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VivaTech AfricaTech Awards 2022 For African Startups

Hafiz Akinde
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VivaTech AfricaTech Awards 2022 For African Startups

VivaTech, with support from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), launched the first edition of the AfricaTech Awards, a pan-African initiative developed to recognize and support the most innovative and impactful African startups across three key sectors – Climate Tech, Health Tech, and FinTech.

Tech startups can provide much-needed solutions to pressing global challenges, promote inclusion, and foster sustainable development. However, despite increasing interest from investors, startups across the continent too often struggle to find the capital they need to scale their innovations. The VivaTech AfricaTech Awards aim to help create new market opportunities for emerging African startups, catalyzing support and inspiring action from investors, policymakers, fellow entrepreneurs, and leading institutions in the tech space.

Eligibility Criteria for the VivaTech AfricaTech Awards

  • Startup based in Africa
  • Having a product/solution addressed to the African market
  • Having a scalable product/solution
  • Must have raised a minimum of $200K in capital but not more than $6M
  • Must address one of the following themes: Climate Tech, Health Tech or FinTech

The Challenges

Climate Tech Challenge: Solutions that can reduce emissions, protect the environment, and help communities become more climate-resilient.

Health Tech Challenge: Solutions that can expand access to healthcare among underserved communities, reduce the cost of services, and boost innovation in the healthcare sector.

FinTech Challenge: Solutions that can expand access to financial services among underserved communities, promote financial inclusion and financial literacy, and improve the efficiency of the banking infrastructure.

Rewards for the Finalists

The top 9 startups (3 in each category) will receive:

  • Take part in VivaTech
  • Meet key players to scale your business
  • Benefit from a strong visibility
  • Get highlighted in the VivaTech program
  • Get featured on social media and different media outlets

Rewards for Winners

The category winners will receive:

Climate Tech Winner

Introduction to the IFC Climate Tech Specialist and key industry players
Access to New Energy Nexus’ global clean energy ecosystem network and its local networks in Uganda and Nigeria.
Health Tech Winner
Introduction to the IFC Health Tech specialist and key industry players.
FinTech Winner
Introduction to IFC FinTech investment team and IFC partner VC funds.

Selection Criteria for the VivaTech AfricaTech Awards

Impact: Product/solution with proven results in addressing pressing issues affecting society and/or the environment

Innovation: Originality and innovation level of the tech solution compared to existing alternatives (problem-solving approach, characteristics of the technology used, patented processes or components, etc.)

Scalability: Market size and scalability potential of the startup (total addressable market, potential to expand to other markets, etc.)

Team profile: Level of experience and size of the team (number of employees, level and diversity of expertise, entrepreneurship and/or academic background, etc.)

Business model: Demonstrated traction and product-market fit (maturity of the startup, commercial traction, number of clients, annual global turnover growth, etc.)

Timeline

  • 7th March: Challenges Opening
  • 25th March: End of the challenge
  • 2nd May: Announcement of the Top 45 startups (15 per category)
  • 6th May: Announcement of the 9 finalists (3 in each category)
  • 15th-18th June: VivaTech Event AfricaTech Awards Ceremony

About VivaTech

Viva Technology is Europe’s biggest startup and tech event.

 
We act as a powerful global catalyst for digital transformation and startup growth. Every year, VivaTech brings together in Paris and online the greatest business leaders, startups, investors, researchers and innovators to ignite positive change in business and for society. The 6th edition of VivaTech AfricaTech Awards Ceremony is taking place 15-18 June 2022.

For more information about the event, check this link.

To read the rules and regulations, check this link.

Moove Secures $105M, to Scale Across Asia, Europe and MENA

Hassan Barakat
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Moove Secures $105M, to Scale Across Asia, Europe and MENA

Moove secures $105M. The African mobility fintech provides vehicle finance to Uber and other gig network drivers, and it has raised a new Series A2 round of funding.

