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Digital Mobile Overdraft Facility Fuliza Outshines Loan Apps in Kenya

Hassan Barakat
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Digital Mobile Overdraft Facility Fuliza Outshines Loan Apps in Kenya

Digital mobile overdraft facility Fuliza outshines loan apps in Kenya. This is barely three years after its launch.

The digital mobile overdraft facility named Fuliza by Kenya’s biggest telco Safaricom Plc has started giving the country’s popular loan apps a run for their money.

Fuliza enables Safaricom clients to obtain unsecured credit by overdrawing on M-Pesa, the telecommunications company’s mobile money wallet that enables users to pay bills, transfer, receive and withdraw money using their phones.

According to a study conducted by the country’s monetary authority, Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) in collaboration with Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) and Financial Sector Deepening Trust (FSD) Kenya, the uptake of Fuliza is currently at 18.3 percent across the country, while that of loan apps has decreased by 6.2 percentage points to 2.1 percent in the last two years.

When compared to other financial goods and services offered by credit unions, banks, and microfinance institutions, digital lending apps had the biggest drop in utilization, according to the current bi-annual FinAccess Household Survey study.

According to the research, “this may be explained by competition from official digital credit products like Fuliza, (and) unjust debt collection techniques by digital lending apps.”

The CBK’s rule prohibiting unlicensed digital lenders from disclosing personal information about loan defaulters with credit reference bureaus (CRBs) may have stopped the apps from lending to problematic individuals, according to the research.

Furthermore, at the COVID-19 peak, the ambiguity surrounding the CBK’s regulation of the apps may have deterred them from offering loans to new borrowers.

In a previous interview with TechCrunch, the Digital Lenders Association of Kenya, which represents roughly 25 of Kenya’s more than 100 digital lenders, said that its members typically send out loans worth $40 million per month, a sum that was half during COVID.

Fuliza is a fully registered and regulated business that works in collaboration with two local banks, KCB and NCBA. The product appears to have filled a regulatory void in mobile lending, increasing competition for mobile loan apps like the Silicon Valley-backed Branch, which launched in Kenya in 2015, and the PayPal-backed Tala, which launched in Kenya in 2014 — one of the first digital lenders to enter the East African country.

According to a report from Safaricom, the telco extended $3.1 billion in Fuliza credit in the 2020/21 fiscal year, up to a 43 percent increase from the previous year. Fuliza gives an estimated $12 million credit to Kenyans every day. M-Pesa is used by 23.8 million Safaricom customers.

Mobile lending in Kenya began in 2012 when Safaricom launched M-Shwari, a mobile-based savings, and loans product that is still operational today in cooperation with NCBA Bank. Since then, Kenya has seen a surge in the number of digital and micro-lending apps, which now number in the hundreds.

Loan apps and services like Fuliza provide quick, collateral-free credit, eclipsing loans from traditional banking institutions, which require lengthy approval processes and often considerable collateral. These fintech advancements could possibly be one of the reasons Kenya’s formal financial inclusion rate has increased from 26.7 percent in 2006 to 83.7 percent in 2021.

While the lending apps have helped people who have been denied credit by traditional banks, they had functioned in an unregulated environment for years until the president approved a new law granting CBK the authority to license and oversee their activities a fortnight ago.

Because of the lack of regulation, predatory pricing has flourished, with some applications charging annualized interest rates of over 800 percent, rendering many borrowers bankrupt.

Vibra Begins VIBRAnt Stars Reward Programme

Mena Adediran
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Vibra Begins VIBRAnt Stars Reward Programme

Vibra (styled VIBRA), a crypto trading app launched by African Blockchain Lab, has started a programme to reward “VIBRAnt Stars.” VIBRAnt Stars are volunteers from the Vibra community who will provide assistance to users with questions and other concerns.

Vibra claims that its mission is to empower Africans with their finances and as such it makes cryptocurrency easy enough for beginners to understand, invest and trade cryptocurrencies. Vibra wants to build a community of people who are interested in crypto and that will help Vibra move to the next level. Vibra has opened up an invitation and says that anyone can participate.

