Investors update: Côte d’Ivoire unveils Startup Act

Côte d’Ivoire unveils Startup Act to boost tech sector

Highlights

• The Ivorian government is ramping up its efforts to support tech startups with the launch of the Startup Act, a new framework designed to help promising young companies to thrive. 
• The move is part of the country’s wider development plan, which has made technological innovation a top priority. The Act is designed to give greater visibility and recognition to startups in Côte d’Ivoire.
• Under the new framework, eligible companies will have access to state-of-the-art infrastructure and other amenities to help them succeed both regionally and internationally.

Source: Ventureburn

Our Takeaway

African tech stakeholders often clash with government officials due to a lack of clearly defined rules and regulations guiding the tech ecosystem. Hence, startup bills are expected to provide an enabling environment for startups and play a catalyst role in the ecosystem. Tunisia was one of the first countries in Africa to introduce a Startup Act, which helped accelerate the Ivorian version. Currently awaiting parliamentary approval, the new framework should provide a much-needed boost to the country’s budding startup sector, and help foster a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship.

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South Africa’s Eagle Towers secures $5.5m facility

Highlights

• Eagle Towers, a company that constructs, operates, and maintains telecommunications towers across South Africa, particularly in rural areas, secured a $5.5 million senior secured loan facility.
• The loan facility, which will be used to support the company’s expansion plans, was provided by Prescient Investment Management’s Prescient Infrastructure Debt Fund.
• Given that approximately 32% of the South African population lives in rural areas, the company’s mission is to bridge the digital divide by providing access to information, communication, and services to people living in remote areas.

Source: Ventureburn

Our Takeaway

Less than a third of Africa’s 1.3 billion population has access to the internet with the excluded population mainly residing in rural areas, where major telecom players are often reluctant to expand their coverage. That means there’s a significant and largely untapped market opportunity for rural telecom connectivity in the continent. This presents an opportunity for companies to invest in infrastructure and develop innovative solutions to bridge the digital divide; by addressing the connectivity gap, companies can tap into a vast and underserved market, while also contributing to economic development and social inclusion.

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Fez Delivery gets $1m to scale its logistics platform

Highlights

• Fez Delivery, a Lagos-based last-mile logistics startup with hubs across Nigeria, has raised $1 million to expand, improve its technology and operation efficiency, hire more talent, and increase its marketing spend.
• The round was led by pan-African investor Ventures Platform with participation from Voltron Capital, Acasia Ventures, and other angel investors. 
• The company plans to use the seed investment to deepen its work in Nigeria’s $10 billion transport and logistics market while it considers expansion into other African markets, including Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa.

Source: TechCrunch

Our Takeaway

The market opportunity for last-mile delivery in Africa is immense due to a large and rapidly growing population and increasing urbanization. Additionally, the growth of e-commerce platforms—online shopping in Nigeria reportedly generated an estimated $5 billion in 2019 with an expected CAGR of 20.5% from then till now—has created a need for efficient last-mile delivery solutions. But the lack of infrastructure presents significant challenges. Innovative solutions such as mobile-based delivery services and drone delivery are emerging to address these obstacles and tap into the vast potential of the African last-mile delivery market.