Investor Updates: Kenya’s mTek secures $3m funding

Kenya’s mTek secures $3m funding from Finclusion Group

Highlights

• Kenya-based insurtech startup mTek has secured $3 million in both debt and equity funding from the Mauritius-based Finclusion Group to help it expand across the East Africa region.
• Launched in 2020, mTek is a digital platform that provides an entirely paperless ecosystem for the insurance industry and allows customers to purchase insurance directly from the insurer, compare insurance policies, and file claims through their smart devices.
• The funding will be used to accelerate mTek’s growth in the Kenyan marketplace through continual improvements to the platform and the expansion of its customer base.

Source: Disrupt Africa

Our Takeaway

As of 2018, less than 2% of the Nigerian adult population had one form of insurance. This is reflective of what’s obtainable across the continent, where the insurance penetration rate in the same year stood at a meager 1.12% or 3% in South Africa. Many startups have emerged in recent years with the mission of broadening insurance coverage across the continent through innovative, digital-led solutions that ride on the increasing adoption of mobile devices, as Africa plays catch up in the global insurance space.

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AI startup Synapse Analytics raises $2m pre-Series A

Highlights

• Egypt-based AI tech startup Synapse Analytics has raised $2 million in a pre-Series A funding round led by Egypt Ventures, with participation from Cloudera’s founder, Amr Awadallah, as well as Africa Platforms Founder, Simon Rowlands.
• Founded in 2018 by Ahmed Abaza and Galal ElBeshbishy, Synapse aims to build trust between AI and businesses trying to adopt machine learning in their operations through its machine learning operations automation platform, Konan.
• The new funding will accelerate Synapse’s efforts to help businesses adopt AI and expand the startup’s operations.

Source: Wamda

Our Takeaway

AI-based startups in Africa are increasingly attracting VC dollars. A surprising entry into the top three African tech sectors by funding raised in May is artificial intelligence (AI)/deeptech, with startups playing in this space raising $47 million (11%) led by Instabug’s $46 million Series B raise. Since its inception, Synapse Analytics claims to have built and deployed more than 100 algorithms, in more than 12 industries including; financial services, logistics and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs), serving multinational clients, as well as local businesses and startups.

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Nigerian startup GetEquity expands to Kenya

Highlights

• Nigerian investtech startup GetEquity has expanded to Kenya as it looks to connect more African startups with funding opportunities.
• Founded in 2020, GetEquity is a fundraising and venture portfolio management company that aims to reduce friction between founders and the funding they need by giving them access to a wide range of funding options.
• Startups can list themselves on the GetEquity platform and market to institutional investors and public users. GetEquity enables anyone to buy equity in a listed startup for as little as $10.

Source: Disrupt Africa

Our Takeaway

Startups in Africa raised between $4 billion to $6 billion in venture funding last year. While that’s a record tally, the amount remains meagre in comparison to the rest of the world. More so, there’s still relatively limited capital available to early-stage startups on the continent. Innovative platform-first startups like GetEquity are similar to daba, and aim to address this by connecting founders with a wide array of funding sources through digital infrastructures.