The belief is that having a “welcoming community” that is available to assist beginners or new users will facilitate the adoption of cryptocurrency in Nigeria, and Africa.

Vibra plans to reward the most active VIBRAnt Stars with a range of benefits. The benefits are financial and non-financial; VIBRAnt members will earn points upon completion of given tasks, which will be accumulated by the end of that month. A VIBRAnt star can also make up to 1,000 naira for every 2 people referred. The tasks include referring new users to download the Vibra app and join the Vibra community, as well as onboarding.

The VIBRAnt Stars programme is part of a larger Vibra partnership programme wherein Vibra seeks publishers, promoters, influencers, agents, and merchants.

African Blockchain Lab recently raised $6million in a Series Pre-A round to fund the launch of Vibra. Vibra is the first product from African Blockchain Lab, as part of its mission to “drive the mass adoption of digital assets and blockchain technologies in Africa,” as articulated by Vincent Li, the co-founder of African Blockchain Lab.

Kazang Job Opening: Data Engineer

Boluwatife Aponmade
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Kazang Job Opening: Data Engineer

Kazang is one of Southern Africa’s leading providers of value-added transaction services. It provides prepaid voice, mobile through electricity, and data proprietary mobile vending terminals that handle thousands of micro-payments every minute. Other services include DSTV subscription payments and RICA registration.


As a Data Engineer, you will have the opportunity to play a leading role in the design and development of an ETL solution to centralize data from various sources into a single environment.


This solution will be used across businesses to empower both Analytics and Data Science. The Data Engineer will need to play a role in the designing of the architecture around the ETL pipelines, but also in the handling of the data itself to create, maintain and ensure the integrity of features for business needs.


The successful applicant will work alongside Software Engineers, Data Scientists, and Business Analysts to scope business and technical requirements in their day-to-day role.
This role requires a candidate with a strong passion for data who is excited to be involved in the decision-making and implementation of such a system from conception to implementation.


The responsibilities of the position include:
This role requires a candidate with a strong passion for data who is excited to be involved in the decision-making and implementation of such a system from conception to implementation.


Key Responsibilities:
• Develop an understanding of where and how data is currently stored within our environments.
• Formulate strategies on how to aggregate data across multiple systems into a single repository for both analytics as well as data science.
• Implement the above strategies to improve our data warehouse and to make a single-source-of-truth database available for consistent analytics across our company.
• Build and maintain a feature store for use in Data Science.
• Develop dashboards in PowerBI.
It is a full-time job and its location is in Cape Town, South Africa. The deadline is on the 18th of January, 2022.


Requirements:
• Minimum 3 years experience as a Data Engineer
• Extensive experience in MySQL, Postgres, AWS, Redshift, Python, R, Linux
Minimum requirements:
• BSc in Computer Science Degree or BSc in Statistics would be an advantage


Number of positions available: One

Commencement Date: Immediately

Click here to apply.

The Delta Job Opening: Product Manager

Boluwatife Aponmade
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The Delta Job Opening: Product Manager

Who we are?
The Delta is a corporate venture builder that specializes in working with corporates who want to drive innovation through corporate venturing. Led by a team of venture builders, we have a significant amount of experience in ideating, validating, designing, building, and launching startups from the ground up. Unlike accelerators or incubators, we see ourselves as co-founders of a startup who work closely with the corporate intrapreneur.


We have a highly skilled and dedicated team of Product Managers, Designers, Engineers, and Marketers who are all inspired and motivated to build, launch and scale successful products and ventures. One of our values is to “make an impact with every product we build”, and we ensure that this value is represented in everything that we do.


Why work with us?
We combine lean startup methodology with corporate assets using cutting-edge technology, design principles, and processes applied to real-world problems. By doing this we create the sweet spot for disruptive innovation. You will have endless opportunities for learning new skills in a wide range of disruptive technology, market areas, and various industries.


