Investor Updates: May 4, 2022 - SA VC firm HAVAÍC completes final close of $20m fund

🇿🇦SA VC firm HAVAÍC completes final close of $20m fund

Image from Disrupt Africa

Highlights

• South Africa-based VC HAVAÍC has announced the third and final close of the HAVAÍC Universum Core African Fund, a $20 million fund targeting technology companies in South, East, and West Africa.
• The Cape Town-headquartered firm invests in and supports early-stage, high-growth tech businesses with proven concepts and global prospects.
• The Fund is its second pan-African investment fund, and its third and final close comes in partnership with investment management firm Universum Wealth, and institutional investors from South Africa and the United States, including Fireball Capital.

Source: Disrupt Africa

Our Takeaway

In what was a record year for venture funding in Africa, startups on the continent raised more than $4 billion in 2021. This year, African startups have secured more than $2 billion in four months, prompting predictions startup funding in Africa may reach $7-$8 billion at the end of 2022. For HAVAÍC, it sees an opportunity in the fact that despite this growth, African startups still only draw 1% of funding from mostly foreign venture backers, indicating room for further growth and local participation.

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🇰🇪The Baobab Network invests in 5 new African startups

Image from Disrupt Africa

Highlights

• Nairobi-based accelerator The Baobab Network, which invests in early-stage tech companies across Africa, has announced its latest cohort of five investees, each of which secures $25,000 in funding.
• The firm has been accelerating startups with capacity building and fundraising since 2019, and now supports 25 startups in 11 countries after making five further investments as part of a new model. The newest cohort joined a three-month intensive growth program at the beginning of March.
• Three of the investees were from Nigeria, namely Sidebrief, Lendha, and GoodTalent. Also selected were Egypt’s Opus Analytics and Zambia’s Mighty Finance.

Source: Disrupt Africa

Our Takeaway

The venture funding landscape in Africa is more saturated with foreign investors than local investors but in recent years, local players are upscaling their operations and increasing their investments in startups. More so, The Baobab Network is one of the leading players addressing the challenges faced by entrepreneurs, startups, and early-stage companies on the continent, from a dearth of funding to a lack of mentorship and support.

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🚀 Africa’s top insurer partners with Allianz on a $2.1bn deal

Image from google

Highlights

• South Africa’s Sanlam Ltd. has agreed to form a joint venture with Germany’s Allianz SE that will combine their assets in Africa, valued at $2.1 billion.
• Sanlam and Allianz will fold their respective African operations, excluding those operating in South Africa, into a new unit majority controlled by the Cape Town-based group.
• The combined operations will create a premier pan-African non-banking financial services entity, operating in 29 countries across the continent. Both parties also agreed to remain invested for at least 10 years.

Source: Bloomberg

Our Takeaway

The Sanlam-Allianz partnership aims to increase life and general insurance penetration, accelerate product innovation and drive financial inclusion in high-growth African markets. Africa has an ever-growing need for innovative insurance solutions to address the significant lack of coverage on the continent. As of 2018, the insurance penetration rate in Africa stood at a meager 1.12% or 3% with South Africa. Beyond that, however, the deal clearly shows an increasing global investor appetite for untapped markets (insurance, in this case) in Africa.