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

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Since 28 January 2021 I noticed the following deals:

Investments (7 deals)

1: Teraco Data Environments | $167m | Debt funding | ABSA Bank and others | Communications & IT, Infrastructure

Investee: 

Teraco Data Environments – Teraco provides carrier and cloud neutral colocation data centres, and with over 14 500 cross-connects, is Africa’s most interconnected data centre hub and is the first provider of highly resilient, vendor-neutral data environments in sub-Saharan Africa.

Investor: 

ABSA – A South African Banking institution.

Detail: Teraco Data Environment has secured $167m in debt funding from ABSA for the construction of a new 38-megawatt hyperscale data centre in Ekurhuleni, east of Johannesburg, South Africa. This part of Teraco’s investment into the regions digital infrastructure. 

2: Isqan | Undisclosed amount | Seed round | Mohamed Gaballah | Proptech

Investee: 

Isqan – An Egyptian real estate listing platform for users looking to rent or buy properties in Egypt, with 50 Egyptian real estate companies and > 1 000 property listings. 

Investor: 

Mohamed Gaballah – CEO of Egygab Developments, an Egyptian property development company.

Detail: Isqan has secured seed funding of an undisclosed six-digit US dollar amount from Mohamed Gaballah, which the company will use to hire talent and invest in marketing and product development.

3: Tayary | Undisclosed amount | Pre-seed round | Various | Food & Beverages, Logistics, Platform

Investee:

Tayary – an Egyptian online platform that facilitates order delivery through  both B2B and B2C models. The company has developed an inhouse order tracking system, and deliveries include food order, B2B deliveries, grocery and pharmacy deliveries. 

Investors: 

AUC Angels - the first university based company in the Middle East that builds educational products for developing angel investors; leads angel investments; has a startups'​ investment-readiness program; and builds an angel investor network across the Middle East.

Alex Angels – a platform and network of angel investors from business and technology leaders for the benefit of local entrepreneurs and the wellbeing of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The group of angels invests in promising, early-stage companies with strong management teams, in and outside of Alexandria- Egypt.

Cairo Angels – a formal network of business angels looking to invest equity in local Egyptian startups.

Detail: Tayary has raised an undisclosed amount of pre-seed funding from a consortium of angel investors from Egypt (AUC Angels, Alex Angels and Cairo Angels) which it will use to expand its geographic reach, grow its team and invest in marketing of its products for client growth.

4: Popote Pay | Undisclosed amount | Undisclosed round | GreenHouse Capital | Fintech

Investee: 

Popote – a Kenya based, online and mobile app that uses mobile money to enable businesses to make and manage their payments with total control, mobility and up-to date record keeping.

Investor: 

GreenHouse Capital – a fintech investment company based in Nigeria, currently invested in 19 companies across 7 African countries and a total investment portfolio value of $4m. 

Detail: Popote Pay from Kenya has received an undisclosed amount in funding from GreenHouse Capital. The capital will be used to expand Popote’s offering into the Nigerian market. 

5: Elmenus | Undisclosed amount | Undisclosed round | David Buttress | Food & Beverages, Logistics, Platform

Investee: 

Elmenus – an Egyptian food discovery and ordering digital platform. 

Investor:

David Buttress – A venture capitalist with an entrepreneurial and investment background having joined Just Eat in 2006 to launch its UK business and led Just Eat UK from a startup to becoming Europe’s largest technology IPO.

Detail: Elmenus has received an undisclosed sum in an undisclosed round from investor and veteran food-tech professional David Buttress. The capital will be used over the next 18 months to increase the reach of the platform by hiring 4 000 new drivers (for deliveries), scaling the platform offerings and enriching the dish discovery experience for customers. 

6: hearX | Undisclosed amount | Undisclosed round | Futuregrowth | HealthTech

Investee: 

hearX – an early-stage South African-based HealthTech company that offers the world's first clinical smartphone hearing test solutions for hearing loss prevention, detection, diagnosis and management. Their products are used in over 68 countries across the world.

Investor:

Futuregrowth - a fixed interest investment company that creates opportunities for investors and manages clients'​ assets of around R185 billion across the full range of interest bearing and developmental investments. 

Detail: hearX, the South African based med-tech company that creates solutions targeted at hearing loss (including developing a bespoke hearing aid device) has received an undisclosed investment from Futuregrowth Investments. The use of the funds has not been disclosed, although the company’s product is set to be launched in the US. 

7: Sanergy | Undisclosed amount | Undisclosed round | Various | Recycling

Investee: 

Sanergy – Nairobi based waste management company that aims to provide affordable and accessible waste management solutions. 

Investors:

AXA Investment Managers – a global asset management company investing across all asset classes including alternative investments (AUM >$900bn).

ManiKapital – a Tokyo based investment management firm (no further public information).

Kepple Africa Ventures – a Tokyo based Early stage VC fund focusing on Africa.

Detail: Sanergy, a Kenyan based waste management company received funding of an undisclosed amount from a group of investors lead by AXA Investment Managers.  

Fundraises (2 deals)

1: Phatisa / Phatisa Food Fund 2 | $82m | Various LPs and DFIs

Investor: Phatisa / Phatisa Food Fund 2 – a private equity fund that aims to make equity investments in food and agriculture related companies in Sub-Saharan Africa. 

Capital raised: $82m from five global DFIs: CDC Group ($30m), Norfund ($20m), FinnFund ($15m), FinDev Canada ($10m) and BIO ($7m).

Sector/ stage focus: African food value chain, considering investments in mechanisation, inputs, poultry and meat production, food processing and manufacturing, logistics, aggregation and distribution across Sub-Saharan Africa.

Portfolio size: $143m.

Cheque size: Undisclosed.

2: FRAGG Investment Management  / Grooming Endowment Trust Fund | $15m | Grooming Endowment Trust

Investor: FRAGG Investment Management  / Grooming Endowment Trust Fund – FRAGG is a dynamic impact investor and fund manager, working with financial intermediaries and via direct investments in opportunities that align with their values.

Capital raised: $15m from Grooming Endowment Trust.

Sector/ stage focus: address the lack of financial services to SMEs in Nigeria. By providing financial resources and technical assistance to multi-sector SMEs with clearly defined business model, social and environmental goals.

Portfolio size: targeting $50m.

Cheque size: Undisclosed.

Screenshot of deals since 28 January 2021:

Have a great week!

Daryn

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