How we work
We encourage you and allow you to move forward with new ideas to help grow the company. Most importantly, we encourage you to be yourself and have fun. We don’t promote work/life balance in the traditional sense, rather we believe in “work/life integration.” We like having a good time at work, not just outside of it. There’s no need to hide your random quirks or awkward dance moves from us. In a way, you might be taking a “break from life” by working here!


Who we are looking for
We are looking for a Product Manager who demonstrates an entrepreneurial mindset who will work in the product team. The Product Manager is responsible for the strategic research, planning, and execution throughout the product life-cycle, including identifying potential products, conducting market research, generating product requirements, determining high-level specifications (production timetables, pricing, and marketing strategies), and time-integrated plans for product introduction.


Some of the things that you’ll do
Depending on your role, team, experience, and skillset, this includes:
The Product Manager is responsible for gathering and prioritizing product and customer requirements, defining the product vision and roadmap, and working closely with product owners, project managers, engineering, sales, marketing, and other specialist product stakeholders to ensure that product launch, revenue, and customer satisfaction are met. The Product Manager’s job also includes ensuring that the product supports the company’s overall strategy and goals.


The Product Manager will be expected to use a high level of knowledge and experience in setting the long-term vision and strategy of the product and communicating this strategy to internal and external stakeholders.


Pending the scope and size of the project, the Product Manager may also take on some tactical and execution responsibilities of a product owner, such as prioritizing needs, managing the product backlog, creating user stories and acceptance criteria, and overseeing development stages working within a SCRUM team.

• Determine customers’ needs and desires by specifying the research needed to obtain market information.
• Recommend the nature and scope of present and future product lines by reviewing product specifications and requirements, and appraising new product ideas and/or product changes.
• Assesses market competition by comparing the product to competitors’ products.
• Provide source data for product communications by defining product marketing communication objectives.
• Obtain product market share by working with the venture owners/sponsors to develop product sales and marketing strategies.
• Provide information for venture owners/sponsors by preparing short-term and long-term product sales forecasts and special reports and analyses, and answering questions and requests.
• Bring new products to market by analyzing proposed product requirements and product development programs, preparing return-on-investment analyses, and establishing time schedules with product owners, project managers, and engineering teams.
• Contribute to team effort by accomplishing related results as needed.


What you’ll need
• Experience working as a product manager, preferably in a similar role, with a BA/BSc or equivalent.
• Good understanding of software development life-cycle models as well as knowledge of both Agile and traditional product-management principles and practices, and the ability to blend them in the right proportions to fit a project and business environment.
• Sufficient level of technical background to be able to accurately and objectively evaluate complex project risks and issues.
• In-depth knowledge and understanding of the business need with the ability to establish/maintain a high level of customer trust and confidence.
• Excellent oral and written communications skills and experience interacting with both business and IT individuals at all levels including the executive level.
• Creative approach to problem-solving with the ability to focus on details while maintaining the “big picture” view.
• Customer-first, ABCD thinking mindset.
• Proactive, self-starter with an ability to manage multiple tasks effectively.
• Critical thinker and problem-solver who pays attention to detail.
• Ability to engage, influence, and inspire stakeholders to drive collaboration and alignment.
• A high degree of organization, individual initiative, and personal accountability.
• Understanding of development methodologies and processes, such as Agile, SCRUM, and Kanban.
• Team player.
• Excellent time-management skills.
• Great interpersonal, troubleshooting, and communication skills.
Our process
• Initial CV and LinkedIn screening.
• A 30-minute call to assess skill and experience and get to know each other with a relevant team lead.
• A face-to-face/online technical interview, possibly a whiteboard problem or take-home assignment.
• A chat with Team & Culture and /other team leads.
• Reference checks (at least 2) and personal checks (socials, networks, etc).
• On the option of hanging out with the team (online/offline).
Additional reasons to love us
• Great culture.
• Co-drive the corporate venture start-up space (co-found a startup).
• Cutting-edge technology.
• Flexible working hours and remote working options.
• Be part of shaping the next venture game-changer.


The job location is Cape Town, South Africa and it is full-time. The deadline is on the 29th of December, 2021.


