Investor Updates: June 6 2022

Nigeria’s Indicina raises $3m for its credit infrastructure play

Highlights

• Indicina, an infrastructural platform that provides credit underwriting processes for businesses in Nigeria, has announced its seed round of $3 million.
• Berlin-headquartered and pan-European venture capital firm Target Global led the round, adding to its long list of investments in Nigerian startups, including Kuda, Kippa, and Edukoya. Greycroft and RV Ventures also participated in the round.
• Present in Nigeria and Kenya, this new funding will kickstart Indicina’s expansion into other African markets and also enable the company to reinforce its key product offerings, build more products for consumer credit recommendation, and bolster its infrastructure.

Source: TechCrunch

Our Takeaway

Over the past few years, there has been an increase in credit infrastructure builders in Africa, where only 11% of the population has their credit information recorded by private credit bureaus and just 17% of banked adults have accessed loans. Like Kenya-based CARMA and Pngme, Indicina is positioning to fill the credit bureau gap on the continent starting with Nigeria, where formal sector credit penetration as a ratio of the adult population in Nigeria was below 5.3% as of 2017. 

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MIC backs SA rentals marketplace Rentoza in a $1.3m round

Highlights

• South African startup Rentoza, an online electronics, and appliances retailer operating on a subscription-based model, has raised $1.3 million in funding from Khulisani Ventures, the early-stage investment vehicle of the Mineworkers Investment Company (MIC).
• Last July, the Johannesburg-based MIC announced the launch of MIC Khulisani Ventures, a $10 million early-stage investment vehicle targeting black-owned innovative, high-growth businesses in South Africa. 
• The MIC is a 100% black-owned investment company established in 1995 by the Mineworkers Investment Trust (MIT) to create a sustainable asset base for the benefit of mine, energy, and construction workers and their dependents. 

Source: Disrupt Africa

Our Takeaway

An increasing number of small- to medium-sized funds with $10 million to $50 million of capital to deploy are targeting opportunities in Africa and other frontier markets. At least six such Africa-focused firms have launched in the past year, including the Mineworkers Investment Company (MIC). The fund will provide financing to startups at the early stages of development, and should particularly be a relief for young founders struggling to raise external capital.

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Moroccan fintech WafR raises $455,000

Highlights

• Morocco-based fintech and rewards startup WafR, has raised $455,00 in a round led by Launch Africa Ventures, First Circle Capital, WeLoveBuzz, with participation from angel investors. 
• This round brings the startup’s valuation to $9 million and marks its third round of funding this year, taking the total funds raised to $1.08 million.
• Founded in 2018, WafR helps customers find deals and discounts on a variety of products sourced from local shops. With the fresh funding, WafR aims to increase its network of retailers to 50,000 as well as hire new talent.

Source: Wamda

Our Takeaway

WafR is one of an increasing number of technology startups across Africa that are reinventing the way traditional corporates in the fast-moving consumer goods sector offer discounts and rewards to end consumers. In Africa, startups that play in this space have a big market opportunity as the FMCG sector is one of the largest in the continent’s leading economies. There’s also a growing appetite for technology-enabled solutions, especially by organizations that wish to digitize their workplaces.