Know Why These 10 African Businesses Received Funding in 2015

Have you ever wondered what kind of African businesses receive funding? Today, as part of my journey towards success in Africa, which I have started with a new level of consciousness and determination, I want to share a wonderful insightful post with you, which was published by Innovation-village.com based in Nigeria (check out their site!).

You see, successful entrepreneurs teach us that we should learn from those who are already successful. And because packaged content in this regard is scarce for Africa, we sometimes have to be pro-active and need to put in the time to find out more about what successful startups in Africa do and how their founders have built a thriving business in Africa that even attracted the interest of foreign investors.

So, depending on what industry is of interest to you, you may want to google some of the start-ups presented below and study their business concepts further to understand their unique selling points, why they are so valuable to the market place, and where they operate. Hey, here is one thing I noticed straight away. The start-ups presented where all in the following industries:

So maybe, just maybe there is a heightened interest among investors abroad in these industries in Africa. In fact, if we look a little closer the business models in the last three industries are by and large linked to ICT (information and communications technology). We can certainly see the two value aspects for Africa investors in that:

But above all, a business concept that worked before it attracted investment,

But let’s have a look now at the article and the kind of African businesses that received funding! Enjoy!

‘There was a lot of activity and interest in the African startup space this year. It would seem that people are getting more comfortable in investing in startups in Africa.

Well, who wouldn’t? With the sheer size of the population, the growing ease of doing business and the potential for huge revenues, it would be an attractive opportunity.

Here are some of seven African startups that got investments in 2015.

1. M-Kopa – $31.45 million

M-Kopa secured funding twice in 2015 – $12.45 million in February 2015 and 19$million in December 2015. Led by LGT Venture Philanthropy the company announced that the first investment would be used to expand the company’s product range, grow its operating base in East Africa and license its technology to other markets. The second round of $19million was led by London-based Generation Investment Management.

2. Off Grid Electric – $25 million

Off Grid Electric, a Tanzanian startup that provides solar energy, has announced it has secured $25 million funding. With the funds, Off Grid Electric plans to continue its goal of providing power to 1 million homes in Tanzania by 2017; but will also allow the startup to launch in its first international operations, in Rwanda.

3. Paga – $13 million

In October this year, Paga announced that it had secured US$13-million from renowned international investment firms Adlevo Capital, Omidyar Network, Goodwell West Africa, Acumen Fund, and Capricorn Investment Group.

Tayo Oviosu, the founder and CEO of Paga, said that this hefty series B round will help the company’s vision of strengthening its agent network and continue to innovate its payment offerings for small businesses

4. Andela – $10million

In June 2015, Global talent accelerator, Andela, announced the close of a new round of funding, receiving 10 Million. Led by Spark Capital, a US based venture capital firm, other investors included Omidyar Network and Learn Capital. This new funding will go towards bringing Andela’s curriculum to more countries in Africa

5. BitX – $4million + undisclosed amount

In July 2015, BitX announced that it got $4million from Naspers, through its subsidiary PayU and existing investor Barry Silbert’s Digital Currency Group. This funding was to allow BitX expand into other markets, launching a number of exciting new products and more generally leveraging the Naspers Group’s extensive global network to help drive large-scale cryptocurrency adoption.

Later in December 2015, the company also announced that it received an undisclosed amount from Venturra capital.

6. Travelbeta – $2million

Within six weeks of going live online, this travel agency secured $2million in seed funding.

According to Onyeka Akumah, co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer of the company, “We have raised a seed fund of $2,000,000 from a group of Nigerian Investors lead by Altheus Limited who believe we can dominate the Nigerian Travel Industry in the next 3 years based on our unique business model, the capability of the team leading this vision and the potential of the market size in Nigeria. We are also in further talks with an increasing number of interested investors outside the country who are beginning to take African and in particular Nigerian travel numbers seriously.

7. Hotels.ng – $1.2 million

Mark Essien-led hotel booking portal announced in May 2015 that it had secured an investment of $1.2 million from international investors EchoVC Pan-Africa Fund, a seed-stage technology fund, and Omidyar Network, the investment vehicle of eBay founder Pierre Omidyar. According to Mark, “Our mission was to ‘build local’ as a springboard for international expansion and this has resulted in really encouraging traffic and conversion figures so far. This new investment gives us the confidence and foundation on which to build out our vision for Nigeria’s e-tourism market.”

8. SlimTrader – $1million

SlimTrader, the leading turn-key ecommerce solution provider for businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa, received a US$1 million investment from Interswitch in October 2015. With the funds from Interswitch, SlimTrader wishes to ramp up operations in the hospitality sector and help more hotels expand their market reach.

9. Awamo – $546k

In August 2015, awamo announced that it raised 546,000 dollars (500,000 Euros) in its first round of funding to launch a mobile, biometric solution for microfinance lenders in Africa. Awamo says it will use the money collected for developing its prototype to a fully-fledged solution and for the roll out in selected regions of Uganda, focusing on scalability and implementation of further customer and user feedbacks.

10. Dot Com Zambia – $500k

Zambian growing eCommerce firm, Dot Com Zambia, raised $500,000 in its first round of funding from investors including Kulula Capital, eVentures Africa Fund. The investment, structured as a combination of debt and equity, will enable Dot Com Zambia to grow its existing e-commerce business and roll out its proprietary digital bus ticketing system across Zambia and, with Kukula’s and eVA’s network, begin further piloting across the Southern African region.

Here are some other investments though they did not disclose the amounts

eChurch.ng

eChurch.ng, a tech company that helps churches seamlessly digitize their technology processes and mobile community received its first round of funding from Marek Zmyslowski, Managing Director of Jovago and Maneesh Garg, the group Chief Executive Officer of Nagode.

SimplePay

SimplePay received more funding from Bank of Industry, Nigeria. Simeon Ononobi, the founder of the company, said that the new funding will help them release their new innovative technology by hiring more engineers as well as aggressively pursue more strategic partnerships with industry leaders.

Arnergy

Nigeria’s leading renewable energy provider, Arnergy Solar Limited, secured long-term financing from Bank of Industry, Nigeria and UNDP for the installation of off-grid solar home systems in six (6) Nigerian communities, as part of a Renewable Energy Partnership with the United Nations Development Programme. These communities, with an average of 200 homes each, are located in Anambra, Delta, Gombe, Kaduna, Niger and Osun States.

OngAir

Hong Kong founded, early stage venture capital firm and global innovation accelerator, Nest, announced recently that it has invested in Kenya’s Ongair – a web-based dashboard that enables businesses to engage with their customers on instant messaging platforms like WhatsApp, Messenger, Telegram and WeChat. OngAir wants to use the funds to enter into the Asian market

Update

We discussed with the Founder of SimplePay who disclosed that the amount was actually $1million.’

[This article was originally posted by Innovation-village.com]

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User Comments ( 1 )

Sage Kakule Muhingu

/ 12 Feb 2016

Hi Dr Harnet
I have written to to you few times without a response. I am from Eastern DR Congo. But I live in Western Australia(Perth). Just been back home for a holiday and saw a lot of opportunity there( in agriculture, health insurance and other sectors). Can you please help me get funding in realising my dream? I have invested in agriculture but I need funding to be able to realise my dream. Please help.

Thank you

Know Why These 10 African Businesses Received Funding