Click here to apply.

Engage Launches Paystack Integration to Help Merchants Link Their Accounts

Hassan Barakat
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Engage Launches Paystack Integration to Help Merchants Link Their Accounts

Engage, a marketing automation solution that helps businesses send personalised messages to customers has launched its Paystack integration. Paystack merchants can now connect their customer billing events to Engage and send personalised emails and SMS to their customers as a result of the integration.

Merchants can link Engage to their Paystack account in minutes and leverage their customers’ billing activities, such as successful charges, new subscriptions, and more, to generate distinct groupings (what we call segments) or send customised emails or SMS based on these actions. They can also automate payment receipts, subscription renewal reminders, and other messages.

“This is a huge issue,” says Engage founder Opeyemi Obembe. “It gives merchants a lot of value.” Customers can be up-sold new services or goods, inactive customers can be identified and re-engaged, top customers can be rewarded, and tailored messages can be sent. As a result, customer retention will improve, and income will rise.”

Engage was launched in February 2021, and leading firms from a variety of industries throughout the world already use it for customer messaging. Indie Campers, Reliance HMO, Kura, ExtraGas UK, Crop2Cash, and Monument are just a few of them.

“Definitely!” Opeyemi said when asked if there are any additional payment gateway integrations in the works. We have Stripe integration, Paystack integration, and a Flutterwave integration in the works. In a few weeks, this should be ready.”

The Paystack connection is already live on the Engage dashboard and is available to all users for free.

Ventures Platform Secures First Close $40M Pan-African Fund

Hassan Barakat
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Ventures Platform Secures First Close $40M Pan-African Fund

Ventures Platform, based in Abuja and Lagos, has recently announced the first closing of its $40 million pan-African fund.

Kola Aina, one of Nigeria’s most prominent early-stage investors, established the fund, which has made 69 investments since 2016. Ventures Platform’s announcement comes just one day after 4DX Ventures, a pan-African VC company, announced the final close of its $60 million fund.

Aina, the firm’s founder, and general partner indicated that the initial batch of investments he made were made with his own money. Following that, Ventures Platform tried out an accelerator model, in which it paid out standardized $20,000 pre-seed checks to seed-stage firms in exchange for 10% equity.

For the first time in 2017, the firm formed syndicates and took outside financing. Piggyvest, Paystack, Kudi, and Thrive Agric were among the startups it invested in during this two-year period.

“We wanted to perfect our style of finding high-performing companies early on before they become obvious and backing them with everything we’ve learned as operators,” Aina said.

“We didn’t want to go out and try to raise money when we didn’t have any proof that we could make money.”

Ventures Platform was one of the local investors who profited from Paystack’s $200 million+ departure to Stripe last October. With a couple more secondary exits under its belt, Aina believes now is the right moment for the company to “go to the market and raise its first institutional fund.”

The value of the first closing of Ventures Platform’s first institutional fund isn’t disclosed, but Aina says “it’s a significant sum.” Surprisingly, the majority of the limited partners (LPs) involved are Nigerian and African-based, indicating that local investors’ capacity to fund the region’s most innovative enterprises is growing.

Shola Akinlade, the CEO of Paystack, is one of the firm’s individual LPs, along with Gbenga Oyebode. Organizations including the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), UAC Nigeria (for the first time allocated to a VC), and VFD Group are also interested, as are international investors like Y Combinator CEO Michael Seibel and Adam Draper.

“We’re proud that a big portion of our financing comes from local sources for our initial close.” I did a TED Talk titled “Who Would Own Our Future Unicorns,” and I’m really pleased with it because it appears like Africans are saying loud and clear that we would own our future unicorns.

According to Aina, Ventures Platform was intentional about wanting local capital in this fund. “Getting local money for our first close was strategic for us.” However, as you will see, the second close will come from the global fund and DFIs where we have commitments. Still, as important as foreign capital is, I believe it is in foreign capital’s best interests to be in bed with local capital in order to reduce risk.”

