Ecosystem Insider

Issue #79: Lipalater Raises $5 Million in Debt Funding, Emata Secures $2.4 Million in a Mix of Debt and Equity while Mecho Autotech Announced a $2.4 Million Pre-Series A funding.

September 18, 2023

Last week featured several undisclosed funding rounds as most startups opted to stay hushed on the details of their deals. Nevertheless, three of the funding activities stood out remarkably. The biggest deal saw LipaLater secure $ 5 Million to fuel its growth plans. In addition to that, Emata and Mecho Autotech both secured $2.4 Million from multiple investors.

Funding

Mecho Autotech

Funding round: Pre-Series A ($2.4 Million)

Investors: Global Brain Corporation, Ventures Platform, Uncovered Fund

Founded: 2021, Nigeria

Founders: Olusegun Owoade, Ayoola Akinkunmi

Products:Mecho Autotech operates a digital marketplace which connects vehicle owners (individuals and fleet owners) with workshops that handle vehicle repairs and maintenance. Essentially, the company leverages digital technology to offer repair and maintenance services to businesses and consumers.

What Next?: Mecho Autotech intends to use the acquired funds to improve its service delivery and expand its services across Africa. Part of its plans include developing a mobile app for its services, to enable vendors to receive inventory finance and manage their inventory sales.

Emata

Funding round: Debt and Equity Seed ($2.4 Million)

Investors: African Renaissance Partners, Norrsken Accelerator, Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, Marcus Boström, Zephyr Acorn.

Founded: 2020, Uganda

Founders: Bram Willem van den Bosch, Dario Raffaele

Products: Emata, provides credit financing for farming operations in East Africa. The company works with cooperative societies to offer affordable loan facilities to farmers,

What Next?: The fintech company will use the funding to improve its offerings in Uganda and expand its operations to serve farmers all over East Africa.

Lipa Later

Funding round: Debt ($5 Million)

Investors: Rubicon Landing

Founded: 2018, Kenya

Founders: Eric Muli, Michael Maina

Products: Lipa Later operates a proprietary credit-scoring and machine learning system that gives users convenient access to credit financing. The system enables customers to sign up and get fast credit limits, without the undergoing burden of bulky documentation and a lengthy approval process.

What Next?: Fuelled by the funding, the company intends to double down on its growth, reaffirming its commitment to providing innovative financing solutions for its customers and merchants.

Appload

Funding round: Undisclosed

Investors: Reflect Ventures

Founded: 2020, South Africa

Founders: Claire Hassoun, Frederico P. Silva, Catherine Hinds.

Products: Appload operates a digital marketplace that promotes logistics services within Africa. The company offers a user-friendly app and web-based platform that enables shippers and carriers to efficiently plan, book, and track cargo shipments.

What Next?: Fuelled by the funding, Appload is set to expand its operations across the broader SADC region and tap into its substantial market opportunities.

Field Intelligence

Funding round: Undisclosed

Investors: Johnson & Johnson Impact Ventures

Founded: 2015, Nigeria

Founders: Michael Moreland, Justin Lorenzon

Products: Field Intelligence operates a comprehensive platform leveraging technology and financing to modernize healthcare supply chains, and improve patient access to vital medicines and supplies in Africa

What Next?: The capital infusion will serve as a powerful catalyst for Field Intelligence’s continued growth and expansion. The company plans on scaling their existing operations in Kenya and Nigeria and also venture into new territories across the African continent.

Aya Data

Funding round: Pre-seed (Undisclosed)

Investors: Microtraction, Savannah Fund

Founded: 2020, Ghana

Founders: Ama Larbi Siaw, Freddie Monk

Products: Aya Data offers AI training, natural language processing (NLP), and machine learning services for organizations, positioning itself as a leading player in the AI sector in Africa.

What Next?: The company will use the funding to fuel its mission of bridging the divide in the AI value chain, which has traditionally been fragmented between the global north and the global south.

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Acquisitions

WhoGoHost Acquires Cloud-Based Communication Startup SendChamp

WhoGoHost, aWest Africa based cloud infrastructure company recently announced that it has acquired SendChamp, a cloud communications startup facilitating digital communications for African businesses. The acquisition amount wasn’t disclosed.

WhoGoHost made the acquisition as part of its strategic plans to deepen its value offering for its customer base. The company seeks to incorporate SendChamp’s product suite across marketing messages, OTP technology, and customer support systems, into its solutions to improve its value proposition. SendChamp will also benefit from the deal by gaining access to WhoGohost’s large existing customer database.