Investor Updates: Egypt’s Lucky raises $25m to grow its rewards app

Egypt’s Lucky raises $25m to grow its rewards app

Highlights

• Egypt-based fintech app Lucky, which also operates in Morocco, has raised $25 million in a Series A round led by the recently-launched fintech VC fund Nclude.
• Founded in 2018, Lucky is a digital rewards app offering cashback and credit products such as save now pay later. The app allows users to rack up and redeem points for discounts on purchases from over 20,000 local and international brands
• The company claims to have over 8 million registered users. It plans to use the funds to shore up its credit capabilities and expand its geographical presence in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

Source: Wamda

Our Takeaway

Lucky’s fundraising is Egypt’s largest fintech Series A round so far and with it, the startup is positioned to revolutionize how consumers in the MENA region—where many have not traditionally had access to credit—shop, pay, and save. Per official data, the company has seen 250% year-on-year growth in gross merchandise value (GMV).

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Softbank, Chan Zuckerberg lead $40m investment in Apollo

Highlights

• Kenya-based Apollo Agriculture, which helps farmers access high-quality farm inputs, financing, and markets has secured $40 million in Series B funding in the equity round led by Softbank Vision Fund 2.
• Launched in 2016, the startup works with a network of agents, who recruit farmers and retailers to its platform, and uses the satellite imagery data of farms and AI to rate the creditworthiness of farmers.
• After the investment, Apollo plans to double the number of farmers it is serving by the end of 2022 and introduce other products that deliver more value per acre of land.

Source: Bloomberg

Our Takeaway

With the huge strides made by startups like Apollo in Kenya, Africa is fast becoming a global leader in the agritech space. Between 2016 and 2019, the industry grew by 44% year-on-year, and the continent has registered the highest number of agritech services in the developing world reaching more than 30 million smallholder farmers as of 2021.

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Kenyan startup Powered by People gets $5m seed

Highlights

• Powered by People, a wholesale e-commerce platform based in Kenya with hubs in the Americas, Asia, and Europe, has secured $5 million in seed funding. The equity funding was led by Susa Ventures and Golden Ventures and brings the total funding raised by the startup to $7 million.
• Powered by People links small brands to retailers keen on supply-chain transparency, sustainability, and small-batch production.
• With the funding, the startup plans to increase its transaction volumes by growing the number of small brands using its B2B online marketplace to reach international buyers.

Source: TechCrunch

Our Takeaway
Alongside fintech, tech-enabled commerce startups in Africa continue to attract significant investor backing, as the nascent ecosystem continues to grow. According to AppsFlyer, eCommerce in Sub-Saharan Africa saw considerable growth in 2021, recording a 55% increase in online retail spending. The growth trajectory is expected to continue, due to certain factors such as Africa’s tech-savvy young population, the rapidly growing internet penetration, and the availability of digital payment startups enabling e-commerce on the continent.