Mohammed Ibrahim

#network Startups I scout for. Just wanted to help some people out in the various investment thesis I look for 1) Black Founders (Pre-Seed to Series A) building in all sectors (USA) 2) Technology to reduce friction at Scale located in USA, MENA and Africa Focus Areas: B2B ans B2C Software (SaaS, Fintech, Marketplaces, HealthTech, eCommerce, EdTech, AI/ML Stage Pre-Seed (MVP In Market) 3)Sectors: WEB3, AI, QC, RPA Stage: Seed- Series C Also personally, I do a lot of sportstech and gaming Please feel reach out or tag someone in the comments #venturecapital #vc #investing #tech #innovation #startups #dealflow

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#network Startups I scout for. Just wanted to help some people out in the various investment thesis I look for 1) Black Founders (Pre-Seed to Series A) building in all sectors (USA) 2) Technology to reduce friction at Scale located in USA, MENA and Africa Focus Areas: B2B ans B2C Software (SaaS, Fintech, Marketplaces, HealthTech, eCommerce, EdTech, AI/ML Stage Pre-Seed (MVP In Market) 3)Sectors: WEB3, AI, QC, RPA Stage: Seed- Series C Also personally, I do a lot of sportstech and gaming Please feel reach out or tag someone in the comments #venturecapital #vc #investing #tech #innovation #startups #dealflow

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Summary: Janngo Capital, an African venture capital firm, has closed its second fund at €73 million, 20% more than its initial target. The firm focuses on investing in diverse and female-led startups in sectors beyond fintech. Key takeaways: Janngo Capital's second fund exceeded its initial target, demonstrating confidence from investors in the potential of African startups. The firm has a strong focus on gender equality, with over half of its portfolio made up of startups founded or led by women. Janngo Capital has had success with exits and investments in diverse sectors, showing that a high-impact thesis can deliver in the African startup ecosystem. Counter arguments: Some may argue that the percentage of investments in female-led startups may be seen as tokenism rather than genuine support for diversity. Janngo Capital's focus on sectors beyond fintech may be seen as a riskier investment strategy, which could lead to lower returns. #venturecapital #vc #venture https://lnkd.in/gvxaR6Pc

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Despite all of the challenges building a business on the continent, I am super passionate about investing and supporting investors investing in African and Africa-focused businesses. There is so much that needs to be done. Thank you to The Nation Newspaper, one of Nigeria’s foremost newspapers houses, for letting me share my thoughts and journey. We are just getting started. #entrepreneurship #venturecapital #businesses #startups #Africanstartups

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Early stage start-ups: VC firm Openseedvc has set up a $10m fund for early-stage startups in Africa and Europe. The new firm's looking to invest in AI, digital health and fintech. #Africa #startups #ai #digitalhealth #fintech

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I found Afrorian's analogy comparing venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) to baseball and basketball insightful. However, it’s essential to approach investing in Africa with a region-specific focus. VC investment thrives in areas with well-developed ecosystems that support innovation and product development—especially where there’s a clear value proposition and competitive advantage for scaling across regions, the continent, or even globally. Regions like North Africa, East Africa, South Africa, Nigeria, and Ghana exemplify such environments. At the same time, I believe alternative investments and later-stage platforms—particularly in infrastructure and PE—are crucial in creating the supportive environment that VCs need. Strategic investments in areas like energy, digital infrastructure, education, and healthcare lay a solid foundation for innovation and sustainable growth. A critical point here is that sustainable economic growth remains elusive without foundational investments in these sectors. The current over-reliance on foreign limited partners (LPs) in Africa, along with limited local LP participation, creates an imbalance. This dependency on public sector funding and foreign direct investment (FDI) for economic development presents long-term stability risks. In regions like North America and Europe, PE is successful in part because local LPs provide a substantial share of capital, while general partners (GPs) co-invest to align interests effectively. In Africa, the lack of local LP involvement often forces investors and sponsors to prioritise assets with revenue in USD or currencies pegged to the Euro, like the CFA Franc. This helps mitigate foreign exchange risk for foreign LPs (including development finance institutions, or DFIs) and allows returns to exceed hurdle rates that might otherwise be reduced by currency depreciation. The ultimate goal, however, should be to foster local LP involvement so African investments can achieve globally competitive returns—ideally without the drag of forex depreciation on performance.

