This week, we recorded a total of seven funding deals, with three Nigerian startups contributing to this total. Fintech startups dominated the funding rounds, with appearances from logistics, agtech, and healthtech startups as well. Shekel Mobility’s $1.95 million seed round was the week’s largest funding deal.
Let’s get into the details.
Pre-Seed
Trade Lenda, a Nigerian fintech startup, has raised $520,000 in pre-seed funding from Sovereign Capital, ARM Labs, Expert Dojo, and a few Nigerian Angel Investors.
Founded in 2021 by Adeshina Adewumi, Shina Arogundade, and Oluwatosin Ayodele, Trade Lenda digitises access for millions of Nigerian MSMEs.
The startup intends to use the funds raised to improve access to finance for Supply Chain MSMEs in Africa.
Waza, a Nigerian B2B payments startup, has received pre-seed funding of $1.2 million from Y Combinator, Byld Ventures, and angel investors Ivan Pea Uribe and Fredrik Andersson.
Founded in 2022 by Maxwell Obi and Emmanuel Igbodudu, Waza makes international B2B payments easy for African businesses.
The funds raised will be used to build the B2B payment rails for global and intra-Africa trade in emerging markets.
Seed
Nambu Group, a South African agtech startup, has received an undisclosed amount in seed funding from E Squared Investments.
The agtech startup, founded in 2018, manufactures high nutrition animal feed using the larvae of the Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia Illucens).
Nambu plans to use the funds to double its workforce, upgrade and expand its Black Soldier Fly (BSF) production facilities, increase product sales revenues, and strengthen the company’s sustainability.
Shekel Mobility, a Nigerian mobility fintech startup, has raised $1.95 million in a seed round led by Ventures Platform. Other strategic investors in the round included Y Combinator, Voltron Capital, Zedcrest, and other angel investors.
Founded in 2022 by Benjamen Oladokun and Sanmi Olukanmi, Shekel Mobility provides a streamlined finance and operational platform for auto dealers, allowing them to build sustainable businesses.
The startup intends to build the largest auto dealership ecosystem in the world, capable of generating $10 billion in revenue by 2025.
Pre-Series A
Cathedis, a Moroccan logistics startup, has received $735,500 in pre-Series A funding (7.5 million Moroccan Dirhams). The round was split, with Afrimobility contributing 5 million MDH and CDG Invest contributing 2.5 million MDH.
Cathedis, founded in 2019 by Imad Mansour Zekri, provides cloud-based warehousing and delivery solutions to local e-commerce stores.
According to a press release from Cathedis, this is the startup’s second round of funding since its inception in 2019.
Debt Funding
eWAKA, a Kenyan mobility startup, has received $543,000 in debt funding from the Swiss Confederation’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) Start-up Fund.
Founded in 2021 by Jimmy Tune and Celeste Vogel, eWAKA is a platform for commuter and commercial micro-mobility fleets.
With the loan, the company will be able to locally manufacture and market the Shujaa, its signature electronic bike, in order to advance its expansion strategy of offering innovative and sustainable transportation technology in Africa by 2023.
Others
Zuri Health, a Kenyan healthtech startup, has received an undisclosed amount in funding from UM6P Ventures.
Founded in 2021 by Daisy Isiaho and Ikechukwu Anoke, Zuri Health connects patients with certified healthcare service providers, assisting them in accessing and booking affordable healthcare.
Using the new funding, the startup intends to improve its existing technology, hire more people, and expand the services and regions available to patients.