The Ventures Platform considers itself to be a thesis-driven fund. According to Aina, the fund’s premise is to support market-creating innovations that address non-consumption and develop inventive new ways to offer goods and services to low-income markets. Fintech, edtech, agritech and food science, healthtech and bioscience, enterprise SaaS, and digital infrastructure are the firm’s six core verticals.

The pan-African firm couldn’t take on follow-on rounds in its portfolio companies, which include Tiger-backed Mono, SeamlessHR, PayHippo, and Migo, because it relied on the syndicate and proprietary capital funds in the early phases of its lifecycle.

These companies have raised more than $500 million in follow-on rounds, and Aina says his business is eager to participate now that it has achieved the fund’s first closure.

“As well as our portfolio firms who have secured new rounds of financing, we have a really solid pipeline of startups that we’ll be looking at across the continent.” We’re searching for innovative firms that meet our premise, and the fact that we have follow-on cash to support them makes it even more appealing,” he said.

With an average check size of $50,000, Ventures Platform largely focused on pre-seed and seed funding. However, Ventures Platform will be able to engage in Series A deals, where it will be able to invest more than $1 million in a single firm, thanks to this new fund (including follow-on rounds).

Outside of Nigeria, the Abuja-based venture capital business is expanding its operations, with investments in Kenya’s MarketForce and Tambua Health, Zambia’s Union54, and Egypt’s MoneyHash, to name a few. The company intends to spend further in these areas, as well as Francophone Africa.

Thirty percent of the firm’s 69 startups have gone through Y Combinator.

While having YC as a partner contributed to the company’s development, Aina believes his firm has a flair for identifying outstanding firms.

Only a few venture capital firms in Nigeria’s and Africa’s IT ecosystems can match Ventures Platform’s YC metrics. For startups, being part of these firms’ portfolios signifies a signal of success, but some VC critics say these sorts of numbers are assured for firms that adopt “spray and pray” strategies.

According to Aina, Ventures Platform’s function as an “early-stage discovery fund” entails discovering many startups to back early and investing in future stages of a handful.

“Finally, because of the stage at which we invest, a big element of our approach is to support a huge batch of firms at the pre-seed stage, and as time goes on, you can see how the funnel narrows”.

“We can now double down on our wins thanks to this new fund, which is fantastic for both the companies and the investors”.

As part of a move to broaden its expertise, Ventures Platform announced that it would bring on board well-known figures in African innovation as venture partners. Seni Sulyman, the former vice president of global operations at Andela and the CEO of BlackOps, a talent marketplace for African enterprise builders and operators, is the first and only announced partner for the time being.

Google’s $50m Equity-based Investment: What It Means For The African Startup Ecosystem

Mena Adediran
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Google’s $50m Equity-based Investment: What It Means For The African Startup Ecosystem

The African Startup Ecosystem has been on an impressive run for the last decade. Right before our eyes, Africa has produced nothing less than seven unicorns, with five of them coming from the Fintech industry. The ecosystem has been nothing short of fantastic, from reports of startups securing a series of funding to the sector producing unique and groundbreaking innovative solutions.

To cap what is already an exciting run, Google has announced its plans to invest $50 million in early to growth-stage startups in Africa. Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, made this announcement in October 2021 at a virtual event. This investment plan aims to bolster the African startup ecosystem and open up more opportunities. 

What does this intervention mean for tech enthusiasts, entrepreneurs, and the ecosystem at large? This article will answer this and other questions you might have on this topic.

Ready? Let’s go.

A little Story About Startups

Imagine growing up in a continent with several generational issues that we could solve if someone paid any mind to them and created platforms to enable individuals to get over the hurdles of these issues; and, by extension, build a better, more equipped generation. These issues can be checked, reduced, or fixed with what we can term as “digital solutions.” The inspiration provides digital solutions to long-standing continental problems, underscoring many African tech startups across various sectors.

But of course, an idea can only perform what it is crafted for when transformed into an actual entity. And for African tech startups, that means securing a load of funds to push their ideas, build products and services and eventually, expand. 

