VKAV partners (L-R): Ryosuke Yamawaki, Ory Okolloh,and Satoshi Shinada Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures (VKAV) – having announced a first close of $43 million in March 2023 – recently announced a final close of $60 million for its pan-African venture fund, which invests in scalable, tech-enabled, post-revenue startups addressing difficult challenges on the continent. Key institutional investors in the fund including SBI Holdings, Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Japan International Corporation Agency, and Japan ICT Fund. New investors joining the final close include SCM Capital, formerly known as Sterling Capital Markets Limited, from Nigeria and a few additional institutional investors…
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Queen Mathilde of Belgium pictured during the opening of the World Cocoa Conference in Brussels, carrying out her role as the United Nations advocate for the Sustainable Development Goals (Photo by BENOIT DOPPAGNE/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images) The World Cocoa Conference – the leading event for the global cocoa and chocolate sector that brings together all the stakeholders of the cocoa value chain across the world – held its 2024 gathering in Brussels on Monday, April 22, 2024. The event was inaugurated by Her Majesty Queen Mathilde of Belgium who spoke emphatically about the cocoa producers she met during her…
TLcom partners (L-R): Ido Sum, Omobola Johnson, Andreata Muforo, Maurizio Caio and Eloho Omame 📸 Lumiogunde TLcom Capital LLP – a Venture Capital firm partnering with Africa’s best entrepreneurs to tackle the continent’s biggest challenges – are delighted to announce the final close of its second fund, which was oversubscribed at $154 million. Says Eloho Omame (TLcom Partner, Lagos): “In a tough climate for private capital, I’m incredibly proud that we’re one of the handful of managers that have raised multiple venture capital funds for Africa — an asset class that essentially did not exist 10 years ago. Eloho Omame…
Morgane Imbert (CEO, Zando South Africa) Zando, part of the Jumia Group (Africa’s front-running ecommerce platform), was established in 2012 and has grown to become one of South Africa’s biggest online fashion and lifestyle platforms. The company has now launched an international eCommerce division called Zando Global, with the objective of tackling the stiff competition brought on by fast-fashion Chinese e-commerce retailers Shein and Temu in South Africa. The meteoric rise of the Chinese brands – the result of strong demand for their low-priced clothing such as $10 tops and $5 biker shorts – is putting pressure on local brick-and-mortar…
Mark Slade (Co-Founder, Jara Beach REsort) Nestled in Museyo (Lagos) – and just one hour by road from Lekki Peninsula Phase One – Nigeria’s all-inclusive, 4-star, overnight beach experience, Jara Beach Resort, has just gotten a makeover. Says Mark Slade (Co-Founder & Managing Partner): “Our beautiful new Ocean Deluxe Rooms at Jara Beach Resort 🌴 Six rooms (and bathrooms) extended and renovated in under three weeks, while the resort remained fully operational. A great effort from our team and our dependable trades and artisans”. Jara Beach Resort is co-founded and managed by husband and wife team Mark and Millie Slade.…
Hearty greetings to Dr. Samuel Jackson on his birthday today! Jackson is a Learning and Development expert with over 15 years of experience in Human Capital Development initiatives. At Lonadek Global Services, Dr. Jackson coordinates entrepreneurship programs, technical training, STEM education programs, career counselling, and youth empowerment projects. He also collaborates with education districts, the Government, the US Consulate, Microsoft, Oracle, Amazon Web Services, GIZ-SEDIN-GOPA, women networks and associations etc. on programs that transform women and youth to become global talents.
Klyne Maharaj (Director of Accelerator, Baobab Network) Baobab Network (“Baobab”), an early-stage investor that backs startups across Africa, today announced the acquisition of Reflector Marketing, a strategy and branding agency headquartered in South Africa. Founded in 2022 by Klyne Maharaj, Reflector Marketing has established itself as a specialist agency offering strategic marketing, branding, and digital services tailored to the needs of startups. With a diverse clientele spanning five continents (including prominent names like Jem, Opus and Batelle), Reflector has played a pivotal role in helping startups across a range of industries refine their positioning and scale. Commenting on the acquisition,…
One of the Global Startups Awards Africa 2023 winners, Zofi Cash (Uganda), is revolutionising the way salaried individuals access their wages The Global Start-up Awards Africa (GSA Africa) 2024 is now open for entries, and urges African innovators, start-ups and ecosystem enablers dedicated to solving critical global challenges to submit their entries. Aligned with the SDGs, the 2024 categories include green technology, health technology, mobility and logistics, agriculture tech, financial tech and women in tech. This year also sees the debut of the youth start-up category, which focuses on start-ups led by visionary founders under the age of 26. The competition has…
KUMULUS Co-Founders (L-R): Iheb Triki (CEO) and Mohamed Ali Abid (CTO) Startup KUMULUS WATER is on a mission to ensure universal access to clean drinking water by developing and manufacturing atmospheric water generators (AWGs) – machines that turn humidity into fresh drinking water. Its AWGs can be deployed anywhere, plugged into electricity or PV panels, with water produced at the click of a button. Each machine is capable of providing an average of 30 liters of mineralised drinking water daily, up to the standards of the WHO and EU for water potability. There are approximately 2 billion people on the planet without…
Ddesigned to empower Nigerians with in-demand digital skill, the DigitalForAllChallenge 2.0 is a unique programme that offers comprehensive learning tracks in Cybersecurity, Data Analysis, Digital Marketing, and Software Development. Participants will benefit from the guidance of industry experts, interactive workshops, and a vibrant community of learners. The challenge is segmented into three distinct categories: Young Learners (Ages 12-18) Youth Category (Basic and Intermediate) – (Ages 19-45) Civil Servants Each category has its own set of rewards. The winner in each category will be awarded a cash prize of ₦10 million, while the first runner-up will receive ₦7.5 million. The second…