The 5 most popular stories on Africa Private Equity News this week
Here are summaries of the five most widely read stories this week on Africa Private Equity News.
1. LeapFrog acquires stake in Fidelity Bank Ghana from Amethis and ERES
LeapFrog Investments has acquired a 16.94% stake in Ghana’s largest privately-owned bank, Fidelity Bank Ghana Limited, from Amethis, an investment fund manager dedicated to the African continent, and Edmond de Rothschild Equity Strategies (ERES), a mid-cap growth and buy-out franchise affiliated with the Edmond de Rothschild Group.
Following the investment from Amethis and ERES in 2014, Fidelity Bank embarked on an expansion drive via the acquisition of Pro-Credit Savings and Loans to widen its network across the country and solidify its presence in the SME and micro-business sector. The bank also established a state-of-the-art customer contact centre and upgraded its technological platforms to best-in-class standard through a collaboration with IBM. This served as the basis for continued business growth marked by impressive financials and remarkable pioneering strides in inclusive banking.
2. African payments platform raises $400m, led by SoftBank
OPay, one of the largest payment services in Africa, has raised $400 million in a series C funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2. Notable investors in this round of financing include DragonBall Capital (the investment fund backed by Meituan), Sequoia Capital China, Source Code Capital, SoftBank Ventures Asia, Redpoint China, and 3W Capital. With this investment, OPay has become the Africa’s latest fintech unicorn at $2 billion valuation.
OPay will use the new capital to strengthen its market position in Nigeria and Egypt, and accelerate its expansion to other countries in Africa and the Middle East – as both regions have seen the largest addition in registered accounts in absolute terms over the last five years, notably Africa’s dominant position with 160 million active users and transaction value worth at staggering $490 billion.
3. Old Mutual partners with VC firm Anthemis
Old Mutual Limited has announced that it is expanding its investments in innovation through a new collaboration with venture capital firm Anthemis Group. Anthemis will deploy capital on behalf of Old Mutual through its Anthemis Insurance Venture Growth Fund (AIVGF), focused on series B and C companies in insurtech.
Old Mutual aims to transform its customer experience by sourcing and deploying innovative solutions across its value chain. The collaboration will see Old Mutual act as the exclusive strategic investor for Africa in the AIVGF.
Anthemis and Old Mutual have committed to scout for and/or invest in innovative companies both on the African continent and across the globe that are advancing the digital transformation and disruption of the financial services sector.
4. Rwanda: Beyond Capital Ventures signs maiden investment in healthcare company
Newly launched impact venture capital firm Beyond Capital Ventures has announced its first investment: Viebeg Technologies. Based in Rwanda, Viebeg is a healthtech company that provides medical supplies and equipment throughout Central and East Africa through an innovative data-driven procurement platform.
Beyond Capital Ventures joins its co-investment partners Beyond Capital Fund and Eckenstein Geigy Stiftung in Viebeg’s pre-seed funding round. Beyond Capital Ventures’ general partner Eva Yazhari will join Viebeg’s board of directors.
5. Senegal: Corporate VC fund invests in ride hailing company
Mobility 54, the corporate venture capital subsidiary of Toyota Tsusho Corporation and CFAO, has participated in the pre-series A seed round funding of Kai Senegal.
While some ride hailing apps have emerged in the country, it has been difficult for them to overcome the challenges of an informal market and to address the financing issues of the drivers with the classical ride hailing model.
Kai has been created in 2018 to solve these issues by rethinking the ride hailing model. The company is based on three pillars: 1) a fleet management solution to buy and maintain good quality vehicles, 2) a digital ride hailing app to connect customers with drivers, and 3) a financing scheme to turn taxis into an asset investment class allowing private owners and institutional investors to purchase cars as an asset and to get a regular payback with interest.
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