Investor Insights: UCOOK acquired for $12.3m

South Africa’s UCOOK acquired by Silvertree for $12.3m

Highlights

• South African meal kit delivery startup UCOOK has been fully acquired by Silvertree Holdings in a deal worth ZAR187 million (US$12.3 million). 
• Founded six years ago and now a market leader, UCOOK is a dinner kit delivery service providing sustainable and ethically sourced ingredients straight to a user’s doorstep. 
• Having previously received investment from Silvertree Holdings, the startup has now been acquired outright in a deal that sees the co-founders exit the business and hands the executive reins to Silvertree.

Source: Disrupt Africa

Our Takeaway

Going by the number of mergers and acquisitions involving African startups announced so far this year, all signs point to a significant surge in the total number of exits and buyouts the region’s ecosystem will record by the end of 2022. This month alone, there have been at least five other M&A deals involving African startups. This development, exits, and consolidation, further attests to the fact that Africa’s tech startup ecosystem is maturing.

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Jumia reports record orders and revenue in Q4 2021

Highlights

• The share price of African e-commerce company Jumia, trading at $7.92 on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) before the opening bell, fell 4% further despite posting improved Q4 earnings on Thursday.
• Gross merchandise volume (GMV) in the last quarter grew 20% year-over-year to $330 million, while revenue grew to $62.0 million, up 26% over the same time frame. Quarterly active users and orders rose 29% and 40% to 3.8 million and 11.3 million year-over-year, respectively.
• The metrics improved thanks to Jumia’s Q2 2021 decision to push frequent purchases of fast-moving consumer goods (FCMGs) rather than larger-ticket electronics and appliances and increased sales and marketing spending.

Source: TechCrunch

Our Takeaway

Jumia debuted on the NYSE on April 12, 2019, with its stock priced at $14.50, valuing the company at $1.1 billion. But after its historic listing as the first African technology firm on a western bourse, its stock price tumbled to $2.15 by August of that year, on the back of a series of controversies. The loss-making company has since embarked on a turnaround drive that’s seen it change everything from ownership and top executives to its core business model. Those efforts appear to be paying off but apparently not at the pace its public investors want, as evident in its share price drop, which comes amid broader tech stock sell-offs in capital markets. 

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Lipa Payments raises $660k to scale its contactless platform

Highlights

• South African fintech startup Lipa Payments, which is bringing the “tap to pay” experience to informal sectors enabling merchants to accept contactless payments directly from a mobile phone, has raised $660,000 to help it scale.
• Founded in 2019, the startup aims to revolutionize the way the informal sector trades in goods and services and has developed a payment software solution for banks and fintechs that allows small merchants to accept digital payments using NFC and Bluetooth technology.
• The funding will help Lipa roll out its solution across South Africa and Nigeria in 2022.

Source: Disrupt Africa

Our Takeaway

In Africa, informal and cash-reliant merchants are at the risk of running out of money during business hours and there are security risks when managing cash. Lipa Payments’ solution augments the experience for informal traders by taking their payments online. What’s more interesting is that its technology allows informal merchants to accept and make payments using just a smartphone, even if the phone does not have near-field capabilities or internet access at the time of a transaction.