Investor Updates: Microsoft wants to back 10,000 startups in Africa

Microsoft wants to back 10,000 startups in Africa

Highlights

• Microsoft has announced plans to support 10,000 startups in Africa over the next five years through several initiatives including partnerships with accelerators and incubators across the continent.
• The US giant is also partnering with venture capital investors to increase funding access for startups in Africa by unlocking $500 million in “potential” investment.
• These initiatives will be carried out through the recently established Africa Transformation Office (ATO), which drives Microsoft’s strategic work in Africa by partnering with public and private organizations.

Source: IT News Africa

Our Takeaway

With the latest announcement, Microsoft joins a growing list of tech heavyweights like Google, which are looking to back startups in Africa. In 2021, Google launched a $50 million fund targeting early and growth-stage startups on the continent. These moves attest to the huge potential for Africa to become a thriving hub of digital innovation on the global startup landscape.

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Sudo Africa raises $3.7m for its card-issuing API business

Highlights

• Sudo Africa, a fintech that provides a card-issuing API for developers and businesses in Nigeria, has raised $3.7 million in a pre-seed funding round led by San Francisco-based Global Founders Capital (GFC).
• The startup enables businesses to build unique features with an open API and a readily available sandbox environment. This allows them to start issuing physical and virtual cards within days and not months.
• Sudo customers span a number of sectors including fintechs, microfinance banks, non-tech enterprises, government agencies, logistics companies, commercial banks, and e-commerce companies.

Source: TechNova GH

Our Takeaway

Issuing debit cards is traditionally very expensive, slow, and inflexible, which makes the process out of the reach of most small companies. With the emergence of card-issuing API fintech startups, however, smaller businesses and startups have relatively easy access to issuing cards for their customers. More so, card-issuing API fintech players in Africa are increasingly attracting the attention of investors and their venture capital dollars.

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Moroccan startup Chari acquires Axa Credit for $22m

Highlights

• Moroccan B2B e-commerce and retail startup Chari has acquired Axa Credit, the credit branch of Axa Assurance Maroc, for $22 million.
• The news comes off the back of Chari’s recently closed seed extension round that saw it valued at $100 million and begin offering BNPL services to its customers.
• Chari digitizes the largely fragmented FMCG sector in parts of French-speaking Africa, particularly Morocco and Tunisia, through its mobile app.

Source: TechCrunch

Our Takeaway

The acquisition of Axa Credit by Chari, which is still subject to approval from the Moroccan banking, insurance, and antitrust authorities, is a rare feat on the continent as many of the acquisitions by startups in Africa often involve them buying other smaller startups, not the local branch of a global bank. The deal is also the second of its kind by the YC-backed company within six months after it bought Moroccan credit book Karny.ma last October.