Five notable East African deals
We highlight five East African investments, as featured in our Dealmaker’s Log.
We highlight five East African investments over the past 12 months, as featured in our Dealmaker’s Log, a database of reported investment deals, exits, and fundraising milestones. Subscribe to this service here
1. Alterra Capital Partners invests in East African travel group
Alterra Capital Partners made an investment in ARP Africa Travel Group, partnering with the founding family to accelerate expansion across East Africa and beyond.
ARP Africa, which includes Pollman’s Tours and Safaris Limited (Kenya), Ranger Safaris (Tanzania), and ARP Africa Travel (United Kingdom), is a provider of destination management services in East Africa. Established in Tanzania in 1978, the company works with global travel agent partners in 50 countries across five continents, arranging travel experiences for global visitors to East Africa. Read the full article
2. Goodwell makes first investment in Uganda
Goodwell Investments acquired a stake in the Agent Banking Company of Uganda (ABC), a technology-focused financial services firm with a mission to “improve lives by facilitating access to quality and affordable financial services”.
Goodwell invested in ABC through uMunthu II, its €150 million fund providing venture capital to impact-driven companies throughout Africa. The funding will enable ABC to pursue ambitious goals for growth, including expanding its client base, increasing agent coverage, and deploying new services. Read the full article
3. Kenya’s Agventure raises $9.5m from AgDevCo
Specialist agricultural investor AgDevCo announced its latest investment in Kenya, into Agventure, a farmer-owned business that is leading the way in regenerative agricultural practices for non-irrigated cereal-based systems.
Agventure was established in 2010 with the mission of enabling Kenyan farmers to develop more sustainable farming practices. Agventure consists of a collective of farmers, researchers, educators, and entrepreneurs working to model, promote, and share regenerative production methods throughout the food system. Read the full article
4. Norrsken22 leads investment in HR management platform
Kenya-based HR and payroll management platform Workpay raised $5 million in Series A funding led by Norrsken22, with participation from Visa, Acadian Ventures, Y Combinator, Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures, Axian Group and Saviu Ventures.
The company streamlines employee management and payroll processes, ensuring compliance, accuracy, and efficiency. By simplifying HR operations, Workpay empowers businesses across the continent to focus on growth while fostering better work environments for their teams. Read the full article
5. Gateway Partners in Tanzania logistics deal
Gateway Partners announced a $10 million debt investment into Usangu Logistics, an African transport logistics services provider.
Through this funding, Gateway will support the growth and development of Usangu Logistics in Tanzania by providing a term loan facility to expand the company’s truck fleet. The debt investment comes from the Africa Credit Opportunities Fund, an investment vehicle backed by the Fund for Export Development in Africa, a subsidiary of Afreximbank. Read the full article
Stay ahead in Africa’s private equity and venture capital sector with Africa Private Equity News’ monthly Dealmaker’s Log – a database of reported investment deals, exits, and fundraising closes. Subscribe here