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Welcome to SOFIA.
We took our eyes off celebrating Women's History this March for just a second only to discover that 38 start-ups raised at least $100k last month (in equity, debt or grants), the same number as in January. However, the total amount they announced is nearly 3 times higher, at $217m ($156m in equity and $59m in debt).
Does this 182% increase spell a rebound for the African Funding Ecosystem in 2024?
Are we witnessing the "funding winter" switch seasons?
Or is it all a fluke?
Stick around as it's about to be another beautiful read with SOFIA.
Nigeria Again?…
Nigeria led the funding comeback in Africa with Moove, a provider of vehicle loans to ride-hailing, e-logistics and instant delivery drivers raising $100 million in a series B round.
Nigeria raked in 42% of all funding in February thanks to Moove's raise with Kenya coming in second with 27%, Egypt with 10% and South Africa with 7%.
Uber led the recent Moove Series B raise alongside other investors.
The round will enable Moove to expand its revenue-based vehicle financing offering to 16 markets around the world by the end of 2025.
"We are excited by the potential for Zone's technology to be replicated across borders to advance payment innovation globally," Ameya Upadhyay, Partner at Flourish Ventures said according to TechCabal
Also,
Youverify, a Nigerian provider of identity verification and anti-money laundering (AML) solutions for banks and startups, secured a $2.5 million investment from Elm, which specializes in offering ready-made and customized digital solutions to public and private institutions in Saudi Arabia.
The pre-Series A investment from Elm also includes a strategic partnership to help Youverify streamline AML compliance for businesses, bolster global risk intelligence, and expand its products into new markets.
Let's Talk About Another Country…
Deel, a US HR firm valued at $12 billion acquired a 20-year old South African payroll provider, PaySpace.
The financial details of the deal are undisclosed but the acquisition is the largest Deel has made to date.
Before the Acquisition, PaySpace had been providing payroll services for Deel in 10 African Countries. This acquisition would grant Deel full ownership of the 45 payroll engines that PaySpace has built over the past 15 years.
Another South African startup Cue raised $2 million in a seed round to deliver deeper integration of AI into its platform and fuel its growth and expansion.
Cue provides businesses with chatbots on WhatsApp and other social channels to increase customer satisfaction and deliver efficient customer support. The startup has provided services to over 300 clients in 5 years and recently expanded its offerings to the United Kingdom.
Brass: an alloy of grit and resilience…
Weeks after Nigerian fintech Brass blamed the funding winter for customer withdrawal delays in an interview with TechCabal, Brass secured new funding as customers confirmed an end to withdrawal delays.
"I'm happy to share that we've resolved these issues, and transactions are working seamlessly once again," Brass said in an email to customers.
Although the details of the exact funding amount have yet to be released, Brass has put an end to some issues they had been having following their staff layoff earlier in March.
Two Women, One Success Story…
Cargo-Plug is a two-female-founder startup boasting ten years of providing freight and cargo services between Nigeria and the world. We met with co-founders Kikelomo Fola Oguniya and Ujama Apata to discuss their stories and learn a few lessons from such a successful business.
Read the full article here