Ecosystem Insider

Issue #109: HyperionDev raises $5m, Bokra received$4.6m, and Bluworks secures $1m to improve its HR tech

April 30, 2024

Last week, South African Edtech startup, HyperionDev secured $5 Million, while Egyptian fintech, Bokra, obtained $4.6 Million pre-seed fund. Fellow early stage startup, Bluworks also raised $1 Million while three other startups received undisclosed amounts as the African startup ecosystem records another significant funding week.

Funding

HyperionDev

Funding round: $5 Million

Investors: Undisclosed

Founded: 2012, South Africa

Founders: Riaz Moola

Products: The Edtech company provides specialized structured learning for tech enthusiasts in Africa. They primarily focus on mentored coding boot camps facilitated online and on-site at their campuses to help students acquire job-ready tech skills for careers in technology.

What Next?: The startup aims to make tech education accessible to the world. As a result, parts of the capital will be invested into expanding the company’s services into new markets and increasing access to relevant tech education for all learners on the platform.

Farm To Feed

Funding round: Undisclosed

Investors: Renew Capital

Founded: 2020, Kenya

Founders: Claire van Enk

Products: Farm to Feed operates a tech-enabled platform that aggregates the supply and demand of agricultural products, optimizing logistics and seamlessly connecting suppliers with buyers.

What Next?: Fuelled by the investment, the company aims to enhance food sustainability in Kemya and make a significant difference in the way food is sourced, distributed, and consumed

Waffarha

Funding round: Undisclosed

Investors: Saudi Venture Studio (VMS)

Founded: 2012, Egypt

Founders: Tarek Magdy

Products: Waffarha operates a group-buying website and mobile app through which it offers shoppers daily deals on goods with big discounts ranging from 50% up to 90%.

What Next?: The new funds will be invested into upgrading Waffarha’s technology stack, hiring new talent, and expanding the company’s operations into Saudi Arabia and beyond.

Bluworks

Funding round: Pre-Seed ($1 Million)

Investors: Khawarizmi Ventures, Camel Ventures, Acasia Ventures,

Founded: 2022, Egypt

Founders: Hussein Wahdan, and Nour Ahmadein,

Products: Bluworks operates an HRTech SaaS solution focused on managing the lifecycle of blue-collar employees in industries such as retail, F&B, facility management, healthcare, education, and construction.

What Next?: The received funds will be used to expand the company’s team and improve its product with newer and better technologies.

Bokra

Funding round: Pre-Seed ($4.6 Million)

Investors: DisrupTech Ventures, SS Capital

Founded: 2023, Egypt

Founders: Ayman El-Sawy,

Products: Bokra operates a digital platform that offers goal-based investment and saving products through asset-backed securities. Through the platform, retail and SME investors can easily save and invest across multiple asset classes.

What Next?: The company aims to revolutionize wealth management in the MENA region. As such, the secured funds will go into the launch of the Bokra app, and will also be used to expand the company’s investment products, and geographically scale its operations across MENA.

OmniRetail

Funding round: Undisclosed

Investors: Goodwell Investments,

Founded: 2019, Nigeria

Founders: Deepankar Rustagi

Products: The company operates a unified goods distribution platform for brands and retailers to purchase consumer goods. The company’s B2B ecommerce platform is aimed at helping FMCG distributors drive growth through sales and inventory automation.

What Next?: The company is set to accelerate our impact and drive positive change in the retail value chain through digitization and financial inclusion of all ecosystem participants.