INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
More posts by this contributor2018 saw Africa’s tech sector become more dynamic and international
VC firms on the continent multiplied
There were numerous investment rounds
And startups pursued acquisitions and global expansion
Here’s a snapshot of the news that shaped African tech over the last year
Surge in VC fundsA notable 2018 trend was Africa’s VC landscape becoming more African, with an increasing number of investment funds
headquartered on the continent and run by locals, according to Crunchbase data released in thisTechCrunch exclusive.Drawing on its database
and primary source research, Crunchbase identified 51 viable Africa-focused VC funds globally with at least 7-10 investments in African
startups from seed to series stage.Of the 51 funds, 22 (or 43 percent) were headquartered in Africa and managed by Africans
Of those 22, nine (or 41 percent) were formed since 2016 and nine were Nigerian.Four of the nine Nigeria-based funds were formed within the
last year:Microtraction, Neon Ventures, Beta.Ventures and CcHub’s Growth Capital fund.The Crunchbase study also tracked more Africans in
top positions at outside funds and the rise of homegrown corporate venture arms
One of those entities with a corporate venture arm, Naspers, announced a $100 million fund named Naspers Foundry to invest in South African
This was part of a $300 million (4.6 billion Rand) commitment by the South African media and investment company to support South Africa’s
tech sector overall, as reportedhere at TechCrunch.Another DFI came on the scene when France announced a $76 million African startup fund
administered by the French Development Agency, AFD
TechCrunch got the skinny on how it will workhere.Investment and expansionIf African VC investment headlines were scarce a decade ago, in
2018 we became overwhelmed with them
This was largely a result of several recently closed Africa funds — TLcom’s $40 million,Partech’s $70 million, TPG’s 2 billion —
beginning to deploy that capital.In March, Nigerian consumer data analytics firm Terragonraised $5 million from TLcom
Kenyan business enterprise software company Africa’s Talkingraised $8.6 million in a round led by IFC.Investment startup Piggybank.ng
closed $1.1 million in seed funding and announced a new product — Smart Target, for traditional savings groups
Trucking Logistics companyKobo360 raised two rounds, for a total of $7.2 million
Kenya-based agtech supply chain startup Twiga Foods raised $10 million
B2B retail supply chainSokowatch closed a $2 million seed round led by 4DX ventures.White-label lending startupMines.io secured a $13
South African SME payment ventureYoco raised $16 million
Paga Payments added $10 million in fresh funding.And then there were the three huge raises of the year
Kenyan digital payment companyCellulant hauled in $37.5 million in a Series C round led by TPG Growth
South African lending startupJumo raised $52 million led by Goldman Sachs
And just this month,The Carlyle Group invested $40 million in Africa-focused online travel site Wakanow.com
Acquisitions and expansionIn 2018, African tech demonstrated it can travel, as several digital companies expanded on the continent and
In May,MallforAfrica and DHL launched MarketPlaceAfrica.com, a global e-commerce site for select African artisans to sell wares to buyers
in any of DHL’s 220 delivery countries.Paga announced plans to expand in Africa and internationally, with an eye on Ethiopia, Mexico and
the Philippines,CEO Tayo Oviosu told TechCrunch
Kobo360 ismoving into in new markets — Ghana, Togo and Cote D’Ivoire.On the back of its $52 million round,Jumo said it would expand in
Asia and started by opening an office in Singapore.On the acquisition front, Terragon bought Asian mobile marketing company Bizense in a
The company is exploring greater growth opportunities in Latin America and Southeast Asia, CEOElo Umeh told TechCrunch.TPG Growth acquired a
majority stake (of an undisclosed value) in Africa entertainment content company TRACE
After previous investments, Naspers acquired 96 percent of Southern African e-commerce venture Takealot
And in December, California-based Emergent Technology Holdingsacquired Ghanaian fintech payment company
InterpayAfrica.PartnershipsCollaboration between local tech firms and big global names continued in 2018.Liquid Telecom and
Microsoft continued their partnership to offer connectivity cloud services such as Microsoft’s Azure, Dynamics 365 and Office 365 to
This is part of Liquid Telecom’s strategy to go long on Africa’s startups as its future clients and the continent’s next big
companies.Facebook teamed up with Nigerian tech hubCcHub to launch its NG_Hub high-tech incubator.BlockchainAs crypto fever gripped many
leading economies in 2018, Africa was shaping its own blockchain narrative — one more grounded in utility than speculation.500
Startups-backed SureRemit launched a crypto token product aimed at disrupting Africa’s multi-billion-dollar remittance market and raised
South African payments venture Wala and solar energy startup Sun Exchange also had ICOs.For blockchain as a platform, agtech startupsTwiga
Foods andHello Tractor partnered with IBM Research to use the digital ledger tech to advance small-scale farmers and agriculture on the
continent.Ride-hail boda bodasRide-hail tech expanded into the continent’s frequently used motorcycle taxi market
Uberentered the three-wheeled tuk tuk moto taxi market in Tanzania in March andUber and Taxify launched motorcycle passenger services in
East Africa, including Kenya and Uganda.FailsLast year sawY Combinator-backed VOD startup Afrostream shutter
In February 2018, Nigerian e-commerce startup Konga — backed by VC — was sold in a distressed acquisition
There were high expectations for Konga and its much-liked founder Sim Shagaya
Imade the case that Konga’s acquisition was one of Africa’s first big startup fails that flew under the radar.DronesTechCrunchdid a
deep dive into Africa’s drone scene, talking to several experts and looking at emerging use cases across delivery services, agtech and
On the regulatory side, several countries — Rwanda, Tanzania, South Africa, Zambia and Malawi — are doing some interesting things around
regulation and creating drone-testing corridors for global players.TechCrunch and AfricaIn 2018 TechCrunch did more with Africa than any
In addition to more content, there wasa market engagement trip to Ghana and Nigeria, with meet-and-greets at Impact Hub, MEST Accra and
Lagos, and CcHub.TechCrunch also had itsfirst Africa panel on Disrupt SF’s main stage, anAfrica session at Disrupt Berlin and held the
second Startup Battlefield Africa in December in Nigeria.Fifteen startups competed in Lagos in front of a Pan-African and global crowd
South African virtual banking startupBettr was runner-up
Ultra-affordable ultrasound startup M-Scan from Uganda was the winner.More Africa-related stories @TechCrunchAfrican tech around the ‘net
