[East Africa Business Week] Bob Koigi: Scaling startups’ investment in the region
As startups successfully raise funding, they are boosting their product and service portfolio while setting sight on the East African region for expansion. This, buoyed by the enhanced integration and ease of doing business across the region.
Nigerian fintech startup, Pivo, recently closed a $2 million seed round and has its expansion plans in Nigeria and East Africa. Pivo mission is to make it easy for supply chain SMEs to make, receive and track payments with ease. The capital raised in this round will go towards Improving supply chain for SMEs.
On the other hand, Agri-tech startup Twiga Foods launched a multi-million dollar distribution centre aimed at serving manufacturers, brand owners, and farmers across East Africa. The Fulfillment by Twiga centre located in Tatu City is world-class 200,000 sq ft facility that is automated for efficiency and speedy execution of tasks.
Solarise Africa, a pan-African Energy-as-a-Service company that provides reliable and affordable energy solutions across Africa has raised $33.4M to expand its portfolio in Kenya and other countries.
And Leta, the supply chain and logistics startup driving distribution optimization, also announced the close of a $3 million as it seeks to scale to other African countries, among them the East African ones.
In news that made headlines in the financials sector this week, MTN Rwanda, in collaboration with Bank of Kigali announced the launch of ‘Macye Macye’, which is a Device Financing program that will be funded by the Bank of Kigali and will allow MTN Rwanda customers to purchase smartphones and tablets on credit from any MTN Service center, franchisee shop, or other retail distribution point.
The World Bank has voiced its support for its latest six-year strategy in Kenya, as the country strives towards green, resilient, and inclusive development.
The Kenya Country Partnership Framework (CPF) is a joint strategy between the World Bank, the International Finance Cooperation (IFC), and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) and the government to promote shared prosperity and reduce poverty for the people of Kenya.
Chumz, a mobile app that allows Kenyans to invest as little as KES 5, has launched an in-app feature that will enable football fans save money while cheering on their favorite teams.
Dubbed #SuperFansChallenge, football fans can decide what amount of money they want to save should the team they are supporting win, lose or draw throughout the World Cup and Premier League season.
In other news, TRADE X, a B2B cross-border automotive trading platform based in Ontario, Canada, has announced that it has opened a new Kenyan trading corridor, which includes both a shared bonded warehouse in Mombasa and an office in Nairobi, as the company expands its reach across the African continent.
Bob Koigi is the East African Region Editor at Africa Business Communities
