Investors update: June 13 2023 - A new $54m initiative targets Zanzibar’s blue economy

A new $54m initiative targets Zanzibar’s blue economy

Highlights

• Tanzania has partnered with the African Development Bank to launch a project expected to enable Zanzibari youth to find well-paying maritime and other blue economy jobs.
• The Bank is providing grant financing of $48.65 million for the project, with the Tanzanian government contributing an additional $5.42 million.
• The project is expected to benefit about 43,000 youth and prepare over 1,500 of them to start their own enterprises while improving their livelihoods and spurring the creation of new jobs.

Source: ABC

Our Takeaway

Ocean-based activities, including tourism, contribute more than 29% of Zanzibar’s gross domestic product and employ about 33% of its workforce. At the same time, 60% of tourism workers in the islands are foreign. Against this, the project aims to support the expansion of the State University of Zanzibar (SUZA) through the construction of a technology and business incubator, which will offer training and mentorship to young entrepreneurs, bolstering job creation in tourism, the maritime sectors, and the oil and gas industry. Approximately 400 SUZA academics and lecturers will receive new skills and training.

---

Logistics startup Trella raises $3.5m from Avanz Capital

Highlights

• Egypt’s marketplace for trucks, Trella, has raised $3.5 million from the newly-launched private equity fund Avanz Capital, a subsidiary of Squared Capital International.
• Trella was founded in 2018 by Omar Hagrass, Ali El Atrash, Pierre Saad, and Muhammad El Garem. It connects shippers with trucks in real time, with operations in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan.
• Last year, Trella also secured $6 million in debt funding from ALMA Sustainable Finance (ALMA) and the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC).

Source: Wamda

Our Takeaway

Transport touches on almost every sector of the African economy and is crucial to its development. Within the industry, the trucking and logistics market accounts for almost 80% of transported goods but players in this space often grapple with challenges caused by fragmentation and lack of transparency. With digitization, venture-backed startups such as Trella solve this problem while tapping into the lucrative industry. More so, Trella is one of the most funded startups in Egypt, having now received over $38 million in equity funding since its launch.

---

Swedish firm set to acquire Tunisia-based Expensya

Highlights

• Tunisia-founded expense management software company Expensya is to be acquired by Swedish counterpart Medius for an undisclosed sum.
• Founded in 2014, Expensya offers a software (SaaS) platform that helps businesses of all sizes manage their expenses via its web, mobile, and smart payment-card solutions.
• The company raised a $20 million Series B funding round in May 2021, off the back of previous rounds, and in the past two years has reportedly more than doubled its recurring revenue and grown its headcount to more than 200 employees across Tunisia, France, and Germany.

Source: Disrupt Africa

Our Takeaway
Both companies have complementary geographic and product strengths that accelerate the ability to grow and cross-sell in the highly competitive business applications market. In Africa, startups digitizing the administrative stack for companies—from human resources to expense management—have a big market opportunity considering the growing appetite for enterprise software solutions among medium-to-large organizations on the continent. The Middle East and Africa’s cloud computing industry is expected to grow to $31.4 billion by 2026, from $14.2 billion in 2021, mainly driven by private sector funding and appetite for digital solutions.