CJ Benjamin’s Post

African Startup Ecosystem Update: February 2024 🌍 February marked a significant uptick in fundraising activities across the African continent, showcasing resilience and dynamic growth within the startup ecosystem. Here's what you need to know: ➖Total Raised: Startups in Africa have secured $217M in February, demonstrating a robust recovery to levels seen in 2020 and 2021. ➖Key Players: Nigerian transport tech giant Moove led the charge with a massive $100M Series B round, highlighting the sector's potential. ➖Growth Areas: The Big Four (Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, and South Africa) dominated, with Nigeria and Kenya leading at 42% and 27% of total funding, respectively. The Logistics & Transport and Fintech sectors were the frontrunners in attracting investment. ➖Looking Forward: With $300M raised YTD and the potential for mega deals on the horizon, 2024 holds promising prospects for African startups. Optimistic projections suggest the possibility of reaching up to $3.2B in total funding this year. 💡 Insight: Despite a quieter January, February's momentum sets a hopeful tone for the year ahead. With continued support and investment, the African startup landscape is poised for remarkable achievements. 🔍 Spotlight: Exits and acquisitions such as Carbon's purchase of Vella Finance, Auto24's acquisition of Kupatana, and FairMoney's potential buyout of Umba signal a maturing ecosystem ready for global impact. 🌟 What's Next?: The journey is just beginning. As we navigate through 2024, the focus will be on sustaining this growth, nurturing innovation, and watching out for the next big thing in African tech. Source: report by ‘Africa: The Big Deal’ If you'd like to receive future updates from us, subscribe to our newsletter - https://shorturl.at/dsJTX #FromHereVentures #FHV #AfricanTech #StartupFunding #Innovation #Growth #VC

Fantastic news!!! This is a big step in closing the funding gap for early-stage tech startups in South Africa. It promises to fuel innovation and transform the tech ecosystem. Excited for the positive impact on entrepreneurship and the future of tech! #TechStartups #Innovation #EconomicGrowth #Entrepreneurship #SeedFunding

🌍💡 Unlocking Africa’s Startup Potential: Building Local Investment Ecosystems 💡🌍 The African startup ecosystem faces significant challenges. In the first half of 2024, venture investments declined by 65%, according to the African Private Capital Association (AVCA). Historically, 77% of Africa’s venture funding has come from foreign sources, and the reduced foreign interest is being felt deeply. But here’s the truth: Africa’s future cannot depend solely on foreign investors. We must build a thriving local investment ecosystem. 💼 The Call to Action for Africa’s Wealthy: It’s time for our #African #millionaires and #billionaires to step up and invest in the continent’s innovation and entrepreneurship. Local angel investors and venture funds can drive a new wave of growth by backing startups that address Africa’s pressing needs in sectors like fintech, agritech, healthcare, logistics, and more. 🚀 The Opportunity Ahead: 1️⃣ Developing Early-Stage Companies: Strong local funding ecosystems can nurture startups with clear business models and scalable solutions, making them attractive to larger investors. 2️⃣ Empowering Local Entrepreneurs: African startups must focus on leveraging homegrown capital to create resilient businesses that reflect the continent’s unique needs. 3️⃣ Shifting the Narrative: Investing in startups isn’t just about profit—it’s about transforming economies, creating jobs, and building a sustainable future for Africa. 💬 Let’s Build the Future Together: This is a pivotal moment. By fostering local investment, Africa can reduce reliance on foreign funding and create a sustainable, self-reliant startup ecosystem. To our local investors: What’s stopping you from being part of Africa’s next big success story? #AfricaStartups #AngelInvestors #VentureCapital #Innovation #Entrepreneurship #LocalInvestment #SustainableGrowth 🌱🚀✨

Hey, did you hear about how African startups fared in terms of funding in 2023? It was a bit of a rollercoaster. Despite a slowdown in global funding, African startups managed to secure around $3.5 billion in VC investments. But there was a drop in equity funding by about 54%, with debt funding becoming more popular as an alternative source of capital. The usual suspects like South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, and Kenya still dominated the market, but there was also a shift towards Francophone Africa, with countries like Morocco, Rwanda, and Senegal getting more attention and funding. One interesting thing was the decrease in investor participation by about 50%. This affected larger funding rounds, and we saw fewer mega-deals happening compared to the previous year. Fintech continued to be the star of the show, getting the most funding, followed by clean tech, logistics, health tech, and enterprise sectors. It's exciting to see how African startups are evolving and attracting investment, despite the challenges. Source: TechCrunch #startups #funding #tech #vc