Google’s $1B Announcement

Google hosted a global Google for Africa virtual event on October 6, 2021. At this event, Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, reported the organization’s intent to invest $1billion over five years in Africa to foster digital transformation on the continent. 

This investment aims to enable affordable and fast internet connectivity for Africans, support entrepreneurs and small businesses, and nonprofit aid organizations across Africa. 

In addition, Google also launched an Africa Investment Fund to reiterate its commitment to support African Black-led startups. The investment fund amounts to $50million to be invested in selected early-growth stage African tech startups in exchange for equity.

Nitin Gajria, Managing Director of Google in Africa, spoke on this, “I am so inspired by the innovative African tech startup scene. In the last year, we have seen more investment rounds into tech startups than ever before. I am of the firm belief that no one is better placed to solve Africa’s biggest problems than Africa’s young developers and startup founders. We look forward to deepening our partnership with, and support for, Africa’s innovators and entrepreneurs.”

Understanding Equity-based Investment

Equity-based investment can also be regarded as Venture Capital. As the name suggests, it has to do with raising capital for a venture, usually a newly founded one that needs all the resources it can get.

Venture capital is a private kind of financing by investors, usually operating as a corporate entity. Investors come together to pool significant amounts of money for the sake of pouring into a startup business. This input of pooled funds is not done for nothing; the venture capital group gets Equity in return. 

Equity means that investors get several shares in the company being financed. Thereby, every investor is entitled to the value of their stakes in the event of a liquidation. It also means that investors have legal rights to contribute to their decision-making processes.

It’s a win-win situation: a startup gets capital to do its business, and investors get shares. But, of course, investors are at the risk-bearing side of this deal. So venture capital is only provided to startup companies with the calculated potential to succeed in the long run. You wouldn’t place a lot of money on something that isn’t promising.

More on Google’s $50m Investment 

What’s different about Google’s funding this time is the shift from equity-free investment to equity-based investment, which means that Google will provide funding to promising startups in exchange for shares in the company.

Startups that are chosen will have access to Google’s resources (technology, networks, and talents) to help them develop a strong foundation. 

Google’s past equity-free investments in Africa include the Google for Startups Accelerator Africa programme, which provided 80 African startups with seed to series A funds, workspace, and expert consultation for the last three years. The Google for Startups Accelerator Africa is said to have raised $100million. Amongst the beneficiaries of this programme are Kenya’s Twiga and Nigeria’s Paystack, Piggyvest.

Google making the shift to equity-based investment in African startups must be reassuring. One can read this as Google willing to take its African digitization commitment up-a-notch. They’re also set to widen their foothold in the African tech startup ecosystem.

It is important to note that Google’s efforts are not without cause. In 2017, the renowned organization initiated its Grow with Google programme alongside a dedication to train and improve the digital skills of 10 million young Africans and small businesses. So far, Google has trained about 6 million Africans and spurred growth in their career and business; Google has also provided over 50 African nonprofits with grants worth over $16million and given 100 million Africans access to internet services via Android. 

Sidenote: African Startup Funding Is Currently in a Boom 

According to reports, African tech startup funding is at a “record high.” Disrupt Africa disclosed that –ahead of its funding tracker publication to be released January 2022– as of August 11 this year, 303 African tech startups have raised a cumulative amount of $1,184,220,000 ($1.1billion).

This amount is 69% higher than what was raised in the whole of 2020, which was $701,460,565 ($700million). As a result, the industry has surpassed the $1 billion mark, with four months remaining.

For example, fintech company Chipper Cash attained unicorn status, with a valuation of $2billion, in November — after an extension fund of $150million from FTX. Flutterwave Inc. is also seeking fresh funding at a $3 billion or more valuation, a development that would triple its current valuation of $1billion. These are groundbreaking stories that we can’t forget all too soon.

However, it can’t all be as good as it seems, right?

Well, sort of. 