Existing investors Speedinvest, who were lead investors in the company’s Series A, are among the new round’s investors.

This round consisted of a $65 million equity investment and a $40 million debt investment.

New investors such as AfricInvest, MUFG Innovation Partners, Latitude, and Kreos Capital also took part.

This announcement is coming almost seven months after the fintech closed its $23 million Series A round and just a month after the Moove closed $10 million in debt financing.

Since its inception in 2020, the firm has expanded to six African cities: Lagos, Accra, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Nairobi, and Ibadan.

Moove is a flexible solution for drivers who wish to enter into the ride-hailing business without having to borrow from car owners or take out bank loans to finance automobiles purchased from dealerships.

The following is how it works: Drivers register on the platform, are validated, and then trained and sign contracts with Moove in order to obtain loans to purchase or rent automobiles.

The company enrolls these drivers on Uber’s platform—the company’s only partner in Africa—and deducts weekly rental fees from their profits before distributing the balance to their accounts.

The loans are for 12 to 48 months, and when drivers repay them (at an annual interest rate of 8 to 13 percent), they own the automobiles, according to the firm.

The revenue-based car finance platform claims it will expand this approach to other vehicle classes, such as three-wheelers and buses.

While the new Series A2 round will help Moove scale across its current territories, it will also aid the company’s expansion into new countries outside of Africa.

Over the next six months, Moove will focus on seven additional markets in Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.

The total funding raised by Moove is $174.5 million in debt and equity. In its newer markets, Moove will encounter new competition from Carro in Southeast Asia, Drover in the United Kingdom, and Virtuo in France.

Akon’s Cryptocurrency, Akoin, Hits $5M Volume in Kenya

Hafiz Akinde
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Akon’s Cryptocurrency, Akoin, Hits $5M Volume in Kenya

Akon’s cryptocurrency, Akoin, has reached $5 million in total transaction volume in Kenya. Akoin, which is based on the Stellar blockchain, was launched in November 2020 and began trading against bitcoin (BTC) and USDT on the Bittrex Global crypto exchange on November 11th of that year.

From all indications, the Akoin token is gaining wide acceptance as major brands are adopting it as their cryptocurrency payments. For example, Mwale Medical and Technology City (MMTC), a $2 billion metropolis centered on a 5,000-bed medical and technology complex, has accepted the digital asset as payment since February 2021.

According to David Gitonga, founder and CEO of BitcoinKE, who spoke to BeInCrypto, Akoin was being used at the facility to pay for various services, including treatment. Gitonga says… “Akoin is being used to pay for services at the hospital and this is expected to be extended to other services within the city. In addition, Akoin is expected to be used to pay for services in the region (western Kenya), which is popular for sugarcane farming, one of the expected use cases for the digital currency.”

Over the past year, AKN has hit more than $5 million in transaction volume, according to Akoin co-founder John Karas. Around 35,000 users from western Kenya, a region of 17 million people, have been on-boarded, BitcoinKE, a local online media outlet, reported.

“Our biggest mission is that Akoin ends in the hands of users, not people that are speculating on exchanges,” said Karas. “We really want this to be a tool that empowers financial inclusion.”

The token which began as a pilot for payments at a high-tech smart city in the East African country last year, is at the heart of the $6 billion Akon City in Senegal.

The project seeks to address the need for vibrant new community development, with a vision to create Business districts, residential districts (high-rise) education districts, healthcare districts, technology districts, Media districts, entertainment districts, and sports facilities with a recreational enclave for the surrounding area to address the market need for the development in Senegal.

Bloom, Sudan’s First YC-Backed Startup Sets to Protect Sudanese People from Currency Depreciation

Hassan Barakat
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Bloom, Sudan’s First YC-Backed Startup Sets to Protect Sudanese People from Currency Depreciation

Bloom is Sudan’s first YC-Backed startup that aims to help Sudanese people protect themselves from currency depreciation.

