Tech

Paris-based venture capital firm Breega sets up $75m Africa-focused fund

Published

4 months ago

June 21, 2024

Paris, a France-based Venture Capital firm, Breega, has announced setting up its first African-focused fund, “Breega Africa Seed I”, with a $75 million seed which aims to become the leading early-stage investor in African startups.

Breega, which is one of the fastest-growing early stage funds in Europe, also announced opening two new offices in Lagos, Nigeria, and Cape Town, South Africa, to manage the new pan-African fund.

A statement from the firm on Friday said since closing its first fund in 2015, the company which also has offices in London and Barcelona, has reached $700 million in assets under management, while invested in over 100 startups across 15 countries.

Melvyn Lubega, co-founder of digital education unicorn Go1 who will lead Breega’s activities in Eastern and Southern Africa from the Cape Town office, said the firm, endowed with the $75 million fund, will invest in ventures in Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa and Kenya, as well as several French-speaking African countries, such as Morocco, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

“With this fund, Breega plans on investing checks ranging from $100,000 to $2 million, entering as the initial investor,” said Lubega.

“It will focus on high-impact and sustainable innovations that meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as defined by the United Nations, by investing in pivotal sectors such as agri-tech, ed-tech, e-health, fintech, insurtech, prop-tech and logistics.

“Today, Africa receives one per cent of global funding for a region which is home to 18 per cent of the population of the planet.

“This is a large funding gap to close across a continent at the dawn of its technological potential. Breega, an international fund for founders built by founders, has a unique role to play in bridging this gap,” Lubega stated.

Nigerian born Tosin Faniro-Dada, former CEO of Endeavor in Nigeria, will be the partner in charge of West and North Africa, and is expected to contribute her experience, notably as a board member of African fintech unicorn Flutterwave.

“Africa is experiencing a boom in entrepreneurship, reflecting a surge of innovation and ambition across the continent,” Faniro-Dada said.

“Our entrepreneurs are driven by the ambition to find solutions to the continent’s challenges. It is truly inspiring and I’m thrilled to be able to support them thanks to the unique model we’ve developed at Breega,” she said.

Related Topics:Africa Breega Featured Funding Venture Capital

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Tech

Nigeria’s agri-tech startup Winich Farms raises $3m to expand operations

Published

21 hours ago

October 8, 2024

Isaac Dachen

Nigerian agri-tech startup specialized in the supply of farm grain produce to retailers, Winich Farms, has announced raising $3 million in pre-series A funding to expand its operations which include the enhancement of its order fulfillment centers and upgrade of its technology.

The funding round, which was led by Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund (ARAF), with a contribution of $2.5 million, alongside participation from Climate Resilient Africa Fund, Marula Square, Plug and Play Tech Centre, Acasia Ventures, Tekedia Capital and Additio Sahel Capital which provided $590,000 in debt financing, marks the company’s second funding round in two years.

The startup which was founded by brothers Riches and Winner Attai, along with Chichebem Jibunoh, in 2020, connects rural farmers to off-takers, retailers and informal processors, by operating collection points managed by agents who handle orders from off-takers.

“Our growth has largely been driven by the expansion of agents on our platform,” Riches, the CEO of the company said in a statement.

“In 2022, we had approximately 1,000 agents, but by the beginning of 2024, we had grown to over 4,000 agents, quadrupling our capacity. With more agents, we are able to meet demand more efficiently,” he said.

He however, added that company’s current model faces challenges, as its partner farmers are primarily located in northern Nigeria, leading to slower deliveries to more distant regions such as Lagos. Despite this, the agritech company claims to serve over 150,000 users, including farmers, agents, and truck drivers.

“To speed up deliveries for retailers in Lagos, instead of sourcing produce like rice from farmers in faraway Kebbi or Kaduna, we process orders from closer locations such as Ondo State,” explained Riches.

“For example, when a retailer orders 50 kilograms (kg) of rice via the company’s mobile app, the order is relayed to agents for bidding. These agents then coordinate with local farmers in the area to gather the produce, which is transported to collection points and handed over to truck drivers for delivery within 24 to 72 hours.”

“The solution is to establish fulfillment centers. The debt funding will be used to lease buildings that will serve as regional distribution hubs across Nigeria’s six geo-political zones, reducing delivery times for off-takers,” he added.

Tech

15 startups emerge winners in 4th Egypt Entrepreneur Awards

Published

2 days ago

October 7, 2024

Isaac Dachen

Organizers of Egypt’s Entrepreneur Awards have announced 15 startups as winners of the fourth edition of the annual awards held on Sunday in Cairo.

This year’s edition of the awards which had the theme “Breaking Silos Together: Building Resilience and Embracing Opportunity”, was sponsored by ievents and Tatweer Misr, along with EGBANK, Orange Egypt, PepsiCo and others.

According to the organizers, the Outstanding Youth Entrepreneur Award went to Sight founder Hussein Shahbender, while the Sports and Wellness Award went to SR Padel and the Disruptor of Traditional Industries Award to ILLA Logistics.

2oolameme was named Art to Business Award winner, with the Content Innovation Award going to Peace Cake and the Digital Solutions and Customer Experience Award given to Synapse Analytics.

The Environmental Sustainability Award went to Mozna, the Fashion Vanguard Award to Pepla, and the Fintech Excellence Award to Menthum while the Global Reach Achievement Award went to Technobit, and the Local Hero Award went to Raw African.

The Product Design & Innovation Award was won by SAL, while Willy’s won the Quick Serve Restaurant Champion Award and Reme-D the Rising Star Award, just as Rology and Astrazeneca took home the Disruptive Duo Award, rounding off the winners.