Investor Updates: June 15 2022 - Egyptian digital logistics startup Khazenly raises $2.5m seed.

Egyptian digital logistics startup Khazenly raises $2.5m seed

Highlights

• Khazenly, a Cairo-based on-demand digital warehousing and fulfillment platform, has announced its successful seed fundraise of $2.5 million.
• Founded in mid-2021, Khazenly offers a subscription-based, omnichannel solution that helps merchants digitize their fulfillment processes.
• The funding round was co-led by leading regional venture capitalists and proceeds will be used to develop Khazenly’s products and services, quadruple its existing facilities, and expand its geographical footprint.

Source: TechCrunch

Our Takeaway

Small and medium-sized businesses in Africa make up 90% of all businesses on the continent and are essentially the backbone of the continent’s economy but they still struggle with logistics and fulfillment. Khazenly is one of many startups addressing these challenges and its ascent comes at a time when e-commerce is booming in Egypt. The sector is one of the driving forces of the Egyptian economy and is expected to grow by 30% in 2022, spurred by a growing number of younger shoppers and rising incomes. The estimated formal market size in Egypt for e-commerce will reach $7.5 billion in 2022.

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Africa Data Centres invests in new Ghana, South Africa facilities

Highlights

• Africa Data Centres, a pan-African technology firm that forms part of the Cassava Technologies Group, has announced the building of a second data center in Cape Town, South Africa after launching one in Accra, Ghana.
• The new 20MW facility will cover 15,000 square meters in eight data halls and is situated on the northern periphery of Cape Town’s city center.
• In Ghana, the company announced a 30MW data center facility, which lays the groundwork for its hyper-scale partners to expand digital services and solutions to more countries in West Africa.

Source: Ventureburn

Our Takeaway

The rising demand for faster computing from African giant corporations is attracting investment into the African data center market, which is largely untapped. Microsoft was the first to launch data centers in South Africa, followed by Amazon and Huawei. Recently, US-based Equinix Inc. acquired MainOne, a West Africa-focused connectivity and data solutions company, for $320 million. Research estimates that the market for data centers in Africa is expected to reach between $3 billion and $5 billion in the next four years, growing at a compound annual growth rate of between 12 and 15%.

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Nigeria’s Flutterwave appoints new CFO to drive further growth

Highlights

• Flutterwave, a Nigeria-based African payments technology company, today announced the appointment of Oneal Bhambani as its new chief financial officer.
• He joins the company from American Express and Kabbage, where he managed fintech businesses operating at scale and helped lead the sale of Kabbage and its integration within the American Express Global Commercial Services segment.
• As its new CFO, Oneal will serve a key function in enabling the company’s expansion with “discipline, operational controls, and financial rigor,” Flutterwave said.

Source: BusinessDay Nigeria

Our Takeaway

Having recently completed its $250 million in Series D funding, valuing the company at over $3 billion, Flutterwave is going through a period of rapid growth. Since it was founded in 2016, investments secured by the company total $475 million. The payment processing fintech, one of Africa’s fastest-growing and most funded startups, has an infrastructure reach across 34 countries on the continent and processes 200 million transactions worth over $16 billion. More than 900,000 businesses globally use its solution to process payments in 150 currencies and across different payment modes.