Investor Updates: March 16 2022 - Sokowatch closes mega $125m Series B round

Sokowatch closes mega $125m Series B round

Highlights

• Sokowatch, a company using technology to transform the informal retail supply chain, has closed a $125 million Series B equity round, while also rebranding to Wasoko and launching operations in West Africa.
• Launched in 2016, Sokowatch provides free same-day delivery of essential goods and financing to informal retail stores across Africa. The platform enables retailers to order products at any time via SMS or mobile app and receive delivery through its proprietary logistics network to their store. 
• Now known as Wasoko, the startup has delivered 2.5 million orders to over 50,000 informal retailers across six markets. It is now targeting further expansion and growth.

Source: Disrupt Africa

Our Takeaway

Wasoko’s latest raise is the second-largest venture financing round ever secured by a non-fintech startup in Africa and the largest in the B2B retail e-commerce space, where a host of startups like TradeDepot, MarketForce, Omnibiz, Alerzo, and others play. It’s easy to see why VC funding is increasingly pouring into the space. More than $600 billion of consumer goods are sold in Africa through informal retail channels every year, supplying the vast majority of the 1.2 billion population yet the industry is faced with several challenges that can be addressed, profitably, with digitization. 

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Lightrock backs Kenya’s 4G Capital in $18.5m round 

Highlights

• Kenya-based fintech company, 4G Capital, has raised $18.5 million in Series C funding from global private equity firm Lightrock.
• 4G Capital is a Neobank for Africa, focused on empowering micro and small businesses through financial service, training, and digital solutions needed for growth.
• The equity funding comes as the fintech company plans to launch a series of new products and services including new loans that will increase the credit limit from $1,000, and allow longer repayment periods from the current maximum of one month.

Source: Business Insider Africa

Our Takeaway

Access to capital remains a major barrier to the growth of many small businesses in Africa and it’s a problem foreign institutional investors are particularly keen to address as they get attractive returns. Operating in 90 locations across Kenya and Uganda, 4G Capital has branches in all major towns and market centers and has received backing from Swiss impact investor Alphamundi, Citi Bank, and indirectly from a host of DFIs. After nearly a decade in operations, it is exploring new growth opportunities in West and North Africa with a keen eye on partnerships in Ghana, Nigeria, and Egypt.

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IFC invests $5m in Egypt’s Disruptech fund

Highlights

• The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has pledged a $5 million investment in Disruptech Ventures’ new VC fund, valued at $25 million. 
• The new fund aims to provide seed capital to up to 25 startups with a particular focus on financial technology services, which often struggle to raise capital to bring their innovations to market.
• Disruptech will also provide advice and mentorship to the businesses it supports. Launched 18 months ago, the firm has invested 30% of its fund size in financial technology startups to date.

Source: Wamda

Our Takeaway

In Egypt, only 33% of people have a bank account, according to the most recent World Bank data. Expanding access to financial services is thus a primal objective, and startups leading such efforts stand to gain significantly from increasing amounts of venture capital available in Egypt, which has grown more than 10-fold since 2016. For the IFC, the investment in Disruptech is part of its Startup Catalyst program, which supports the development of early-stage venture capital ecosystems globally.