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Africa Future Forward

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As the year hurtles towards its end, African startups have raised $1.86 billion in venture funding as of November 2024; $1.2 billion (64%) was equity, $635 million (34%) came in the form of debts, while $33 (2%)came in the form of grants. With a month left in the year, it has become highly unlikely that this year’s total funding will get anywhere close to the $2.9 billion raised in 2023. However, one can only hope it hits the $2 billion mark which might prove a tall ask as well, as companies tend to wind down operations for the year and take stock. #venturefunding #startupfunding https://lnkd.in/dRYT2KRd

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So what’s going on in the African startup, tech & investment ecosystem? Here are a few announcements, opportunities & resources worth checking out. Week 20 (2024) Post #92 SPOTLIGHT 🧐 As much as we like to celebrate the African tech ecosystem and its growth, we also need to address is challenges & concerns. With investments decreasing into startups and funds themselves struggling to raise new capital, we have to ask is this a global financing problem or an African one? Abdul-Karim Mohamed has looked into how Africa should have generated $20.5B in #Exits from capital deployed over the last decade, but it hasn’t, so what does this mean? No good deals, market needs more time to mature or something else? Read his piece on the topic & see infographic snapshot below. NEWS & RESOURCES 💰 Is Africa’s Dollar Shortage ending anytime soon? By Benjamin Fernandes. 🇪🇬 Accel enters chat - leads $4m Swypex Investment. By Tage Kene-Okafor. 🗂️ Allan Gray Centre for Africa Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Index launches. 🤖 Time for Africa to embrace the power AI - Resilience17 explores. 🌍 Entrepreneurship IN the New Scramble for Africa. By Parminder Vir OBE. 🫰 United Nations urge ‘investment surge’ to solve $4T emerging market gap. 📖 Wimbart chat to Oluwatomisin Amokeoja, Forbes Africa on Africa’s story. PROGRAMMES & OPPORTUNITIES 🟠 Orange Corners Fund Manger Programme open in 🇧🇩🇲🇱🇸🇸🇸🇩🇹🇳🇧🇮🇮🇶. 👨‍💻 HackOps 1.0 for African Dev’s to win $10k + Iyinoluwa Aboyeji Mentorship. 🙋‍♀️ Jasiel & Margaret are back with new Founder Pitch Office Hours sessions. 🤖 Google opens applications for AI Accelerator Africa Programme. 🦸‍♂️ Africa's Business Heroes 2024 Award Competition open for applications. EVENTS 📅 May 13-15th: 3i Africa Summit 2024 in Accra, Ghana. 📅 May 16th: AfriTech Basecamp: Founder & Investor Networking Event. 📅 May 16th: London Venture Capital Network - Investing in Africa Meetup. 📅 May 16-17th: Africa CEO Forum in Kigali, Rwanda. 📅 May 16-18th: RiseUp Summit 24 in Cairo, Egypt. 📅 May 17th: Windhoek Slush'D in Windhoek, Namibia. 👉 To find out more about Africa Tech & Investment focused events then check out my annual African Tech Events Watchlist - 2024 Edition. 🔥 Person to Follow #55 - If TechCrunch is synonymous with telling the story of the global tech, startup and venture capital scene, then Tage Kene-Okafor is the publications man doing that for the African continent. The seasoned journalist was previously at Techpoint Africa & involved with Co-creation Hub (CcHUB). 🎙️ New Media Alert - CNBC Africa’s new series Startup Caps, which aims to champion Africa’s startup ecosystems has just dropped. In E1 they take a look at “Understanding the investment landscape for African startups” with host Tania Habimana & guests David of Boost Africa Technical Assistance Facility, Kola of Ventures Platform Fund, Melvyn of Breega and Evelyn of Lupiya. Links in 1st comment - reference emojis👇 #Startups #Tech #Investment #Africa

