Investors update: Oxfam, Goodwell target East African startups with $22m fund

Oxfam, Goodwell target East African startups with $22m fund

Highlights

• Impact investor Goodwell Investments and Oxfam Novib have set up Pepea, a $21.7 million fund, to finance early-stage startups in Kenya, Uganda, and Ethiopia. 
• The fund, created with the backing of Oxfam Novib Impact Investments, will provide venture debt with a focus on mezzanine finance, which is a debt that can be turned into equity.
• Pepea will target early-stage businesses that have existed for 1-5 years and are generating revenues but haven’t raised capital. It will also ensure they have the right structures and systems in place, to help them prepare and raise their first rounds.

Source: TechCrunch

Our Takeaway

Impact investing—providing financing for companies with the intention to generate social and environmental impact alongside a financial return—is a growing phenomenon in Africa, along with other kinds of investments such as FDI, FPI, and venture capital. The Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) now estimates the size of the worldwide impact investing market to be $1.2 trillion. Pepea comes three weeks after Goodwell launched its $154 million uMunthu II fund—aimed at backing inclusive businesses in Africa and India—and will invest in businesses in sustainable agriculture, energy, clean mobility, logistics, and waste management sectors.

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Bitcoin up 21% in March, blows past $29,000

Highlights

• Bitcoin (BTC) has rallied more than 17% in the past two weeks, displaying resilience amid regulatory headwinds and suggesting the asset could be in the early stages of a bull market.
• The price briefly crossed $29,000 on Thursday before retracting to trade around $28,500. Major tokens such as ether (ETH) and XRP fell over 24 hours, pausing a multiday rally.
• On-chain data suggests some traders and whales – a colloquial term for holders of large amounts of tokens – are taking profits after weeks of gains, which may fuel a decline in the coming days.

Source: Yahoo Finance

Our Takeaway

Bitcoin has seen a consistent upward trend this year, recovering from a tumultuous 2022 that witnessed the downfall of significant crypto exchanges and a significant decline in prices. The prospect of the US Federal Reserve reversing its interest rate hikes, which affected high-risk assets such as stocks, has given investors some assurance. While the cause of Thursday’s surge is unclear, it coincides with a widespread increase in US stocks. Bitcoin has been observed to track the performance of equity markets, with investors treating it as a conventional high-risk asset.

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DFS Lab, Stellar launch digital payments fund for Africa

Highlights

• Early-stage investor DFS Lab has launched the DFS Lab Stellar Africa Fund I, which aims to back builders and teams in Africa aiming to grow the digital payments landscape and beyond by building on the Stellar network. 
• DFS focuses on Africa’s largest economic engines and invests in founders who are creating opportunities for everyone.
• The new fund is made possible through an investment from the Stellar Development Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports the development and growth of Stellar—a decentralized network for financial products and services.

Source: Disrupt Africa

Our Takeaway

Digital payments have rapidly gained traction in Africa over the years, particularly in countries where traditional banking is limited. Mobile money platforms such as M-Pesa and MTN Mobile Money have transformed the way people access financial services. However, this rapid growth of digital payments has been uneven, with some countries like Kenya and Ghana far ahead of their regional counterparts like Tanzania and Nigeria. That means lots of opportunities still abound on the continent for startups and investors looking to digitize Africa’s payment activities.