The company was founded by Ahmed Ismail, Youcef Oudjidane, Khalid Keenan, and Abdigani Diriye in late 2021.

It provides a “high-yield” savings account, free FX, and related digital banking services so that customers can save in a stable currency, the dollar, and spend locally.

After researching several models pioneered by digital-first banks such as TymeBank, Kuda, and FairMoney, the founders saw a significant need for developing a savings product that addresses what they believe is the most pressing problem facing African consumers: inflation and currency depreciation.

“We believe the most common problem is the inability of customers to protect the value of their assets. So we decided to establish a company that does just that, that enables individuals to save money in a stable currency and spend it in local currencies as they go,” Ismail, the company’s CEO, told TechCrunch.

“We chose Sudan as our first market because we believe that the best approach to start a business is to go after the biggest opportunity initially, ” Ismail remarked.

Bloom collaborates with the Export Development Bank, a deposit-taking partner bank. Bloom is best thought of as the bank’s technology, customer acquisition, user experience, and marketing partner.

Users can save in dollars and buy and spend in Sudanese pounds with no fees, according to the business.

It also offers local and dollar cards, as well as a function that allows them to receive free remittances from a number of nations across the world, primarily from the Sudanese diaspora.

The Sudanese and Dubai-based firm wants to expand across the Anglo East African region, including Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Zambia, with funding from an upcoming seed round.

“We’re from the region.” We are familiar with the intricacies of our markets and can navigate what may appear to be a perplexing world. Working in unpredictable markets is also something we’re used to – and possibly even enjoy. “We are laying the foundation for Africa’s next decade of growth,” Diriye said of the investment.

Ghanaian Fintech Dash Raises 32.8M Seed, Led by Insight Partners

Hassan Barakat
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Ghanaian Fintech Dash Raises 32.8M Seed, Led by Insight Partners

Ghanaian fintech Dash is announcing that it has raised $32.8 million in an oversubscribed seed round.

Founder and CEO Prince Boakye Boampong started the company in 2019. Before Dash, Boampong was the co-founder of OMG Digital, a YC-backed Ghanaian media startup he started alongside Jesse Ghansah — the current CEO of Float— in 2016.

Dash’s alternative payment network connects mobile money and traditional banks, making it easier for individuals and businesses to transact.

It is not intended to take the role of mobile money or banks. Instead, its wallet gives consumers access to a variety of services that aren’t available through their usual supplier.

“We’re working on interoperability so that a Kenyan flying to Ghana or a Ghanaian traveling to Kenya can pay for things without having to change currencies or open accounts when they land,” Boampong explained.

“We’re taking a page from AliPay and PayTm by developing services that will make our users’ lives easier without requiring them to switch providers.”

Dash’s strategy is similar to that of Visa or Mastercard in that it routes payments through banks and telcos regardless of who issued the card.

As a result, users from various countries — for the time being, Ghana, Nigeria, and Kenya — can connect their bank or mobile money accounts to Dash, pay bills, and send and receive money from other users, while the platform handles currency conversions.

Processing fees, interest generated when users save, FX expenses when Dash is used cross-border, bill payments (commission earned when users pay bills on Dash), and membership (for Dash+, the company’s premium service) are all revenue sources for Dash.

Dash’s seed round, headed by Insight Partners, a New York-based private equity and venture capital firm, is one of the largest of its kind in Africa; only PalmPay’s $40 million now beats it.

The transaction, which follows a $500,000 pre-seed round, adds to a growing list of fintech deals in the sector, which accounted for up to 60% of Africa’s overall venture capital funding last year.

This purchase is particularly notable because it shifts emphasis away from Nigeria, Africa’s hottest fintech industry, to Ghana, where entrepreneurs raised only $167 million in venture capital last year.

Global Founders Capital and 4DX Ventures are among the other investors in the round.