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New: Famed accelerator Y Combinator made a splash in Africa in 2020 when it shined its light on the market and began to accept a dozen startups from the region into its cohorts. Fast forward to today, though, that attention, not just on Africa but emerging tech markets as a whole, has started to look a bit fickle (a return to in-person batches and interest in newer tech like AI are a few reasons why). As such, local accelerators—backed by Flutterwave founders and African YC alumni (Iyinoluwa Aboyeji and Olugbenga Agboola)—are emerging to fill the gap. Read more in my latest feature for TechCrunch: https://lnkd.in/eaJPBEHr

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Nigerian #fintech Moniepoint has raised $110 million in funding to expand across Africa. Investors included Development Partners International’s African Development Partners (ADP) III fund, Google’s Africa Investment Fund and African VC Verod Capital. Lightrock, an existing investor, also participated. Founded in 2015, Moniepoint initially focused on providing infrastructure & payments technology for banks and financial institutions. It has has since grown into Nigeria's leading business banking provider, processing over 800 million transactions, with a monthly total value in excess of US$17 billion. The firm is Nigeria’s largest merchant acquirer, powering most of the country’s Point of Sale (POS) transactions. Last year Moniepoint entered the personal banking market through its subsidiary, Moniepoint Microfinance Bank, where it has experienced 2,000% growth in personal finance customers. The capital raised will be used to accelerate Moniepoint’s growth across Africa, building an all-in-one, integrated platform for African businesses, offering services such as digital payments, banking, foreign exchange (FX), credit, and business management tools. Tosin Eniolorunda, Founder & CEO, says: "The proceeds from this raise will speed up our efforts to drive financial inclusion and support Africa’s entrepreneurial potential." #yoursuccessourbusiness

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🌍 ZAN Node is Empowering Web3 Growth in Africa! Hi LinkedIn family, I’ve been away for a while, and it’s all been for a great cause, structuring and working tirelessly with my colleague Farouk Abdulhakeem to bring ZAN Node to Africa! Africa is rapidly emerging as a hotspot for innovation, with its youthful population, increasing tech adoption, and untapped potential making it the perfect destination for Web3 projects to thrive. The blockchain ecosystem is buzzing, and now is the time for global projects to explore this thriving market. That’s why I’m excited to announce that ZAN Node, a leading Web3 infrastructure provider, is officially coming to Africa! ZAN Node offers plug-and-play tools and seamless blockchain solutions to empower developers, businesses, and enterprises to scale efficiently. Our goal is to revolutionize Africa’s blockchain landscape and drive adoption across the region. If you’re a project or developer, this is your chance to tap into Africa’s unique potential. Let’s unlock opportunities and build a sustainable future together! 📌 Join the ZAN Node African community for updates: https://t.me/Zannode_Afro 📌 Set your reminder for our first AMA session to learn more: https://lnkd.in/eX2Pey82 The future of Web3 in Africa starts now. Let’s make history together!! Gaa Ta Abdulkadir Abdulkadir Haruna Chado #Web3 #Blockchain #ZANNode #Africa #Innovation #Technology

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Could blockchain be the catalyst for Africa’s next economic transformation? 🌍 Recently, I was honoured to contribute to the #Blockchain Roundtable Brief on behalf of the International Trade Centre, a collaborative exploration into how blockchain could impact Africa’s economic landscape. This roundtable brought together pioneering thinkers, from industry leaders to policymakers, all sharing insights on blockchain’s potential to drive transparency, enhance security, and improve efficiency in sectors critical to Africa, like finance and supply chain management. https://lnkd.in/dynmm6xk Read and let me know what you thoughts This throwback falls on my 3 years with FTW DAO, a global, community-driven initiative focused on advancing #Web3 and exploring the real-world applications of decentralized tech (Isla Munro-Hochmayr Ben Hoelzl) . At ITC Tech Entrepreneurship, we’re also directly supporting businesses harnessing emerging technologies, with a cohort of companies using blockchain, AI, and other emerging technologies to unlock new opportunities across industries including the likes of PayBox Global, Motito, Farmerline Group, Npontu Technologies Limited, Dataware Tech, AIDEC Digital and more With Africa’s ongoing push towards digital transformation, ITC’s work with these companies is empowering a generation of tech-driven entrepreneurs ready to lead the charge and pushing for Business Support Organisations to also adapt to digital means. What’s your take? Can blockchain open new doors for Africa’s economy? I’d love to hear your thoughts below! #BlockchainAfrica #Web3 #FTWDAO #EmergingTech #InnovationAfrica #FutureOfFinance #AfricaTech #DigitalEconomy #ITCinthenews #ITC #NTFV