🌟 The State of Angel Investment in Africa: Progress, Challenges, and the Need for Innovation 🌍💡 Angel investment in Africa has been growing steadily, fostering innovation and supporting startups. Yet, the ecosystem remains fragmented and territorial—angels often focus solely on their own countries, missing out on cross-border opportunities and collaboration. Here’s the truth: We need a bold, unified solution to take angel investment to the next level. 🌐 The Current Challenges: Fragmentation: Local focus limits collaboration and continental impact. Complexity: Platforms like Catalytic Africa are promising but lack sufficient promotion and feature a process that feels cumbersome for fast-paced startups. Misaligned Support: Development funding often mirrors bank-like bureaucracy, failing to fully grasp startups' needs for agility and speed. 🚀 The Game-Changer We Need: 1️⃣ A centralized, AI-powered platform that streamlines matchmaking between startups and investors. 2️⃣ Combining angel investment with crowdinvesting, making startup funding more inclusive and participatory. 3️⃣ A sustainable subscription model to ensure continuous platform improvement while reducing reliance on donor funding. 4️⃣ Expanding angel networks beyond borders, creating a truly continental ecosystem for African startups. 💡 The Role of ABAN: With its presence in 34 countries, #ABAN (African Business Angel Network) is uniquely positioned to lead this transformation. By leveraging its extensive reach and experience, ABAN could spearhead a next-generation platform that integrates angels across Africa, fosters cross-border collaboration, and makes investing as seamless as possible. 💬 The Opportunity: Imagine a startup in #Kenya receiving investments from angels in #Nigeria and #SouthAfrica through a unified platform. Picture a simplified process that uses #AI to match investors with startups and supports startups with real-time feedback, mentorship, and capital. Africa’s entrepreneurial potential is limitless—but we need infrastructure and innovation to make it thrive. Let’s Build the Future: It’s time to unite Africa’s angel investors and startups under one banner. Let’s simplify, innovate, and create a sustainable ecosystem that works for everyone. What’s your take? How can we unlock the full potential of angel investment in Africa? Share your thoughts! ⬇️ #AngelInvestment #StartupFunding #ABAN #AfricaInnovation #CrowdInvesting #Entrepreneurship #Collaboration #DigitalTransformation ABAN🌍✨

Hey African startups! 👋 Big news for you guys! Innovate Africa just rolled out an angel fund with $2.5 million to support startups in the early stages. Kristin Wilson and Christian Idiodi teamed up to co-found this fund, which is open to all sectors. Their goal is to fund around 20 startups in the first year. They want to tackle issues like insecurity, unemployment, and poverty by using purpose-driven technology. But hold up, it's not just about the money. Innovate Africa also gives founders super helpful insights and guidance. They'll help you go from the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) stage to hitting that Product-Market Fit (PMF). On average, startups can expect an investment of $50,000. Innovate Africa will also assist with financial matters, governance, public relations, and strategy development. If you're interested, founders can apply for funding through the Innovate Africa Fund Application here: https://lnkd.in/ddGNKxTX If you're from Innovate Africa Foundation, let's chat. Amwata Tech helps idea stage founders get to MVP and secure funding 🤝 #Startups #Innovation #Africa #AngelInvestment #TechForGood

Dive in to discuss reasons to invest in Africa (aswell as some notes on why not). Personally I find the upside more appealing! More potential impact, great startups, great talent pool and a pleasure to do business with African founders.

