Denis Opudo
Local startups have been able to get funding in the past. This has helped them to increase their operations. The move has been of benefit to the local population. This is because startups only work on solving the local problems. However, a good number of startups have failed to achieve their goals due to lack of enough funds. Sky.Garden, a Kenyan based startup has plans of expanding to Kampala, Uganda by 2019.
In a period of six months after the launch, the startup has received more than 10,000 orders. Furthermore, the company presently has more than 3000 merchants on their platform. The number has been growing by 25% each month. The startup received $100,000 in startup capital from Oslo’s Katapult Accelerator.
The startup aims at using the money in improving its platform. This will be made possible via enhanced artificial intelligence engines. It also plans to integrate with AdTech platforms. It will also scale Sky.Garden’s sales and marketing efforts. This week, Sky.Garden together with Mondo Ride raised a total of $3.2 million funding. Mondo Ride is a taxi hailing company based in Nairobi Kenya.
Mondo Ride raised $2 million from the United Arab Emirates and Egyptian investors. This came in as its second funding since the launch. The company will use the funding to expand its operations in Dar es Salaam and Kampala. It also plans to use the money to expand to four different cities by the end of 2018. Mondo is receiving stiff competition from the likes of Taxify and Uber. However, its services make it stand out amongst the rest. Mondo Rides offers cheaper motorbikes compared to its competitors. However, the expansion will make transport more reliable in various cities across Africa. It will also increase competition hence improving the operation standards.
On the other hand Sky.Garden raised $1.2 million in a funding round. The funding came from investors in Dutch and Norway. The investors included The Katapult Accelerator Follow-up Fund and Futuristic.vc amongst others.
