Hi and welcome to African VC/ Startup news, a weekly newsletter where I highlight transactions in the African startup ecosystem over the past week (or two). Since 10 January 2021, I noticed 8 deals come across my screen.
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Since 10 January 2021 I’ve noticed the following deals:
Investments (5 deals)
* uLesson | $7.5m | Series A | Various | Ed-Tech
Investee:
uLesson – An ed-tech business founded in Lagos, Nigeria, that offers educational content to students in Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Gambia through video lessons ( >5 000) quizzes and tests ( >30 000) for senior and junior classes.
Investors:
Owl Ventures – Silicon Valley based venture capital firm that invests in education technology companies across the education spectrum; encompassing basic education, higher education and future of work (career mobility/professional learning) (AUM >$1.2bn).
TLcom Capital – a Sub Saharan Africa focused tech VC, with offices in Lagos, Nairobi and London; investing in Tech, Media and Internet companies across Europe, US and Israel, and its newest fund, TLcom TIDE Africa closed in 2017 is focused solely on Sub Saharan Africa (commitments ~$300m).
Founder Collective – US based seed-stage venture capital fund providing the first professional round of capital to entrepreneurs with compelling business concepts.
LocalGlobe – London based a venture capital firm that focuses on seed and impact investments (funds raised ~$455m).
Detail: $7.5m raised in a Series-A funding round. The funding will be used to expand uLesson’s offering to Eastern and Southern Africa, launching several regional specific products including one-on-one tutoring sessions.
* Sygen Pharmaceuticals | Undisclosed amount | Undisclosed round | Argentil Capital Management | Healthcare
Investee:
Sygen Pharmaceuticals – a Nigerian based pharmaceuticals company that produces and distributes pharmaceutical products under the NGC brand. The company also manufactures beverage and bottled water and operates a factory in Ogun state, Nigeria with eight depots across the country.
Investor:
Argentil Capital – a Nigerian investment management and advisory firm that invests in SMEs via the Argentil Principal Investment Portfolio II and the Argentil SME Investment Fund.
Detail: An undisclosed amount of investment in an undisclosed funding round. The use of the funds is not disclosed.
* (B)Energy | Undisclosed amount | Undisclosed round | Emerging Energy Corp | Energy, Renewables
Investee:
(B)Energy - a social business that provides households in rural Africa, Asia, and Latin America with access to cooking biogas in an innovative, entrepreneurial, technical, and ecological manner.
Investor/s:
Emerging Energy Corp - an investment firm dedicated to creating growth in the African energy sector and related infrastructure.
Detail: Undisclosed amount of investment raised in an undisclosed funding round. The funding will be used to expand further in Africa.
* NewGen | Undisclosed amount | Undisclosed round | Maxula Gestion | Games, Entertainment
Investee:
NewGen - an indie game development Studio based in Tunisia that creates Mobile Games ,Virtual Reality and augmented reality Games.
Investor/s:
Maxula Gestion - manages funds for public and private investors in unlisted investments in Tunisian SMEs.
Detail: Undisclosed amount of investment raised in an undisclosed funding round.
* MooMe | Undisclosed amount | Undisclosed round | Maxula Gestion | Ag-tech
Investee:
MooMe - Tunisian ag-tech that “allows cows to talk to farmers and livestock technicians”.
Investor/s:
Maxula Gestion - manages funds for public and private investors in unlisted investments in Tunisian SMEs.
Detail: Undisclosed amount of investment raised in an undisclosed funding round.
Fundraises (3 deals)
* SPE Capital Partners / SPE AIF 1 | $258m | Various investors
Investor: SPE Capital Partners / SPE AIF 1 – an Africa-focused private equity fund managed by SPE Capital Partners.
Capital raised: $258m from various investors including the IFC and DFC.
Fund size: $258m.
Sector/ stage focus: North Africa, companies with growth potential, in the industrial goods, services, healthcare and education sectors.
Cheque size: Undisclosed.
* The Eastern and Southern African Trade & Development Bank (TDB) | $100m Debt commitment | CDC Group
Investor: TDB – a multilateral, treaty-based, investment-grade development financial institution, to finance and foster trade, and economic integration in the region.
Capital raised: $100m from the CDC Group.
Fund size: N/A.
Sector/ stage focus: Credit to businesses in need of short-term financing to safeguard jobs and protect regional trade.
Cheque size: Undisclosed.
* Brighter Life Kenya 1 Limited (BLK1) | $15m | Norfund
Investor: BLK1 – an off-balance sheet financing vehicle dedicated to acquiring pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) Solar Home System (SHS) accounts receivables from d.light Kenya.
Capital raised: $15m from Norfund.
Fund size: Equivalent to $127m in accounts receivables
Sector/ stage focus: PAYGO receivables for d.light Kenya.
Cheque size: N/A.
Screenshot of deals since 15 January 2021:
Have a great week!
Daryn
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