TechCrunch made a piece about where venture capital is flowing in the region, enlisting the help of Dario Giuliani and Julio Dibwe Mupemba. Mupemba observed that, despite the growth in the sector, African startups remain underfunded, noting that the continent combined raised less than France alone. As TechCrunch puts it, “for Africa’s startup ecosystem to really hit its stride, more early-stage capital will be needed.”

Also, the gender gap amongst CEOs raising funds is still vast. Female CEOs who secured funds in the first half of 2021 made up 14% of total funding, which is a significant improvement from the 2% recorded in the same period last year. 

The Big Picture: the Gain for the African Startup Ecosystem

The gain for the African startup ecosystem is simple to grasp. More investment in the system equals more expansion for existing startups and more possibilities awakening. It also equals new startups getting the resources they need to find their balance and administer their objectives. 

Furthermore, Google’s $50million equity-based investment will inspire other reputable companies to consider pouring into African tech startups, too, marking a notable highlight for the African startup ecosystem in 2021.

Without a doubt, African startups provide people with an eye-opening experience of the industry’s potential. Moreover, Google’s move has given hope to people who have been eyeing a career in tech, knowing that they can get the nudge or assistance they need to pursue it.

Google’s Africa Investment Fund Announces First Investment in Uganda’s SafeBoda

Hassan Barakat
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Google’s Africa Investment Fund Announces First Investment in Uganda’s SafeBoda

Google announced today that SafeBoda, a Ugandan super app, has received the first investment from its Africa Investment Fund.

The unannounced investment comes only two months after Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai revealed the company’s plans to invest $1 billion in “tech-led projects” over the next five years, including a $50 million Africa Investment Fund aimed at early- and growth-stage African firms. In October, he announced this during the Google for Africa event.

Prior to the fund’s inception, Google provided assistance to businesses through its Google for Startups Accelerator Africa program.

With equity-free mentorship and tools, the accelerator program has helped more than 80 firms from seed through Series A.

They’ve raised over $100 million in venture financing between them.

Google has just announced the Black Founders Fund, a $3 million non-dilutive fund that will invest in 50 firms each year.

Fintech companies from Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, and South Africa are particularly appealing to venture capitalists. Fintech businesses received 25% of all venture capital funding in Africa last year, while the Big Four startups received more than half of all funding on the continent.

VC firms and institutional fund managers who spoke recently said they aim to close the funding gap by investing in underserved African regions and sectors. One of them is Nitin Gajria, Google’s managing director for Sub-Saharan Africa, who echoed similar comments when the company introduced the Africa Investment Fund in October.

“We don’t limit ourselves to specific verticals.”

In October, the managing director stated, “We are focusing on investments where we feel Google can offer value.” “If there are founders in Africa producing intriguing technologies that solve real problems, that would fit right into our investment thesis.”

Though Google’s investment in SafeBoda serves as an early reminder of Gajria’s assertion, the fund’s portfolio will most likely be filled with entrepreneurs from the Big Four markets in the coming years.

Before launching a mega app strategy two years ago, the Ugandan business began as a two-wheel ride-hailing platform.

It now serves over 1 million users in Uganda and Nigeria with rides, parcel delivery, food and retail, payments, savings, and other financial services.

In combined markets, the company has over 25,000 drivers who have processed over 40 million orders.

The money from Google’s Africa Investment Fund will help SafeBoda “push its expansion in Uganda and Nigeria, scaling its transportation-led app to offer new payment and financial services solutions for its expanding range of customers: passengers, drivers, and merchants,” according to the company.

In a statement, co-founder Ricky Rapa Thomson said, “SafeBoda welcomes Google to their community and are pleased to continue to promote innovation in informal transportation and payments in the boda boda (East Africa) or okada (West Africa) market.”

“This crucial business is the heartbeat of Africa’s cities and drives economic growth.” SafeBoda is ecstatic that big global corporations like Google see the importance of supporting businesses working toward these objectives.”

The investment in SafeBoda was undertaken to “strengthen a relationship with a prospective future partner that has a strategically aligned vision of better logistics and transportation,” a spokeswoman said.

