Investors update: Bolt earmarks $534 million for Africa expansion

Bolt earmarks $534 million to expand its services in Africa

Highlights

• Ride-hailing giant Bolt has said it will invest more than $500 million to enhance its operations across Africa over the next two years.
• The company says the funds will be used to expand services in the region and create opportunities for over 300,000 new drivers and couriers to join the platform in 2023.
• The announcement was made by company founder and CEO Villig Markus while leading a team of Bolt’s global leadership on a tour to meet the company’s teams in Kenya and South Africa.

Source: ABC

Our Takeaway

Africa presents a vast market opportunity for ride-hailing businesses due to its growing urbanization, expanding middle class, and increasing smartphone adoption. With inadequate public transportation systems in many cities, ride-hailing services have become essential, and as such, the market is expected to continue to grow in the coming years. Bolt launched its African operations starting off with South Africa in 2016 and quickly gained traction in other markets. The company now operates in Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, and Tunisia, with a reported customer base of around 47 million customers and 900,000 drivers on the platform.

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Kenya’s Jumba raises $4.5m for its construction supplies marketplace

Highlights

• Kenyan B2B construction tech Jumba has closed a $4.5 million funding seed round led by LocalGlobe, with participation from Enza Capital and others.
• The startup simplifies the sourcing of construction materials through a common marketplace for retailers and developers, which takes away the headache of dealing with multiple suppliers.
• Jumba, currently covering 60% of Kenya’s 47 counties, plans to scale its operations in the country, to keep up with the growing demand for construction materials.

Source: TechCrunch

Our Takeaway

Like much of Africa, e-commerce in Kenya has seen significant growth in the last few years, with the increasing availability of affordable smartphones, wider access to the internet, and the proliferation of mobile payment platforms. Kenyan consumers are embracing online shopping mainly due to convenience and this trend is expected to continue in the coming years. As for Jumba, it is tapping the construction industry in Kenya, which is expected to continue to grow sustained by mega infrastructure projects and efforts to address an 80% housing deficit in the East African country.

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COREangles launches MEA unit to back startups in Africa, Mid-East

Highlights

• COREangels, a global community of angel funds and investors has launched the COREangels MEA to target investments in early-stage startups in the Middle East and Africa.
• This is the first fund among angel funds of COREangels around the world to focus on this market, in collaboration with PTS Holding’s ORO Partners which will lead the fund.
• The fund will invest in pre-seed and seed tech startups in the region, targeting hundreds of startups and angel investors.

Source: Wamda

Our Takeaway

One of the “defining trends” of Africa’s venture capital landscape in 2022, per a Briter Bridges report, was a notable growth in the early-stage support framework available to startups on the continent, involving angel networks, seed funds, and accelerator programs that finance large cohorts. An increasing number of small- to medium-sized funds with $10 million to $50 million of capital to deploy have launched within the last two to three years, targeting opportunities in Africa and other frontier markets.