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. DEG acquires minority equity stake in Nigerian FMCG manufacturer
German development finance institution DEG announced the acquisition of a minority equity stake in Ashwah Holdings, the parent company of Daraju Industries, one of Nigeria’s leading manufacturers of FMCG products in the personal care and household care segment. Ashwah is also currently a portfolio company of African Capital Alliance (ACA). As part of this deal, DEG will provide growth financing as well as advisory services to the management of the company.
Daraju Industries manufactures and trades over 100 stock keeping units of products tailored to meet the everyday needs of the middle to mass market consumers in Nigeria. The group’s key competitiveness lies in the company’s value for money offerings, strong brands, diversified product portfolio, and significant production capacity.
2. TLG Capital invests in a neo-banking platform in Nigeria
TLG Capital announced an investment it’s made into a Paris based fintech company, FairMoney, which operates a neo-banking platform in Nigeria providing underbanked users with bill payment solutions and collateral-free lending.
The company has a microfinance bank licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria, which permits it to officially operate as a financial services provider in the country. FairMoney, like NuBank – the $30 billion behemoth, operates a credit-led strategy: offering credit via an app and subsequently offers bank accounts as a gateway to other services. In 2019, FairMoney expanded its reach into India.
In July this year, Tiger Global led a $42 million series B round for FairMoney. The company’s series A was for €10 million, two years ago, and prior to that a €1.2 million seed round, in 2018. Tiger Global joins existing investors such as DST Partners, Flourish Ventures, Newfund, and Speedinvest.
3. Inspired Evolution leads $15m funding for d.light
d.light, a leading innovator of solar, lighting and sustainable products, announced that it had raised $15 million of equity financing from existing investors, led by Inspired Evolution. This latest round of funding, in addition to the $10 million raised recently from Proparco in May, brings the total to $25 million raised this year by the company. This capital raise will bolster the company’s plans to continue growing its pay-go consumer finance business in key markets across Africa.
Inspired Evolution led the $15 million round, supported by Evolution II, Shell New Energies, FMO, Norfund, Swedfund, and KawiSafi Ventures. On the investment, Wayne Keast, co-managing partner of Inspired Evolution said, “We are pleased to support the company with additional capital for growth and to secure the support from many of the existing shareholders during these difficult Covid-19 times.”
4. Goodwell participates in Asante’s $7.5m funding round
Asante Financial Services Group announced a $7.5 million series A investment anchored by Goodwell Investments with participation by other investors including Sorenson Impact Foundation and Forsage Holdings.
Asante is a high-impact fintech focused on supporting the growth of African micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The series A investment enables Asante to scale its credit offerings to the underserved segment of MSMEs in Kenya and Uganda, and expand to Nigeria and Rwanda.
5. Digital lender Tala raises $145m
Tala, the global technology company building the world’s most accessible financial services, announced a $145 million series E fundraise led by Upstart with participation from the Stellar Development Foundation. New investors Kindred Ventures and the J. Safra Group, along with existing investors including IVP, Revolution Growth, Lowercase Capital, and PayPal Ventures also joined the round, which brings Tala’s total funding to more than $350 million.
Tala will use the investment to accelerate the rollout of its new financial account experience, which provides customers with fresh tools to borrow, save and manage their money, all through Tala’s consumer finance app. Tala will also grow its team across Kenya, the Philippines, Mexico, India and the United States and pull forward plans for both geographic and product expansion, including crypto offerings.
Are you seeking private equity or venture capital investment to grow your company? Africa Private Equity News now offers you the opportunity to connect with investors backing African businesses. Contact us at editor@africaprivateequitynews.com for our rate card and more information.