Investor Updates: SWVL acquires UK's Zeelo for $100m

🇪🇬 SWVL acquires UK’s Zeelo for $100m

Highlights

• Egypt-founded mobility startup SWVL has acquired UK-based B2B smart buses operator startup Zeelo, in a deal valued at $100 million.
• Zeelo offers an asset-light SaaS platform to help large enterprises and other institutions to modernize their daily transport systems. Its solution is used by corporates, staffing agencies, independent schools, and universities across the UK, South Africa, and the US.
• This news, one of the largest acquisition deals involving an African startup, comes a few days after SWVL acquired Turkish corporate-mobility startup Volt Lines.

Source: Wamda

Our Takeaway

SWVL is one of Africa’s fastest-growing startups. Since its founding, it has rapidly expanded its geographical footprint by acquiring smaller players with Zeelo being its fifth acquisition deal to date. Last month, SWVL announced the acquisition of Germany-based “mobility as a service” MaaS software platform door2door. That was on the back of a couple of global startups acquired, Viapool and Shot, in the previous year. The startup also joined the public markets through a special purpose acquisition merger about a month ago.

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🇳🇬 Nigeria’s Hello Tractor raises $1m from Heifer International

Highlights

• Nigerian tractor-booking platform Hello Tractor has raised $1 million from Heifer International to provide loans for tractor purchases which can be repaid from revenues earned by leasing them to local farmers.
• Hello Tractor has a tracking device and software that allows farmers and tractor owners to book connected tractors from their phones. Farmers get a service formerly unavailable to them, and owners see a fleet optimization opportunity that also minimizes fuel theft and fraud.
• The startup currently serves over 500,000 small farmers across Africa with over 3,000 tractors and combine owners, and plans to scale with the new funding.

Source: Disrupt Africa

Our Takeaway

Hello Tractor is one of many new agritech startups that have sprung up across Africa, and are finding business opportunities in addressing the lack of agro infrastructure and other farming challenges. However, while African tech startups attracted more than $5 billion from local and foreign venture backers in 2021, only a fraction of that financing went to agritech ventures, highlighting a gap in funding available to the sector.

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🇳🇬 Nigeria-based Eden Life expands to Kenya, acquires Lynk

Highlights

• Nigerian home concierge services scheduling platform Eden Life has expanded to Kenya, with its launch in the East African country facilitated by its acquisition of Lynk, a tech company connecting informal workers to job opportunities.
• Launched in Nigeria in 2019 with a vision to connect busy professionals with concierge services, Eden Life offers its users a subscription service that delivers high-quality chef-cooked meals, laundry services, and home cleaning,
• The startup has delivered more than 150,000 services in Nigeria since launching and has an 80% retention rate over the course of the last 12 months.

Source: TechNext

Our Takeaway

Africa’s tech ecosystem has over the years attracted a lot of venture capital but failed to produce a lot of exits to justify the funding. However, mergers and acquisitions involving African startups have become prominent this year. The recent surge in M&A activity in the continent is an indication of a maturing ecosystem while setting the stage for investment inflows into the space. More so, these exits and buyouts are often aimed at strategic product and market expansion, as in the case of Eden Life.