DealMakers AFRICA

Rwanda and Kenya-based EV energy tech company, Ampersand, has announced the successful close of a funding round to scale up its operations across East Africa. The round included new working capital investment from British International Investment, new equity investments from Seedstars Africa Ventures, Gaia Impact, the Rwanda Green Fund and Raspberry Syndicate, as well as increased investments from existing partners including Ecosystem Integrity Fund, AHL Ventures, Acumen, HEHF, and TotalEnergies.

HoneyCoin, a Kenyan fintech startup, has raised US$4,9 million in seed equity funding from Flourish Ventures, TLcom Capital, Stellar Development Foundation, Lava, Musha Ventures, 4DX Ventures, Antler, and Visa Ventures. HoneyCoin has built a complete solution that operates as a multi-product one-stop-shop infrastructure platform offering services that span local payouts and collections, cross-border FX settlement, and treasury management.

Nulla Group, a Cameroon-based maize aggregator and processor has received a US$1,5 million working capital loan from Sahel Capital through its Social Enterprise Fund for Agriculture in Africa (SEFAA). Nulla Group, a women-led enterprise that is building resilient supply chains and transforming the maize value chain in Cameroon will utilise the funding to scale operations and improve service delivery to farmers and clients.

Lagos-based food delivery startup, Chowdeck, has raised US$9 million in Series A funding to launch a quick commerce strategy and expand into more cities in Nigeria and Ghana. The equity round was led by Novastar Ventures, with participation from Y Combinator, AAIC Investment, Rebel Fund, GFR Fund, Kaleo, HoaQ, and others. Founded in October 2021 by Aluko, Olumide Ojo, and Lanre Yusuf, Chowdeck now operates in 11 cities across Nigeria and Ghana, serving 1,5 million customers with a network of more than 20,000 riders.

Ethiopian Investment Holdings, the nation’s sovereign fund has acquired a 7.4% stake in Scandinavian-based gold producer Akobo Minerals AB through the subscription of 15,000,000 new shares in a private placement, at a subscription price of US$0.20 per share, raising total gross proceeds of US$3 million. The funds will be used to enable the construction of a new vertical shaft that is expected to significantly increase monthly production from 5–10 kilograms to 50–80 kg.

Subject to board approval, the African Development Bank will provide US$500 million in financing to build a new international airport in Ethiopia. The bank has also been appointed as the initial mandated lead arranger, global coordinator and book runner to mobilise nearly US$8 billion of the US$10 billion needed for the mega project launched with Ethiopian Airlines. Located 40 km’s south of Addis Ababa, the new greenfield Bishoftu International Airport will have an initial capacity of 60 million passengers, eventually expanding to 110 million, and transport 3.73 million tons of cargo annually.

DealMakers AFRICA is the continent’s quarterly M&A publication
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