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So what’s going on in the African startup, tech & investment ecosystem? Here are a few announcements, opportunities & resources worth checking out. Week 33 (2024) Post #104 SPOTLIGHT 🧐 Africa's Business Heroes Announces Top 50 Finalists for 2024 Prize Competition. The annual competition took in 20,000 applications from across all 54 Africa countries. The competition, supported by the Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Group Philanthropy, is a charitable endeavour designed to celebrate and uplift entrepreneurs across Africa. NEWS & RESOURCES 📣 Founders Factory Africa rebrands to 54 Collective VC - check out the look! 🏦 Mercury Bank compliance changes shut African startup accounts. 🐔 The men behind Nando’s – South Africa’s global peri-peri chicken empire. 🇦🇪 The Africa Debate from Invest Africa Ltd to launch the UAE edition. 🇮🇳 African tech is ditching Google for a small Indian competitor called Zoho? 🏗️ African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM) closes fund at $748m. 💡 South Africa VC firm HAVAÍC elevates Kiara Suttner-Tromp to partner. 📕 Report - State of Tech in Africa (H1 2024 Report) from TechCabal. 🚙 What Africa is doing right in EV adoption push? Benjamin Dada reports. 🇹🇷 Egypt’s MNT-Halan banks $157.5M, acquire a fintech in Turkey to expand. 🇿🇦 Report - Watch SA Startup Act Movement Progress Report 23/24 Webinar. PROGRAMMES & OPPORTUNITIES 🇪🇬 Apply now to join Plug and Play Tech Center Programme for its 6th cohort. 🥬 Agribusiness Challenge Fund is offering grants of up to $2.5m for startups. 🚀 Accelerate Africa is taking Startup Nominations for its 2nd Programme. 🌍 Included VC Global VC Fellowship (Class of 2024) apps close tomorrow. EVENTS 📅 Mon 12th: Africa-Europe Foundation - International Youth Day Webinar. 📅 Mon 12th: Dream VC x Anza Capital - Guide to CVC Best Practice Webinar. 👉 To find out more about Africa Tech & Investment focused events then check out my annual African Tech Events Watchlist - 2024 Edition. 🙏 Ecosystem Ask - The ABAN 2024 Angel Investment Survey, sponsored by the Dutch Good Growth Fund and supported by Briter and the African Angel Academy (collaborating for the third consecutive year) is ongoing and is looking for you to contribute. 🔥 Person to Follow #68 - Audrey Verhaeghe is the pan African Tech start-up enthusiast and eco-system builder & Investor. She is the CEO of Anza Capital the Johannesburg based Venture Capital firm & Chairman of the SA Innovation Summit the largest innovation event in South Africa. 🎙️ This week a short film for you all - Women Who Build Africa, together with Uncover Skincare and Madica VC, present stories and perspectives from some of the women entrepreneurs and investors that are working to build and support businesses that solve real problems across African markets. Links in 1st comment - reference emojis👇 #Startups #Tech #Investment #Africa