Kenyan Startup Wowzi raises Kshs. 352M to Boost Presence in Africa

Abidemi Ogunyemi-Aderibigbe
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Kenyan Startup Wowzi raises Kshs. 352M to Boost Presence in Africa
Wowzi, a Kenyan technology startup has raised Kshs. 352 million ($3.2 million) from 10 investors as it seeks to expand operations in Africa.
 
Wowzi is an online platform that allows brands of any size or industry to create and manage massive, distributed messaging campaigns. These brands will be able to use thousands of customers and fans who get paid to offer real online endorsements.
 
 Wowzi Pre-seed and Seed Funding
The Kenyan technology platform had earlier raised Kshs. 132 million ($1.2M) in its pre-seed round before the recent seed round.
 
After which a total of 10 investors raised Kshs. 220 million ($2M) in the seed round co-led by Golden Palm investors,4Dx ventures, Future Africa, To.org, Afropreneur Angels, Christiana Sass Andela co-founder, LoftyInc Capital, Jessica Chervin, Johnny Falla, and Justin Ziegler.
 

This brings the total fund to Kshs. 352 million ($3.2M) that will help to level up its influencer marketing platform across Africa. This will enable users to monetize their social media handles.

 Wowzi’s Plans of Expansion

The firm plans on using this fund to scale partnerships with multinational FMCG companies, local, regional, telcos, creative agencies, banks, and development sectors. This will create noble digital jobs for African youths.
 
The Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Wowzi, Brian Mogeni has said;
 
” We are creating the technological platform to distribute and manage job offers to lots of youth at a time, brands have an opportunity to engage with youth and offer meaningful gig work. Wowzi is offering a new layer of advertisement for brands that can help target niche communities”
 
Also, he further said;
 
“This new layer of advertising plays into emerging trends of decentralized social networks. It will create creators who think of themselves as media entrepreneurs,”.
 
The firm’s online marketplace democratizes influence and is connecting social media users with big brands, allowing nano and micro creators to earn by spreading brand messages using social media.
 
Wowzi said its first 18 months of operation it has onboarded 70,000 influencers across Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania and is looking to expand the African Continent.

 

 

Superside Raises $30m to Hire More South African Talent

Abidemi Ogunyemi-Aderibigbe
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Superside Raises $30m to Hire More South African Talent
Superside, a remote South African startup has announced a $30 million (R485 800 500,00) Series A funding round.
 
Prosus Ventures and Lugard Road Capital co-led the round, along with existing investors Slack Fund and Acequia Capital
 

Brief about the company

 
Superside is a design solution company that offers creative and design services to brands aiding quick turnaround and high-quality designs.
 
They offer a distinct subscription model, connect companies with a devoted professional team of evaluated designers and project managers.
 
These professionals deliver a fast quality job and are cost-effective compared to traditional creative agencies and at great quality than most gigs.
 
The subscription pricing plans offered will ensure project flexibility as well as ranges of capabilities. such as illustration and motion design to UI design and creative concept and can kickstart their projects in a matter of hours.
 

Superside and its Growth

 
In the last years, the company has experienced tremendous growth working with successful brands like Amazon, Cisco, and Salesforce.
 
These brands have praised their rapid turnaround time, top-quality content, diverse creativity, and access to global top talent.
 
The world adoption of digital marketing has yielded an uprise in digital content creation.
 
Estimated spendings on digital marketing will reach $455 billion (R7 363 460 650 000,00) in 2021 with 30-60% going towards content.
 
The amount spent on content creation will continue to increase as spending moves further to social media platforms.
 
South Africa is an important market for Superside. Been a fully-remote company with a global team across 19 time zones.
 
The company has had success in getting and retaining top creative talent in South Africa.
 
The company is looking to hire close to 100 engineers in the next 12 months to further scale out its design operations platform.
 
Fredrik Thomassen, co-founder & CEO of Supersite has stated that;
 
“ 20% of our team members live in South Africa and a big part of our funding will go into the hire of more professionals”
 
“Professionals in creatives, sales and customer success sectors from top companies and agencies in South Africa to increase worldwide growth”.

 

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