African VC deals since 3 January 2021

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 3 January 2021, I noticed 9 deals come across my screen.

In addition to sending the weekly newsletter, I maintain a database of deals, investors and portfolio companies in the African startup ecosystem, it is available: here

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Since 3 January 2021 I’ve come across the following deals:

Investments (6 deals):

1.     Gro Intelligence | $85m | Series B | Various Investors | Agri-Tech 

Investee: Gro Intelligence – An Agri-tech business founded in Nairobi, Kenya and headquartered in New York, US, that runs a data platform which aggregates and analyses agricultural data for purposes of modelling relationships between agriculture, climate and trade. Key output is the management of food and climate risk.   

Investor/s:

Intel Capital – VC firm that backs technology start-ups ($466m invested).

TPG Growth – Generalist Investment company ($85bn AUM).

EchoVC – Stage agnostic VC fund investing in technology start-ups with focus on Sub-Saharan Africa.

DCVC, GGV Capital, Ronald Lauder, Eric Zinterhofer

Detail: $85m raised in a Series-B round. The funding will be applied to growth acceleration and global adoption of the Gro Platform.

2.     Docspert Health | Undisclosed (>$1m) | Seed | MAC Capital Partners, Flat6Labs | Health sector

Investee: Docspert Health – an Egyptian company operating an online platform that acts as an intermediary between the best overseas-based expert doctors in a variety of specialities and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region; also offering online second opinion Medical consultations.   

Investor/s: 

MAC Capital Partners – an early stage investment firm based in London.

Flat6Labs Cairo – a leading startup accelerator program and seed investment company focusing on MENA region.

Detail: An undisclosed amount (>$1m) raised in a Series-A round. The funding will be applied to growth acceleration across different geographies.

3.     Daystar Power | $38m | Series B | IFU, STOA, Proparco, Morgan Stanley | Energy sector

Investee: Daystar Power – A Nigerian power utility company that focuses on hybrid solar power solutions for commercial and industrial customers. Solutions are sold either for cash or a monthly fee, with three deliverables to clients; reducing their cost of energy, providing a stable power supply and reducing pollution. 

Investor/s: 

Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU) – a development funding institution owned by the Danish government offering advisory services and risk capital to companies wishing to do business in developing countries and emerging markets (investments to date ~$3.77bn).

STOA Infra and Energy – A French investment fund part owned by the French Development Agency, that invests equity and quasi-equity in all infrastructure segments (power, transportation, telecommunications, water and waste, and social infrastructure) in Africa, Latin America and South East Asia (Fund size ~$730.4m).

Proparco – a French development funding institution focused on investing in key development areas, such as renewable energy-based infrastructure, agribusiness, financial sector, health and education.

Morgan Stanley

Detail: $38m raised in a Series-B round (following $10m Series A funding raised prior). The funding will be used to grow operations in key markets Nigeria and Ghana, deepen the company’s presence in other countries, increase installed power capacity to over 100MW, enhance digital offerings and expand local teams. 

4.     Starsight Energy | $10m | Debt | FinnFund, NorFund | Energy sector

Investee: Starsight Energy – A Nigerian independent energy efficiency company delivering sustainable solar power and cooling services. The company provides premier clean on-grid and off-grid energy services to commercial and industrial clients in Africa. Currently has a portfolio of 500 sites and 36MW of installed generating capacity.   

Investor/s:

FinnFund – a government funded development finance institution from Finland focused on impact investing in developing countries, and investing specifically in renewable energy, sustainable forestry and agriculture and financial institutions (Investments and commitments as at end 2019 ~USD1.2bn).

Norfund – The Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries, owned by the Norwegian Government, contributes to poverty reduction and economic development in the poorest countries through investments in profitable businesses and transfer of knowledge and technology.

Detail: $10m in debt funding raised (in 2019 the same funders provided $10m in debt). The funds will be utilised to expand the company’s reach across Nigeria and Ghana as well as to develop and deploy their hybrid solar solutions to commercial and industrial customers. 

5.     Opio | $300k | Seed | AUC Angels, Flat6Labs | E-commerce, Retail

Investee: Opio – An Egyptian fashion brand that designs, curates and sells everyday women's wear online. The platform commissions, white labels and toll manufactures women’s apparel to different manufacturers and offers it to its customer base through its digital platform.  

Investor/s:

AUC Angels – the first university based angel investor network in the MENA region.

Flat6Labs Cairo

Detail: $300k in raised in a Seed round. The capital will be used to expand the startup’s product offering and scale of operations. 

6.     Ozé Inc. | $700k | Seed | Anorak Ventures, Matuca Sarl, Rising Tide Africa, Ingressive Capital, MEST | Fintech

Investee: Ozé Inc.  – A Ghana based fintech that offers an app to help SMEs with financial management, business strategy and growth during their early stages. The app collects data and establishes a credit rating of the business which allows Ozé to source well priced funding for the SMEs. The platform also has a corporate / financial institution interface that links funders to the entrepreneurs.  

Investor/s:

Anorak Ventures – an early stage venture capital firm based in San Francisco, focused on frontier technology, specifically virtual and augmented reality, computer vision, robotics, autonomous vehicles, and IOT (current portfolio market cap ~USD1.8bn).

Rising Tide Africa – Nigerian managed investment pool with majority women angel investors, focusing on digitally and technology-enabled companies, and is actively involved in the promotion of investment and business literacy among women in Africa. 

Matuca Sarl, Ingressive Capital, MEST

Detail: $700k raised in a Seed round. The capital will be used to grow the team, expand operations to Nigeria and promote the iOS version of the app. 

Fundraises (3 deals):

* LHGP / Facility for Energy Inclusion (FEI) | $24m | KfW 

Investor: Facility for Energy Inclusion – A debt fund managed by LHGP, anchored by the African Development Bank, for investment in small scale independent power producers in Sub-Saharan Africa to expand energy access in the continent.   

Capital raised: $24m from KfW – this is the last tranche, various other investors have contributed to the $145m fund.

Fund size: $145m raised, portfolio size expected to be $400m due to leverage.

Sector/ stage focus: Renewable energy in Sub-Saharan Africa

Cheque size: Undisclosed

2.     Khumovest Advisory / Khumovest Private Equity Fund I | $8.2m | 27Four Black Business Growth Fund

Investor: Khumovest Private Equity Fund I – A South African, sector agnostic private equity fund aiming to invest equity capital into small and mid-cap companies operating in South Africa. The fund is managed by Khumovest Advisory, a boutique financial services advisory firm. (Target fund size: ~USD35m).

Capital raised: $8.2m (R125m) from 27Four Black Business Growth Fund.

Fund size: $35m target

Sector/ stage focus: mid-market South African businesses, various industries.

Cheque size: Undisclosed

3.     Symbiotics/ REGMIFA | EUR20m ($24m) | KfW

Investor: REGMIFA – The Regional MSME Investment Fund for Sub-Saharan Africa (“REGMIFA”), managed by Symbiotics, is a social impact investment fund that finances financial institutions that provide funding to micro, small and medium sized enterprises. REGMIFA currently operates in 19 countries in Sub Saharan Africa, of which 13 belong to the least developed countries

Capital raised: $24m (EUR20m) from KfW Development Bank

Fund size: $160m

Sector/ stage focus: loans to businesses via selected financial institutions in Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Rwanda, Senegal, and Togo

Cheque size: Undisclosed 

Screenshot of deals since 3 January 2021:

Have a great week!

Daryn