Last week, we witnessed a number of deals in the African startup ecosystem. Most remarkably, East African electric vehicle manufacturer, Roam, secured $24 million in debt and equity financing, similarly, Ilara Health also raised $4.2 million in Pre-Series A  debt and equity funding. Elsewhere, mobility fintech, Moove, obtained $10 million to expand into India and Logidoo got $1.5 million in funding to scale its solutions.

Funding 

PowerUP

Funding round: Seed

Investors:  Delta40,  Autodesk Foundation

Founded:  2021, Kenya

Founders: Kato Sekubunga Kibuka, Matt Evans

Products: PowerUp is a clean-tech product manufacturer that develops and operates smart-metered PAYGO electric stoves tailored for diverse African markets. The company’s products are aimed at promoting cleaner, cheaper, and faster cooking mechanisms among women in Africa.

What Next?: Fuelled by the funding, the company is set to expand and provision its clean cooking solutions in new markets across Africa – making electric cooking more accessible for African households.

Ilara Health

Funding round: Debt and Equity, Pre-Series A ($4.2 Million)

Investors: DOB Equity, Philips Foundation, AAIC Investment, Angaza Capital, Black Pearl Investments, Perivoli Innovations. 

Founded:  2018, Kenya

Founders: Emilian Popa, Maximilian Mancini, Sameer Afzal Farooq

Products: Ilara Health is a leading medical products and solutions provider. The company distributes diagnostics devices like low-cost portable ultrasound tools and other medical products to healthcare professionals, particularly in rural areas of Africa.

What Next?: For its next growth phase, the company plans to double down on reaching patients via occupational services and B2B health.

Moove

Funding round: $10 Million

Investors:  Stride Ventures

Founded:  2020, Nigeria

Founders: Ladi Delano, Jide Odunsi

Products: Moove is a mobility fintech company. The company provides alternative credit-scoring technology which it embeds in ride-hailing and e-logistics platforms, giving mobility entrepreneurs access to proprietary performance and revenue analytics to underwrite loans.

What Next?: The main aim of the funding was to fuel the company’s expansion into India, as such, Moove is set to commence plans to offer its services in India and the rest of Asia. The new fund will help it strengthen its presence in the Indian market and expand operations to new cities, such as Delhi, Pune, and Kolkata.

Roam

Funding round: Debt and Equity ($24 Million)

Investors: Equator Africa, At One Ventures, TES Ventures, Renew Capital, The World We Want, and One Small Planet,

Founded:  2017, Kenya

Founders: Mikael Gånge,  Filip Lövström, Alander Johanna

Products: Roam designs and manufactures electric vehicles to create reliable and cost-effective transport products for the pan-Africa mass market. Roam’s business is divided into 4 segments consisting, Roam Air (electric motorcycle), Roam Rapid (electric mass transit bus), Roam Move (electric urban transit bus), as well as energy and public charging systems.

What Next?:  The secured capital will be invested into expanding local manufacturing capabilities in Kenya and scaling up production. The company will also bolster its research and tooling for cost efficiencies.

Logidoo

Funding round: Seed ($1.5 Million)

Investors: Maroc Numeric Fund II, 216 Capital, Gullit VC, Founders Factory Africa, Sunny Side Venture Partners, and Kalys Ventures.

Founded:  2019, Morocco

Founders: Tamsir Ousmane Traore

Products: Logidoo provides logistics services and real-time parcel tracking. It specializes in cross-border end-to-end 5PL logistics with a focus on fostering the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) goal. 

What Next?:  Logidoo initially announced its expansion plans in 2023, now that it has secured funding, it will commence executing the plans. The company intends to expand its franchise network to five more African nations.

Opportunities

Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund For SMEs

Google for Startups Growth Academy: AI for Health 2024

ygap South Africa Agripreneur Accelerator Program 2024

She Leads Africa’s Business Accelerator Program for Nigerian Female Entrepreneurs