Investors update: Algeria-based Yassir raises $150m Series B for global expansion

Algeria-based Yassir raises $150m Series B for global expansion

Highlights

• Yassir, a San Francisco-based Algerian super-app offering on-demand services and financial services, has closed a $150 million Series B funding to power its expansion across North Africa and globally.
• The investment was led by BOND, with participation from DN Capital, Dorsal Capital, Quiet Capital, Stanford Alumni Ventures, and Y Combinator, among other prominent strategic global investors.
• This investment, which is the biggest series B in North Africa so far, puts the company’s total funding to date at $193.25 million, after an early seed round of $13.25 million and a $30 million series A round a year ago.

Source: TechCabal

Our Takeaway

Yassir is one of the most valuable startups in North Africa and with the latest round plans to further deepen its footprint; from a presence in 45 cities across six countries. Beyond the company, however, the funding round is significant for North Africa. It is a mega-round that draws attention to the potential of the region’s startup ecosystem, which has seen a significantly large increase in venture capital attracted this year—from $20 million in 2020 and $72 million in 2021 to over $260 million in 2022 alone. This is thanks to two mega deals, with this round following the $100 million raised by Tunisia’s Instadeep earlier this year.

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Nvidia partners with Rain to tap into Africa’s gaming market

Highlights

• NVIDIA’s premium cloud gaming service GeForce NOW is coming to South Africa early next year, thanks to a partnership between NVIDIA and South African mobile network operator, Rain.
• GeForce NOW uses cloud technology to allow users to stream PC games from powerful GeForce-powered servers at ultra-low latency. The service will be hosted locally in Rain data centers.
• The service will launch in the first quarter of 2023. For the time being, interested gamers can register for the beta program.

Source: TechCentral

Our Takeaway

GeForce Now’s planned launch in South Africa marks NVIDIA’s first entry into the continent with the technology expected to enable millions of users to get the premium gaming experience, without the need to invest heavily to acquire the latest graphic cards. With an estimated 24 million gamers, South Africa currently has the largest video game market in Africa, with 40% of the population playing video games. On the continent at large, the gaming industry generated nearly $600 million in revenue last year, with sub-Saharan Africa as the fastest-growing region worldwide for mobile gamers.

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Egyptian foodtech Brotinni raises $600k seed to scale its network

Highlights

• Egypt-based foodtech startup Brotinni has raised a $600,000 seed round led by Innlife investments.
• The startup, founded by Dalia Abou Omar in 2020, offers a platform where customers can order meat and poultry products with same-day delivery. It claims that its products are sourced directly from farmers it partners with.
• Brotinni recently launched a “dark butcher’s” concept, which acts as fulfillment centers for its e-commerce platform. It plans to use the fresh funds to expand its dark butcher’s network, expand its logistics team and invest in its technology. 

Source: Wamda

Our Takeaway
Egypt’s local food and grocery delivery sectors have seen tremendous growth over the past few years as startups leverage technology to tackle significant challenges, mainly due to a fragmented supply chain that results in delayed deliveries and order mix-ups. These startups help players within this space manage sourcing and procurement while they focus on delivering a high-quality experience and service to their customers. For these startups, the market opportunity in Egypt and the MENA region is huge with the economy growing rapidly and e-commerce seeing increasing adoption.