Nabilah Safira
TechInAfrica – Investors are looking at Africa for investment opportunities, which might sooner or later skyrocket the country even higher on the global tech ladder. With a continent populated over 1.2 billion people, the country’s tech representation does go disproportionate considering the figure, but with the incoming investors’ wave, things will, for the better, shift. Africa-based investors, Marieme Diop, Wale Ayeni, and Sheel Mohnot take the Disrupt SF 2019 stage to discuss investing in the tech sector in Africa.
Respectively, Marieme Diop oversees the funding arm of France’s largest telecom Orange, and Orange Digital Ventures is an international fund with a specific interest in African Tech firms. As a notable early investor in Jumia, the Africa-focused e-commerce unicorn, it also took part in the $16m round of funding for Yoco, the South African fintech startup, with another $8.6 million round funded for Africa’s Talking, a self-described ‘Pan-African business enterprise software startup’. Also a co-founder of the Dakar Angels network, it is a seed fund that offers investments ranging from $25,000 to $100,000 and practical assistance to startups across the French-speaking regions of Africa.
Wale Ayeni heads up the IFC venture capital group focused on Sub-Saharan Africa. The venture forms part of the World Bank Group with a focus on frontier market investment. About $800 million funds have been granted in early-stage tech startups for the past 10 years. The recent investments for the group are the $6.5 million series A round for Lulalend, the South African fintech company. The latest investment this year is dedicated to one of Africa Tech’s largest investments when Nigerian trucking logistics company Kobo360 raised $20m in its Series-A round.
Responsible for leading the San Fransisco-based accelerator 500 Startups, Sheel Mohnot has been triumphing the cause of tech in Africa. The accelerator took its ‘Geels on a Plane’ tour to Africa in 2017 and managed to secure over 40 Africa-focused investments. These success stories from the investors will hopefully become a magnet for potential foreign investors who are on the lookout for the next unicorn.
Source: Thesouthafrican.com