ASK Capital, Techstars, Guillaume Pousaz’s Zinal Growth Partners, Jitendra Gupta of Jupiter Money, Amrish Rau of Pine Labs, the founders of Moss, ProcessOut executives,, and the founders of PennyLane were among those that took part.

The funds will be used to assist the Techstars-backed startup expand to other regions including Tanzania and South Africa, obtain the necessary licenses, increase its team, invest in technology, and introduce new services.

Digital Identity Infrastructure Critical to Deepening Open Finance in Africa, says Esigie Aguele, VerifyMe CEO

Hassan Barakat
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Digital Identity Infrastructure Critical to Deepening Open Finance in Africa, says Esigie Aguele, VerifyMe CEO

Esigie Aguele, Co-founder and CEO of VerifyMe Nigeria, a digital identity and KYC technology company, stated in his keynote speech at the recently concluded 5th Edition of the Africa Tech Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, that stakeholders in the digital identity and finance space have been charged to work together to establish a holistic framework for open finance in Africa.

During the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) session of the summit, Aguele stated that open finance, backed by a strong digital identity infrastructure, was critical in bridging the gap between identification and financial inclusion in order to achieve results at scale for Africa’s over 500 million people without a recognized form of identification.

“Facilitating openness, transparency, and lower costs is crucial in a more interconnected world and with the development in peer-to-peer transactions,” he said.

This will rely heavily on digital identity. Thankfully, open finance initiatives like mobile payments are already making an impact for many of Sub-Saharan Africa’s 85 percent unbanked individuals. However, if we are to accomplish results at scale, we must act quickly.

“In Nigeria, for example, digital identity has the potential to unlock opportunities from open finance initiatives to address the 16 million home mortgage shortfall, as well as the insurance and auto-loan markets, which are currently under-scaled at 0.3 to 0.5 penetration on maturity and have the potential to grow to $800-$1 billion industries.”

“Undoubtedly, the regulatory systems of Web2 have proven insufficient for the expanding pivot to Web3,” Aguele said, elaborating on how digital identification will effect open banking. As operators develop standards to give comprehensive digital identity solutions, we’re seeing regulators push back against entirely decentralized privacy methods, particularly if it limits them access to security, control, and governance.

“As a result, while effective regulation is required to standardize and grow the ecosystem, it is vital to strike a balance such that legislation enables rather than suffocates innovation.”

“I envisage a future where entrepreneurs and regulators increasingly collaborate to discover solutions that benefit all stakeholders while maintaining standards, quality, identity privacy, and ownership,” the VerifyMe founder stated.

VerifyMe Nigeria is a leading digital identification and Know-Your-Customer (KYC) technology company that supports open finance in Africa. The company offers a variety of trust-based digital identification solutions to assist businesses in onboarding customers and scaling their operations.

The Africa Tech Summit brings together African and international tech experts to help move business and investment ahead on the continent.

The event also brings together a diverse group of stakeholders, including technology companies, mobile operators, FinTech, DeFi, and crypto initiatives, investors, top startups, and regulators.

DFS Labs Blockchain Bootcamp 2022

Hassan Barakat
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DFS Labs Blockchain Bootcamp 2022

DFS Labs is an early-stage investor assisting founders in the development of Africa’s digital commerce future.

Our Blockchain Bootcamp, in conjunction with the Stellar Development Foundation, is now accepting applications.

Apply by March 18, 2022

About The Bootcamp

Our second Blockchain Bootcamp aims to provide early-stage and mid-stage African companies with the opportunity to build on Stellar, an open-source blockchain network for financial services and goods.

The Bootcamp will culminate in a demo day, during which organizations with the most interesting Stellar-based solutions will be granted awards ranging from $5,000 to $20,000 in Stellar’s native currency, XLM.

There will be options for extra grant financing, as well as possible investment from SDF’s Matching Fund and other investors in attendance at the demo day.

Eligible Companies

Fintech, blockchain-native, and crypto-curious companies operating in Africa who want to improve their current services or integrate digital asset solutions into their business models for the first time are all encouraged to apply.

