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. South Africa: Capitalworks exits boat maker
Capitalworks, a private equity manager, announced the closing of the sale of Robertson and Caine, a South African boat builder, to Vox Ventures, a wholly owned subsidiary of international investment company PPF Group.
The transaction represents the largest foreign direct investment in the boat building sector in South Africa.
Capitalworks invested in the business in 2015.
2. Africa’s Airbnb for trucks and warehouses raises seed funding
Haul247, an end-to-end logistics tech platform connecting businesses to haulage and warehousing assets, has raised $3 million in a seed funding round. Haul247 will use the investment to increase its market share in Nigeria, expand to other African markets, recruit talent, and develop its technology.
Alitheia Capital led the $3 million seed funding round via its uMunthu Fund, while Investment One also participated. This follows a pre-seed funding round in 2021 by Khafid Gbadamosi and Horsham Gates.
3. Conclusion of RMB Ventures’ deal with Aurex
The merger of South African construction company Aurex with RMB Ventures and Bopa Moruo was successfully concluded on 7 June 2023.
Through its strategic equity partnership with RMB Ventures and Bopa Moruo, Aurex has strengthened its company B-BBEE position, with 51% black ownership. The partnership allows Aurex to leverage the extensive networks and expertise of RMB Ventures and Bopa Moruo, increasing its market reach in South Africa, and into international markets.
4. Aruwa Capital invests in Nigerian B2B e-commerce platform
Aruwa Capital Management announced an investment into OmniRetail, popularly known as OmniBiz, a tech-first B2B e-commerce company that aggregates end-to-end retail operations to help manufacturers, distributors, logistic partners, and retailers achieve their business goals through a seamless supply chain framework and embedded finance.
Founded in 2019, OmniRetail launched as a salesforce automation software company, used by brands and distributors in the FMCG sector. However, following the Covid-19 pandemic, the company realised that it was solving only one side of the problem in the retail value chain. With this, they built OmniBiz, an online shop that helps retailers order their stock and have it delivered within 24 hours.
5. Wholesale electronics marketplace Eze secures seed funding
Eze, a wholesale marketplace for used and new electronics, has secured $3.7 million in seed funding to develop its technology infrastructure, broaden its product offering and expand into new markets in Africa, Europe and South America. The funding round was led by Right Side Capital Management, with participation from C2 Ventures, Boro Capital, EVPI Investments and other angel investors.
Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, Eze (pronounced – “easy”) connects thousands of buyers across the world to used and new smartphones, laptops, tablets and other electronics.