews from customers.
Other Stories
ANKA marketplace is shutting down after 11 years of operation and burning over $13.5 million. This is not good news for the ecosystem.
Kuda got the necessary payment licences for expansion to Tanzania and Canada. Kuda will now be able to provide remittance and multi-currency wallet services to African residents in Canada and Tanzanian.
Former Paystack Managers launch a new fresh grocery delivery startup in Nigeria called GoLemon.
Startup Funding Rounds
Moove is the star of the show this week but we do have other notable mentions. Besides the usual countries in this list, we have seen the entry of a Tunisian-born (but UAE based) startup, the second time we are seeing a startup from the country in a disclosed funding round this year.
Kenya’s digital online insurance platform, mTek, secured $1.2 Million in funding. This funding round was led by Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures and Founders Factory Africa. The company says it will use the funding to accelerate its expansion in Kenya and across East Africa.
Zone, a Nigerian blockchain fintech, announced it has closed an $ 8.5 Million seed round that was led by TLcom Capital and Flourish Ventures with the participation of Digital Currency Group, Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures, Alter Global, and Endeavor Catalyst. Zone is a regulated blockchain network that enables payments and acceptance of digital currencies.
Float, a South African Buy Now, pay Later (BNPL) startup, raised $11 Million in debt financing from Standard bank. The funding will be used to expand the platform across thousands of South African merchants over the next four years.
Reedz, an app providing audiobook summaries of the best selling books in the world and podcasts made by ClusterLab has raised $600,000 in pre-seed funding led by Karim Beguir. The Tunisian-born and UAE based startup will use the cash injection for research and development efforts.
Moove, which we have already talked about, raised the largest amount this week at $100 million dollars. the round was led by Uber and will see the startup move its HQ to the UAE as it seeks expansion to the region.
Active Investors
We did not see that many deals close this week but the active investors are:
Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures (VKAV) who took part in both mTek and Zone’s funding rounds. VKAV describes itself as an outfit that funds founders in Africa who are addressing deep gaps between the status quo and the ideal.
VKAV is the flagship fund of Verod-Kepple Africa Partners, a joint venture between Verod Capital Management Limited (Verod Capital) and Kepple Africa Ventures. It was established in 2022 to focus on supporting scalable, tech-enabled, post-revenue enterprises dedicated to addressing challenges faced in different industries across Africa.
Opportunities and jobs
In Kenya, the ICT Authority extended the call for submissions to the Connected Africa Summit ICT Innovation Awards. The award seeks to celebrate African Start-ups and Innovators that use ICT in innovative ways. The new deadline is 28th March, 2024. Application can be made here.
This week, Bolt launched an Accelerator program to empower Kenyan drivers and couriers or their immediate family members on an entrepreneurial journey. You can learn more here.
Microsoft announced the start of its second cohort for University faculty. This edition concentrates on intensive software development training, delving into the latest technologies, such as AI, and industry trends with a focus on practical exercises.
Gebeya Inc. has announced a strategic partnership with O’Reilly to upskill Africans with tech skills. Learn more here.
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