Apply Here

Use cases

Viable use cases that could be explored are:

  1. Cross-border or multi-currency payments
    • Business payments for high-cost corridors
    • Reimagining remittances and reducing friction

2. Access to financial services

    • Safeguarding value
    • Multi-currency savings and yield-earning accounts
    • Tokenized assets
    • Investing in securities

3. Other use cases

    • Financial inclusion in emerging markets
    • Banking
    • Payment processing
    • Lending
    • Payroll
    • Treasury management
    • NFTs

Asset management, compliance, defi, gaming, charity donations, trade finance, liquidity, and other areas could all benefit from new models.

The Bootcamp

The Bootcamp is a three-day virtual design sprint that allows participants to answer crucial business challenges with hands-on technical assistance and mentoring from DFS Lab and SDF members.

Companies that participate in the sprint will define an issue, design a storyboard for a solution, and build a quick prototype of their innovation.

We’ll be working from East Africa Time for the design sprint, which will be conducted electronically.

For more information, visit the official page of the DFS Labs Blockchain Bootcamp 2022

Microsoft Announces Plans to Partner with VCs, and Accelerators, to Promote 10,000 Startups in Africa

Hassan Barakat
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Microsoft Announces Plans to Partner with VCs, and Accelerators, to Promote 10,000 Startups in Africa

Microsoft has announced intentions to promote 10,000 African businesses over the next five years through a number of initiatives, including partnerships with accelerators and incubators throughout the continent.

It also announced plans to collaborate with venture capitalists to boost access to capital for African entrepreneurs by releasing $500 million in “potential” investment.

Microsoft has previously partnered with Banque Misr, Global Venture Capital, and Get Funded Capital, according to the company.

These initiatives will be carried out by Microsoft’s newly founded Africa Transformation Office (ATO), which is responsible for driving the company’s strategic ambitions in Africa through partnerships with public and private organizations.

“Our goal in forming these connections with venture capital investors is to expand the network of potential partnerships between Microsoft, venture capital investors, and startups, hence boosting the investment accessible to qualifying entrepreneurs,” said Gerald Maithya, ATO’s lead for startups.

Microsoft announced that it would form collaborations with accelerators and incubators such as Grindstone, Greenhouse, FlapMax, and Seedstars in order to give markets, technical expertise, and financial opportunities.

African startups will get access to Microsoft’s global Founders Hub, a self-service hub that provides businesses with a variety of services and mentors.

Co-selling options with Microsoft’s corporate and enterprise customers are also available through the Founders Hub.

“On the global startup landscape, Africa has enormous potential to become a vibrant hub of digital innovation.”

“Our goal is to witness a flood of local inventions that will benefit not only Africa’s digital economy, but the entire world,” said ATO managing director Wael Elkabbany.

Microsoft has joined the growing number of IT corporations launching initiatives aimed at African startups.

M-KOPA Secures $75M Funding, Led by Generation Investment Management and Broadscale Group

Hassan Barakat
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0
M-KOPA Secures $75M Funding, Led by Generation Investment Management and Broadscale Group

M-KOPA secures $75M in funding.

Without collateral or a guarantor, the company allows underbanked customers in specific African areas to access a wide range of products and services.

M-KOPA’s fifth equity round is referred to as the “growing equity round” in its press release.

M-KOPA has raised $190 million in total equity.

This round included previous investors such as the CDC Group and LGT Lightrock, as well as LocalGlobe’s Latitude Fund and HEPCO Capital Management.

The growth equity deal was led by Generation Investment Management and Broadscale Group.

The company is led by the CEO and co-founder Jesse Moore.

M-KOPA is best recognized for its pay-as-you-go (PAYG) financing strategy, which allows customers to build appliance ownership over time by paying an initial deposit and then making flexible micro-payments.

