We are pleased to announce an exciting new partnership with African Business magazine and Briter Bridges to feature Tech54, their bi-monthly newsletter which covers all the major start-up stories and giving unparalleled industry insight on Africa’s budding tech scene. Every month you will be able to find the Tech54 selection of the latest stories on the VC4A blog. Let’s take a look at the most exciting deals from March.
Curacel, a Nigerian insurtech startup, has raised $450,000 in a pre-seed funding round led by Atlantica Ventures and Consonance with participation from Kepple Ventures and other African angels. The startup has built an AI-powered platform to deal with claims processing and fraud management in Africa. Already working with big insurers like AXA Mansard, Liberty Health and Old Mutual, Curacel will use the funds to help achieve its goal of becoming Africa’s foremost provider of insurance technology.
Ghanaian healthtech startup Redbird has raised $1.5M in a seed funding round led by Johnson & Johnson Foundation, Newton Partners (via the Imperial Venture Fund) and Founders Factory Africa. Launched in 2018, the startup facilitates access to medical tests and provides a platform where patients and doctors can easily view test results. The company provides rapid diagnostic testing for 10 different health conditions including anaemia, blood sugar, blood pressure, BMI, cholesterol, Hepatitis B, malaria, typhoid, prostate cancer screening and pregnancy.
Kuda, Nigeria’s first mobile-only bank, has raised $25M in a Series A round led by Valar Ventures, the firm co-founded and backed by PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, with participation from Target Global. This adds to Kuda’s $10M seed round in November 2020 – the largest seed round in Africa yet. Customers have increased from 300,000 to 650,000 in between funding rounds, with transactions increasing to $2.2B in February 2020, the Chief Operating Officer said.
Havenhill Synergy Limited, a Nigerian cleantech startup, has raised $4.6m from Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund (NDIF) to aid the construction of 22 smart solar mini-grids in Nigeria. The startup is hoping to connect up to 70,000 people to mini-grid solar in rural areas. Founded in 2010, the company also offers renewable energy services for businesses in Nigeria’s industrial and commercial hubs.
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