Tech

South African venture capital firm, Secha Capital closes first tranche of $15.7m funding

Published

7 months ago

October 1, 2023

South African venture capital firm, Sencha Capital, has closed an initial funding round of $15.7 millon from a targeted fund of $34 million from a group of investors including RMB Ventures, 27four Investment Managers, the SA SME Fund, and Caleo Capital.

Founding partner, Nombuso Nkambule who made the announcement on Saturday, said the fund was targeting wider investments in traditional companies across different sectors in the southern Africa region making the tech-enabled transition into the green economy.

“The new fund has already made four investments in iG3N, Cultura Fresh, Herbivore and FarmTrace, and plans to make 10 more investments within the next five years,” Nkambule said.

He added that Secha Capital, which runs an operator-investor model, placed highly-skilled human capital resources into its portfolio companies to work on high impact value creation projects that deliver exponential growth for its entrepreneurs.

“We invest in companies at an inflection point in their growth trajectory. Most capital in Southern Africa is invested in either extremes – early-stage startups or mature companies,” Nkambule said.

“We’ve identified a gap in the market where we can find a unique proprietary pipeline and bring in our team of operator investors to achieve outsized returns,” he added.

According to information from the company, Secha Capital, which was founded in 2017 by Nkambule, Brendan Mullen and Rushil Vallabh, is an operator-investor firm that runs a model that places highly-skilled human capital resources into its portfolio companies to work on high impact value creation projects that deliver exponential growth for its entrepreneurs.

According to tech experts, the first tranche of fund has proven that the combination of equity investments and human capital for growth-stage businesses is a replicable model for generating financial returns and social impact, particularly in women-founded businesses in South Africa.

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Tech

RepAir, Cella partner to launch carbon capture in Kenya

Published

3 hours ago

April 27, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

Global Direct Air Capture (DAC) firm, RepAir, has entered into a partnership with carbon storage technology company, Cella, to launch a first-of-its-kind innovative Carbon Capture and Storage venture in Kenya.

In a statement on its website on Friday, RepAir said the venture will see a replication of its “cultivating partnerships” with storage firms in Europe, U.S. and Africa.

“This storage agreement will streamline the sale of high-quality carbon credits to off-takers, enabling corporations to meet evolving ESG standards, manage offsets and advance towards net zero goals,” the statement issued by RePAir CEO, Amir Amir Shiner, stated.

“Our solution sets a new standard, requiring only 600 kWh per ton of CO2 captured, marking the lowest energy consumption on the market.

“This agreement is perfectly aligned with the launch of our commercial demonstrator in 2025, empowering RepAir to offer high-quality carbon credits to our customers.

“It will see to the establishment of a storage partnership with Cella aimed at creating dedicated value chains for extracting CO2 from the atmosphere and permanently storing it underground through in-situ mineralization.

Corey Pattison, CEO, Cella, who also issued a statement on the partnership, said “by partnering with Cella at our first demonstration site, RepAir can capitalize on two critical resources: the potential for truly permanent, highly verifiable carbon storage via mineralization combined with Kenya’s abundant renewable energy sources.

“Together these resources provide a comprehensive solution for capturing and storing CO2 for off-takers. This collaboration represents an extraordinary opportunity to nurture mutual growth.”

Tech

Intel Liftoff Hackathon 2024 calls for applications from African AI startups

Published

1 day ago

April 26, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

Applications for the 2024 cohort of Intel Liftoff Hackathon has opened for African AI startups designed to bring together aspiring tech entrepreneurs, software developers, and AI enthusiasts to collaborate, innovate, and create solutions to concrete African challenges.

In its second edition, the hackathon welcomes pioneering early-stage AI startup teams from the African continent, delving into experiments with LLM technology, a statement on the website of the organiser stated.

It added that the Intel Liftoff Hackathon for African AI Startups, which will be held online on May 27-31, is themed “Hack and Connect”, and will take place in partnership with Modus Africa, University Mohamed VI Polytechnic, Morocco

Other partners include TUT Hub of Artificial Intelligence Institute of South Africa, Prosper Africa, UM6P Ventures, FAST Accelerator, Innov8 Technology Hubs, and Open Startups International.

“The hackathon will feature hands-on workshops that will allow learning of AI essentials; three days of challenges with mentors to test skills; exhibition opportunities to showcase startups and forge partnerships with industry leaders; and networking opportunities to engage with fellow startups and gain insights from domain experts in the AI ecosystem,” the statement said.

“Winners will be invited to join the Intel Liftoff for Startups programme, and receive unique mentoring sessions with ecosystem partners and marketing opportunities with blog articles,” it concluded.