M-KOPA began with solar-powered home systems aimed at low-income and rural consumers who lacked access to electricity in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.

It has, however, expanded its pay-as-you-go model to cover additional necessities, such as cellphones (first introduced in Kenya two years ago), televisions, freezers, solar lighting, and digital financial services such as cash loans and health insurance.

The geographical scope of the organization has also shifted.

M-KOPA was largely focused on East Africa six years ago, but after pulling out of Tanzania, it is now present in Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, and Ghana.

M-KOPA expects to launch in one new market this year and in 2023 as part of its growth ambitions, which are based on this recent funding.

In the second half of this year, the ten-year-old company wants to expand its offerings in Nigeria, and in Q1 2023, in Ghana.

The platform matches fractional payment periods with customers’ daily or weekly earning and spending cycles to deliver finance and digital financial services to underbanked consumers in four geographies.

Its customers span from ride-hailing drivers to small-business owners who manage their firms using cell phones.

However, in a market where a large percentage of adults make less than $5 per day, a $100 smartphone is a luxury.

M-KOPA claims to have secured more than $600 million in finance for its 2 million underbanked customers across its markets to far.

Beyond asset financing, though, the Kenyan firm has a wider goal in mind.

M-KOPA will be able to scale financial services products like health insurance, cash loans, and BNPL merchant partnerships as a result of the new investment, which will allow the company to grow its flexible daily and weekly payment model.

In addition, M-KOPA intends to spend more in order to develop its client relationships and technology.

VALR Raises Africa’s Largest Crypto Funding Round of $50 million Series B Equity

Hassan Barakat
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0
VALR Raises Africa’s Largest Crypto Funding Round of $50 million Series B Equity

VALR, a cryptocurrency trading platform based in South Africa, has raised $50 million in Africa’s largest ever crypto funding round. The company is now worth $240 million.

Pantera Capital led the Series B equity funding round, which included Alameda Research, Cadenza, CMT Digital, Coinbase Ventures, Distributed Global, GSR, Third Prime, Avon Ventures, a venture capital fund affiliated with the parent company of Fidelity Investments, as well as existing investors Bittrex and 4Di Capital, and others.

Customers may safely buy, sell, and store Bitcoin and 60 other cryptocurrencies on the company’s platform, which has the largest assortment of any platform in Africa, at some of the lowest costs in the world.

Since its introduction in 2019, VALR has processed over $7.5 billion (R115 billion) in trading volume and now serves over 250,000 individual users and 500 institutional clients from around the world.

“The financial tools available to society should be used to bring us together, not to divide us.” That’s why I’m ecstatic that VALR is assisting in the development of a financial system that respects humanity’s oneness.”

“There is no longer any room for question about the impact crypto assets are having on our global financial system,” VALR CEO and Co-founder Farzam Ehsani adds.

Since its $3.4 million Series A round of fundraising in July 2020, VALR’s valuation has increased by more than 10X.

Pantera Capital Partner Paul Veradittakit states, “We are really excited to be leading the Series B round for VALR since we believe that Africa’s future is bright for the use of cryptocurrencies for both asset diversification and payments.” “VALR offers a fantastic product and service to both retail and institutional customers.”

“What VALR has established for retail and institutional traders over the last few years has blown us away,” says Kumar Dandapani, Founder and Managing Partner of Cadenza Capital Management.

VALR intends to bring onboard a slew of new traditional financial institutions, including the world’s largest banks, insurers, and hedge funds, to help them build the infrastructure they’ll need to enter the crypto asset market.

“The world is on the verge of a massive financial shift. Crypto assets will become increasingly important in our daily lives. VALR is here to assist our customers in transitioning from the old to the new financial system. We look forward to servicing you, whether you’re a person or an institution,” Ehsani said.

VALR plans to use the capital raised to expand across Africa and into other emerging countries such as India, as well as to provide more products and services to its increasing base of worldwide clients. The company has already begun hiring to expand its team.

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