Investors update: Active investors in African tech grew by 28% in 2022

Active investors in African tech grew by 28% in 2022

Highlights

• The number of active investors in African tech startups increased by 28% to almost 1,000 in 2022, yet this was a slower rate of growth than witnessed in previous years.
• This is according to the eighth edition of the annual African Tech Startups Funding Report recently released by Disrupt Africa.
• The report tells the story of an impressive 2022 in which more startups raised more funding than ever before, in spite of a global downturn in investments.

Source: Disrupt Africa

Our Takeaway

Diving deeper into the report, Disrupt Africa found that the most active investors in Africa last year were early-stage funds such as Launch Africa Ventures, LoftyInc Capital Management, and Future Africa. Accelerators, both local and international, are also very active, among them the likes of Y Combinator and Techstars. At later stages, several foreign and local VC firms backed African startups, while major global investors such as Tiger Global, Sequoia Capital, and SoftBank were also increasingly active.

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Nigeria’s Curacel secures $3m to power insurance in Africa

Highlights

• Nigeria-based Curacel has raised $3 million in seed funding to roll out new technology solutions designed to power new insurance experiences and expand into North Africa.
• The insurance infrastructure startup makes it easier for insurers to distribute their products, automate their claims processes, and drive revenue growth.
• And with Grow, Curacel’s embedded insurance product, more than 100 banks, fintech startups, logistics companies, and other tech-enabled companies currently offer digital insurance products within their existing products and services.

Source: Ventureburn

Our Takeaway

Africa has an ever-growing need for innovative insurance solutions to address the significant lack of coverage on the continent, both on an individual basis and enterprise level. As of 2018, the insurance penetration rate in Africa stood at a meager 1.12% or 3% including 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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Terraa raises $1.5m to improve food supply in Morocco

Highlights

• Terraa, a Moroccan B2B tech-enabled food distribution platform, has raised $1.5 million in a pre-seed funding round led by FoodLabs, a European early-stage VC investor and venture studio.
• Founded by Youssef Benkirane and Benoit De Vigne last year, Terraa sources fresh food directly from farmers and deliver it to resellers.
• The startup plans to use the funding to strengthen its logistics infrastructure and expand across Morocco’s cities, before exploring new markets within the region in a year’s time.

Source: TechCrunch

Our Takeaway

The North African food and grocery delivery sectors have seen tremendous growth over the past few years as startups leverage technology to tackle significant challenges, mainly due to a fragmented supply chain that results in delayed deliveries and order mix-ups. These startups help players within this space manage sourcing and procurement while they focus on delivering a high-quality experience and service to their customers. For these startups, the market opportunity in the MENA region is huge with the economy growing rapidly and e-commerce seeing increasing adoption.