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Time flies when you’re having fun, right? It’s been just over a year since I joined NODO to report on Africa’s expanding blockchain ecosystem, a role I found to be deeply connected to as my work evolved from an African focus to a global lens on decentralised technologies. Today, I manage content for the company, and while my day-to-day involves less journalism—my forte at TechCabal—I feel proud to be contributing to the important work we’re doing in making DeFi more accessible for global users. If you’ve missed my writings so far, here are some favourites you will very much still enjoy: 1. This, on an industry-led effort to criminate Binance: https://lnkd.in/dG7KrdwC 2. This, on hyper-local efforts to expand the Solana blockchain network: https://lnkd.in/dWmvFNCJ 3. This chat, where Trust Wallet’s CEO Eowyn C. shares ideas of banking Africa’s unbanked: https://lnkd.in/dhufffj9 4. This feature, where I argue that Africa needs a slightly different version of web3: https://lnkd.in/dNp4PpX5 5. And here, where I dive into the tokenisation prospects of Tether.io known mostly for its blinding success in putting the US dollar on blockchains: https://lnkd.in/diem7XeF Also contributed to the most prestigious blockchain report in Africa (CV VC ) here! : https://lnkd.in/dQntxAzi It’s a new chapter now! Cheers to milestones 🥂

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This African investor pioneered the mobile tower leasing business in Africa. Built the largest Africa-focused private investment firm. And manages $4+ billion in assets. Meet, Helios Investment Partners. The Prototype Helios is the investor behind some of Africa’s biggest deals. Connecting capital to African talent and businesses. Started in 2004.  When Tope Lawani and Babatunde Soyoye left TPG.  To venture out on their own. Helios had a mountain to climb🏔️ To prove they could invest in Africa successfully. Before raising a fund. They had to show they could make waves in Africa.   Sure, they’d nailed investing in America, Europe, and Asia.  But Africa? Nothing but crickets 🦗 Their 1st challenge?  Fixing up the Modern Africa Fund.  A $110 million fund in trouble, started in 1997.  Funded by the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation This fund had fingers in 8 companies. Some deep in hot water. Helios swooped in like Superman 🦸‍♂️.  Rescued the fund and cashed out big time. Afsat Communications, a satellite company, scored a sweet 115% return.  While Flamingo Holdings, a flower exporter, brought home a 40% gain. Come 2005.  Helios was hunting for game-changers in Africa 🔍. They stumbled onto the mobile telephony scene.  And thought, “Hey, let’s grab a mobile license in Nigeria!”.  Spoiler: They lost out to MTN Nigeria and Econet Group.  But hey, they spotted a juicy opportunity🍑 . Building mobile towers and renting them out to telecom(telcos) bigwigs 📡. Why? Back then, telcos spent 50% of their cash building mobile towers. Landline penetration in Nigeria was at 1% 📞.  Someone had to build a whole new telephony system from scratch! They tried buying towers from MTN. But MTN said “No way José” 🚫.  So, they rolled up their sleeves and built their own towers💪.  And bam, HTN Towers Nigeria was born. Simple model:  Buy land, throw up a tower, plug it into the ⚡ grid, get a generator, and slap on some security.  Kinda like real estate 🏢. They took notes from big shots in the U.S. like Crown Castle & American Tower. Dropping $12 million to dot Nigeria with mobile infrastructure 📶. HTN Towers pioneered the model in Africa. Allowing telcos to focus on their core business.  Freeing up cash for investments in network growth and customer service improvement. Helios cashed out big-time in 2016. Selling HTN Towers to IHS Towers —Africa, Middle East, and Latin America’s mobile tower big boss. And today, Helios is the biggest African investor. With  💰Investments of $3.8+ billion in African businesses.  💼Exits of $4+ billion to investors in their firm. 💵 Revenues of $9+ billion through its portfolio companies. What are your thoughts on Helios’ story? Let me know in the comments. 👇 Today in my newsletter, I’ll dive deep into Helios' meteoric rise. Grab it in your inbox here 💌  https://lnkd.in/d-mDKYRT PS- Helios' investing playbook on Africa is the best I've ever seen.

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Nigeria-based fintech Moniepoint gains ‘unicorn’ status - https://on.ft.com/3YldkSV via @FT 29 Oct 2024 Moniepoint’s capital raise comes amid a wider slowdown in funding for start-ups across the continent African start-ups attracted a total of $1.4bn in the first three quarters of the year, down 38 per cent on the same period last year, according to the funding tracker Africa: the Big Deal # africa tech economics fintech

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