📸 Affiong Williams Affiong Williams (Founder & CEO of technology food startup, ReelFruit Nigeria) is attending her first major expo in the United States, and says it’s been a huge eye-opener for her. According to Williams: I marveled at the scale of trade in the U.S, the innovation in snack products and the opportunity that lay ahead for ReelFruit in the U.S. I returned energized to continue in my mission to take the best of Nigeria to the world. It is more than possible!I was also very fortunate to meet with the co-founder of Martie, Kari Morris. Martie has been…
Section1
Team E-Doc Online (L-R) Babatunde Ogundipe (Co-Founder & CEO): Adam Bisi (Co-Founder) – E-Doc Online is one of 20 startups selected for Visa’s second accelerator program cohort 2024 📸 NumerisMedia/ Anne Agbakoba Visa has announced the startups shortlisted from across Africa to participate in the second cohort of its Africa Fintech Accelerator program. The Sub-Saharan African startups shortlisted for the second cohort of the Visa Fintech Accelerator program for Africa are: Chapa (Ethiopia) CheckUps Medical Hub (Kenya) AzamPay (Tanzania) Beem (Tanzania) Bizao | Payment hub in Africa (Ivory Coast) HUB2 (Ivory Coast) IWOMI TECHNOLOGIES LTD (Cameroun) PROBOUTIK (Cameroun) VaultPay (Democratic…
One of 10 entrepreneurs: Nora Majero’s Drop Access (Kenya) manufactures and supplies solar-powered cold chain solutions to rural communities Meet the 10 local leaders who make up the 2024 Acumen Energy for Livelihoods Accelerator. They are consistently unbundling barriers to clean and affordable energy for all: Amein Eskinder (Fiberkiosk, Ethiopia) Fiberkiosk (Ethiopia) tackles the pressing issues of energy access and economic disparity in underserved Ethiopian communities. Through a network of micro-entrepreneurs running solar kiosks, they provide access to charging and refrigeration to communities, and income for the operators. Celeste Tchetgen Vogel (eWAKA Mobility, Kenya) eWAKA Mobility (Kenya) provides eco-friendly, electric…
Yesterday, we presented MaaD, (read here), one of the mission-driven founders backed by the Ventures Platform Fund. And there’s more. Here’s a recap of some of of the Fund’s recent investments in companies building the future of Africa, through innovative market-creating solutions: 🇪🇬 Karcel (formerly known as Voom)Founders: Abobakr Elmashtoly, Mohammed KamelOn a mission to digitize used car transactions in Egypt, Karcel offers a secure platform for seamless transactions, advanced technical inspection procedures, a transparent online pricing system and financing options for both users and merchants. The company aims to be the go-to digital automotive platform, empowering individuals and businesses at any phase of their…
The Ventures Platform fund is thrilled to announce its lead in the $3.2 million seed round investment in Maad, a tech and logistics platform transforming the retail landscape in Francophone Africa.Launched in 2021, the platform reduces the barriers to access and cost of delivering goods, aligning perfectly with the Fund’s thesis of backing market-creating innovations that solve for non-consumption. Kola AIna (Founding Partner, Ventures Platform Fund) Unsurprisingly, Maad has quickly become a key solution for informal retailers in Senegal, providing a one-stop shop for fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG). Says the Ventures Platform Fund: Their innovative approach connects small retailers directly…
Clinching the top spot: Deepankar Rustagi (Founder & CEO, OmniRetail) Recognised for its authority, integrity and accuracy, leading business and financial title, the Financial Times (FT) has released its 2024 ranking of 125 of Africa’s Fastest Growing Companies. Source: FinancialTimes In this third iteration of its now expanded, Nigeria, one of the continent’s three biggest economies, holds three of the top 10 spots, with OmniRetail (eCommerce), Moniepoint (Fintech, Financial Services & Insurance), and Afex Commodities Exchange (Nigeria’s first licensed private commodities exchange) in the first, fourth and fifth positions, respectively. Tosin Eniolorunda (Founder, Moniepoint): Moniepoint Inc. is ranked 4th place…
21-year-old software engineer, Nathan Naachuku (Co-Founder, Terrahaptix) Nathan Nwachuku is a 21-year-old software engineer who dropped out of university at 18 to solve critical problems. Today, along with 23 year-old Co-Founder Maxwell Maduka, Nwachuku is the Chairman of TerraHaptix, a Nigerian robotics startup that develops low-cost, autonomous drones that serve critical sectors such as Agriculture, Energy, Mining, Construction, and Telecoms. Says Nwachuku: Since we began operations 4 months ago, we have recorded almost $1M in revenue and $15M in LOIs from customers across Energy, Mining, Agriculture.TerraHaptix is solving a critical problem: the $250B automation crisis for core industries in emerging…
Team Chowdeck (L-R): Olumide Ojo (Co-Founder & CTO); Lanre Yusuf (Co-Founder & COO); Femi Aluko (Co-Founder & CEO) Following Nigeria’s 2024 policy removing subsidies on petroleum products, the pump price of petrol naturally skyrocketed, leaving food delivery logistics companies – which rely on petrol-powered motorbikes – struggling to survive the sudden astronomical cost of doing business. Many have floundered and shut down, including popular brands such as JumiaFood, Gokada, Glovo, and Bolt Food. Yet, Chowdeck thrives, with its success ascribed to aggressive expansion across disparate locations in Nigeria – Lagos, Abuja, Ibadan, Asaba, Benin City, Abeokuta, Ilorin and Port Harcourt…
Book release 2024: ‘The Wizard Farmer’ by Farmer Samson Ogbole – sharing his thoughts on work, money, wealth creation, agribusiness, betrayal 📸SamsonOgbole Samson Ogbole is the Team Lead for Eupepsia Place Limited (Soilless Farm lab), and the fascination across the globe with his work is understandable – soilless growing, also known as hydroponics, is based on the workable idea that plants can grow and thrive without the need for a traditional substrate. Earlier on in the week, the inimitable Farmer Ogbole had the pleasure of receiving the Agriculture Team Lead from the French Embassy in Nigeria, led by Regional Counsellor, Dr.…
Uzo Obi (Founder & CEO, Arete Wood Limited) 📸AdaobiOniwinde Uzo Obi is founder of Arete Wood Limited (manufacturers of household and institutional furniture, and exclusive Nigeria distributor of Kronospan MFC, MDF and HPL panels). What is, perhaps, more intriguing (and inspiring) is the backstory that led to Uzo’s business, which her cousin Adaobi Oniwinde gives an insight into: She attended what is among the [top] Ivy League of girls’ private secondary schools in the UK, after which she studied Accounting at the London School of Economics.Then started her career as an auditor with Arthur Andersen and moved to Hong Kong…