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…
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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…
KIGALI, Rwanda, May 6, 2024/ — Between April 20-27, the Africa’s Business Heroes (ABH) Prize Competition (a philanthropic initiative sponsored by the Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Philanthropy) hosted 40 participants—consisting of top 10 Heroes, other finalists and partners from across Africa—in Hangzhou, China. Participants engaged in an immersive experience at Alibaba’s headquarters in Hangzhou and have returned to their home countries enriched with valuable insights to further enhance their entrepreneurial endeavors on the continent.During their visit, the ABH Heroes (spanning cohorts from 2019 to 2023) participated in a wide range of activities. These included deep dives that explored various…
📸 MajestikFarms Bintu Mohammed Nakudu is Managing Director at Majestik Farms, and she is developing one of the Nigeria’s most modern, eco-friendly farms. Majestik’s agro-allied services – which cover farm produce, animal rearing, and animal mill feed production – also includes fishing, mechanised poultry, livestock and crop farming. Bintu Mohammed Nakudu (CEO, Majestik Farms) This January, while unveiling the future of agriculture in Abuja, Majestik Farms shares its progress (video below) in developing the largest Greenhouse in northern Nigeria, paving the way for sustainable farming. Behind every successful operation at Majestik Farms lies diligent oversight and teamwork. Our Managing Director,…
Osayi Alile (CEO, Aspire Coronation Trust Foundation) 📸OsayiAlile Even within a difficult operating environment, opportunities are rife for entrepreneurs to start or enhance a business targeted at solving problems, no matter how minute. However, this is also a great time to analyse an important, yet often overlooked aspect of the entrepreneurial journey: the tricky link between the founder’s mental health and their business success. So, is there a connection between entrepreneurship and mental health conditions? A 2021 global sample study (72% Of Entrepreneurs Suffer From Mental Health Issues. Here’s Why—And What To Do About It) reveals an alarming truth -…