So what happened in the African startup funding landscape in the first half of 2024? As predicted, the ecosystem faced significant challenges. For instance, the total funding dropped by 57% compared to H1 2023, amounting to approximately $780 million. Be that as it may, key sectors such as transport, fintech, and cleantech continued to attract substantial investments. 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬: African startups raised approximately $780 million in H1 2024, marking a notable decrease from the $1.8 billion raised in H1 2023. This 57% drop reflects the broader economic pressures but also highlights a shift towards more sustainable and strategic investments. 𝐓𝐨𝐩 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐩𝐬: ✅ Moove (Nigeria) - $100 million ✅ M-KOPA (Kenya) - $51 million ✅ SPIRO (Kenya) - $50 million ✅ SunCulture (Kenya) - $27.5 million ✅ Roam (Kenya) - $24 million ✅ PULA (Kenya) - $20 million ✅ Valu (Egypt) - $18.7 million ✅ OneOrder (Egypt) - $16 million ✅ Planet42 (South Africa) - $16 million ✅ Simera Sense (South Africa) - $15 million Jesse Moore Christo Rust Johann Du Toit Ana-Mia Louw Kammy Brun Eerik Oja Marten Orgna Tamer Amer Karim Maurice Walid Hassouna Mostafa El-Sahn Habiba Naguib Thomas Njeru Rose Goslinga Sarfraz Shah, FIII Nabil Janmohamed Silvere Mantz Cedrick A Todwell Joyce Mlewa Mikael Gånge Clare Awuor Olov Daniels Filip Lövström Samir Ibrahim Njeri N. Hack Stiernblad Henry Clarke Andrew Reicher Mikayla Czajkowski Ladi Delano   Learn More 👉 https://lnkd.in/dBAn9TrB #empowerafrica #africa #investinafrica #AfricanStartups #Innovation #Funding #Entrepreneurship

💵 VC Funding in Africa Faces Slowdown in Q1 2024 The African startup ecosystem experienced a significant funding slowdown in the first quarter of 2024, according to the latest industry report. Despite the challenges, there were some positive signals amidst the turbulence. Here are 3 key takeaways on VC trends in Africa for Q1 2024: 🔹 African startups raised $542 million across 153 deals in Q1 2024 year-to-date (Jan-Apr), a 45.62% decrease compared to the same period in 2023. However, the number of startups raising $1 million or more increased to 75 vs. 69 in 2023. 🔹 For the first time, Africa-based VCs accounted for the largest share (35%) of investors active in African startups in 2023, surpassing North America (30%) and Europe (25%). This shift highlights the growing prominence of domestic VC activity. 🔹 Among the leading Africa-based investors were firms from Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Ethiopia, and Mauritius, reflecting the continent's diverse VC landscape. As the African startup ecosystem navigates this challenging funding environment, domestic VC firms are emerging as key players, supporting local entrepreneurs and driving innovation across the continent. Share your thoughts on the Q1 2024 VC trends in Africa and the role of domestic investors in fostering a resilient ecosystem. 📝 Thank you all for your support and your trust 🔗 Don't forget to register and follow us on appcyto.com 👍 Like | 💬 Comment | 🔗 Share | ➕ Subscribe Connecting Africa, Empowering You! Africa: The Big Deal Azur Innovation Management Ventures Platform Fund Voltron Capital Renew Capital Founders Factory Africa Catalyst Fund Launch Africa Ventures Joachim Valot Tamara Lerner Corentin Grenon #Fintech #Angola #Africa #Tech #Finance #Inclusion #Innovation #Entrepreneurship #Payments #Investments #Efficiency #Transparency #Security #StationF #Remittances #YouthEmployment #EconomicGrowth #FinancialInclusion #SDG #TechInAfrica #StartupFunding #Fintech #Innovation #AfricanTechRevolution #VCTrends #AfricanStartups #VentureCapital #DomesticInvestors

𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐠𝐚 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 $𝟓𝟐𝐌 𝐓𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 $𝟕𝟓𝐌 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐩 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝 Breega, a European venture capital firm, has secured $52 million toward its new $75 million African fund, with plans to complete fundraising by the end of year. The firm has established offices in Lagos and Cape Town, Its partners Melvyn Lubega and Tosin Faniro-Dada oversee operations in these locations. The fund aims to invest in major African startup hubs including Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa, Kenya, and various Francophone countries. The investment strategy focuses on seed-stage investments ranging from $100,000 to $2 million, with 30-40% of the fund reserved for follow-on rounds. Backed by high-net-worth individuals, tech entrepreneurs, and institutions including Bpifrance and FMO, Breega has already invested in nine African startups over the past two years, including Kenyan fintechs Sava and Kwara, and Ugandan digital loan provider NUMIDA. The fund's investment focus aligns with Africa's projected population growth from 1.5 billion to 2.5 billion by 2050, targeting sectors crucial for development including agritech, edtech, healthtech, fintech, logistics, mobility, and energy. #VentureCapital #AfricanTech #StartupFunding #InnovationAfrica #Fintech #Healthtech #Agritech #BreegaAfrica #AfricanStartups