Series round | CEO Business Africa

Algerian super app Yassir clinches US$150 million Series B funding for expansion

November 10, 2022November 10, 2022

ALGERIA – Yassir, an Algerian multi-sided marketplace offering on-demand services such as ride-hailing, food and grocery delivery, banking and more, has raised US$150 million in Series B funding from prominent global investors. The investment was led by BOND, with participation from DN Capital, Dorsal Capital, Quiet Capital, Stanford Alumni Ventures (aka Spike Ventures) and Y Combinator, among other strategic investors. …

EdTech company Classera secures US$40m Series A investment to accelerate its expansion

November 7, 2022November 7, 2022

EGYPT – Sanabil Investments, a wholly owned company by Public Investment Fund, has led a US$40 million Series A investment round in Classera, a global EdTech e-learning company focused on emerging markets. “Classera has developed and successfully deployed a platform that reaches millions of users and has grown to become one of the leading emerging market e-learning solution providers globally,”…

Healthtech startup Lifestores Healthcare raises US$3m pre-Series A round to expand its market

October 14, 2022October 14, 2022

NIGERIA – Lifestores Healthcare, a Nigerian healthtech startup, has raised US$3 million in an oversubscribed pre-Series A round aimed at expanding its pharmaceutical marketplace across Nigeria. The company will use the funding to expand in Nigeria, enhance its software, and target new client demographics. It will also grow its senior management, sales, and engineering teams. “We’re proud and happy to…

Knife Capital secures US$50m series B expansion fund to invest in innovation-driven companies

September 28, 2022September 28, 2022

SOUTH AFRICA – Standard Bank and the SA SME Fund, a private sector-led initiative, have joined other investors in backing venture capital firm Knife Capital’s new US$50 million African Series B expansion fund, Knife Fund III. The fund aims to invest in the expansion of African innovation-driven companies and fill a critical follow-on funding gap. The commitment positions Standard Bank…

Fintech platform Yellow card closes US$40m series B investment round

September 20, 2022September 20, 2022

AFRICA – Pan-African digital currency trading platform Yellow Card has announced the completion of its US$40 million Series B investment round, headed by Polychain Capital. Other investors that took part in the round include Valar Ventures, Third Prime, Sozo Ventures, Castle Island Ventures, Fabric Ventures, DG Daiwa Ventures, and The Raba Partnership. The startup plans to utilise the capital to…

Insurtech Turaco secures US$10m series A round fundraise led by AfricInvest

September 15, 2022September 15, 2022

KENYA – Turaco, a leading insurtech driving mass market insurance adoption across Africa, has announced the close of a US$10 million Series A equity round. The round which saw participation from Enza Capital, Global Partnerships, Zephyr Acorn, Operator Stack, Asi Ventures Limited, and Push Ventures, was led by AfricInvest, via the Cathay Africinvest Innovation Fund, and existing investor, Novastar Ventures. …

Candi Solar raises series B fund from infrastructure-focused equity investor STOA

September 6, 2022September 6, 2022

SOUTH AFRICA – French infrastructure-focused equity investor STOA and Candi Solar, a clean energy company providing solar power to commercial and industrial (C&I) customers, have announced the closing of Candi’s Series B fundraising. STOA’s investment will allow Candi to finance new solar projects in India and Africa, particularly South Africa, with the aim to reach 800 MWp of solar capacity…

Gym management Octiv closes Series A funding to fast-track its global expansion drive

September 2, 2022September 2, 2022

SOUTH AFRICA – South African gym management software platform Octiv has closed an eight-figure Series A funding round led by venture capital firm Knife Capital. The startup previously raised seed capital from South African angel investors and this round also included an angel investment from an executive at the crypto-powered banking platform BVNK. According to a statement by the company,…

Fintech startup Pezesha raises US$11m a pre-series A funding round

August 30, 2022August 30, 2022

KENYA – Pezesha, a Kenyan founded Pan-African embedded finance fintech startup, has raised a pre-series A funding round of US$11 million in a mix of US$6 million equity and US$5 million debt. The round was led by Women’s World Banking Capital Partners II (WWBCP II) with participation from Verdant Frontiers Fintech Fund (an early stage African Fintech Fund), cFund and…

On-demand logistics startup Lori Systems secures pre-Series B investment for its expansion plans

August 17, 2022August 17, 2022

KENYA – Lori Systems, an on-demand logistics and trucking startup that digitises haulage and offers shippers options to manage their cargo and transporters, has secured a pre-Series B investment to expand its product lines and turn a profit. Google and other previous investors participated. This new investment is the third from Google’s US$50 Million Africa Investment Fund, which CEO Sundar…