Great wins 🏆 for the African tech ecosystem despite a brutal S1 2024.
Norugram #1 - July 2024
Bonjour ! Welcome to this inaugural edition of the Noru Capital’s newsletter!
Noru Capital is the only first-check VC with an exclusive focus on tech startups in Francophone West Africa.
As we move past S1 2024, we're excited to share the latest updates from Noru Capital and the vibrant startup scene in Africa, with a special focus on its western francophone part. Enjoy reading and leave us a 💙 if you do 😇.
🥳 S1 2024’s Highlights
🟢Startups in Francophone West Africa raised 4X more money in 2024 than in 2023
Collectively, startups in Senegal, Ivory Coast, Benin, and Togo raised USD 65 million in the first half of 2024 compared to USD 15 million in the same period in 2023. These include 🇨🇮Djamo, 🇨🇮Meditect, 🇸🇳Paps, 🇸🇳Baobab+, 🇸🇳Maad, 🇧🇯Spiro, 🇸🇳LAfrica Mobile and 🇸🇳Solarbox.
🟢Partech the Dakar-based VC closes its second Africa fund at $300M+ to invest from seed to Series C
Partech Africa intends to back over 20 companies, with initial investments ranging from $1 million to $15 million. This is particularly good news for the ecosystem in Francophone West Africa, which is well-positioned to seize this opportunity. Partech has an office in Dakar, and one of its General Partners, Tidjane Dème, is deeply familiar with the realities and potential of this region.
🟢Paris-based VC Breega raised a $75M fund to back pre-seed and seed startups in Africa
Breega will invest $100,000 to $2 million tickets in startups across the Big Four African markets — Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa and Kenya — as well as Francophone African markets, including Morocco, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Cameroon and the DRC.
🟢Seedstars Africa Ventures receives a $30 million backing from EIB Global to invest in early-stage startups
The VC firm will make initial investments ranging from $250,000 to $2 million, and provide follow-on funding of up to $5 million for up to 30 startups. Additionally, the firm plans to allocate up to 50% of the funds to Francophone Africa. This region offers low competition, alongside substantial market opportunities and high-quality deals at lower prices, compared to the more mature Anglophone parts of the continent.
🟢The Mastercard Foundation has launched an acceleration program for Edtechs in 9 African countries including Benin and Senegal
The Canada-based foundation has chosen 8 innovation hubs across the continent to deploy this program with the objective of democratizing access to quality education for 10 million young Africans over the next five years. Selected startups will undergo an intensive acceleration track and receive substantial equity-free funding. Etrilabs will be implementing this program in two Francophone West African countries: Senegal and Benin.
😮💨 S1 2024’s Lowlights
🔴 Funding Raised by African Startups keeps decreasing in 2024
After raising $4.8 billion in 2022, funding had already dropped to $3.2 billion in 2023, a decrease of 33%. If the trend in the first half of 2024 continues, the annual total for this year is expected to fall below $2.2 billion, a further decline of 39%.
🔴 Two of Africa’s big four countries are facing significant currency depreciation against the USD
The Egyptian pound has lost 36% of its value in USD since the beginning of 2024. Similarly, the Nigerian naira has lost 41% of its value over the same period. This situation could be extremely challenging for startups with debt maturing soon.
🔴 Ghanaian fintech startup Dash shuts down after raising $86.1M in 5 years.
In case you’ve missed it, this news has raised a lot of questions within the African ecosystem. Many questions, theories, and opinions have emerged on how the VCs who backed the company could have avoided this scenario, and how processes, expectations, and due diligence methods could be better adapted to the African context and startups as lessons learned from this major crash.
🔴 Peter Nono, co-founder and CEO of Twiga Foods, has resigned.
Twiga is one of the gems of the African tech ecosystem. Founded in 2014, the B2B e-commerce platform operates in the FMCG sector and has raised USD 160 million since its creation. Recently, the company has faced several financial difficulties, as evidenced by a lawsuit filed by a supplier for an unpaid invoice of over USD 250,000, and the layoff of one-third of the staff in August 2023.
🔴 Hard time for FMCG B2B e-commerce platforms in Africa
Wasoko, the Kenyan player, recently closed its offices in Zanzibar and Côte d’Ivoire and paused operations in Uganda and Zambia as part of a company-wide restructuring. Twiga Foods seems to be experiencing significant financial and governance difficulties. MarketForce, another Kenyan player, has shut down RejaReja, its B2B e-commerce business. The market fundamentals seem to play a significant role in this situation: low pricing power, intense competition, and razor-thin margins. Let’s wait and see if and how the sector recovers.
➡️ Inside Noru Capital
👩🏾 We have a new Norusian : welcome Madina !
Join us in welcoming Madina Niang, our new Investment Associate. Madina holds an MBA from Texas Tech University, USA. Prior to joining Noru Capital, she worked as a financial analyst in the United States and as a macroeconomist at UEMOA Titres. Madina brings her skills, energy, passion for entrepreneurship, and excellent knowledge of the economic dynamics in Francophone West Africa.
Fun fact: Madina loves taking road trips—she’s driven from Texas to Indiana on a 3-day road trip 🚘, visiting all the states in between!
👋 Dont miss Out !
📖"A Sweet Big Lie Told to African Startups" by Jumanne Rajabu Mtambalike
Jumanne Rajabu Mtambalike questions the current obsession with exits in the African startup scene. His thought-provoking article argues for a shift towards building impactful businesses that create lasting value for the continent. This is a must-read for VCs and founders alike, urging us to reconsider how we define success within the African startup ecosystem. Read the full article ➡️ here.
Entreprenariat State of Africa (ESOA) Episode #10
Building a successful startup often requires a reliable co-founder. In the 10th episode of ESOA podcast, founders Kahi Lumumba and Moulaye Tabouré interview their own co-founders, exploring the qualities and dynamics of effective co-founding partnerships. Tune in to gain valuable insights into this crucial aspect of launching a business. Listen to the full podcast ➡️ here.
Try to keep up with us ➡️
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