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ghtazi

AgroCenta - Funding, Financials, Valuation & Investors - 0 views

www.crunchbase.com/...company_financials

fundings investors Agrocenta

shared by ghtazi on 12 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • AgroCenta has raised a total of $2.2M in funding over 4 rounds. Their latest funding was raised on Jan 29, 2021 from a Seed round.AgroCenta is funded by 6 investors. Foreign & Commonwealth Office - UK and AV Ventures are the most recent investors.
    • tahaemsd
      tahaemsd on 12 Feb 21
       
      Funding of AGROCENTA
  • AgroCenta has raised a total of $2.2M in funding over 4 rounds. Their latest funding was raised on Jan 29, 2021 from a Seed round.
    • sawsanenn
      sawsanenn on 13 Feb 21
       
      This excerpt shows the effective work of agrocenta, and how their revenues expended over four rounds
  • AgroCenta has raised a total of $2.2M in funding over 4 rounds. Their latest funding was raised on Jan 29, 2021 from a Seed round.AgroCenta is funded by 6 investors. Foreign & Commonwealth Office - UK and AV Ventures are the most recent investors.
    • ghtazi
      ghtazi on 13 Feb 21
       
      AgroCenta raised a total of 2.2 millions USD in funding over 4 rounds. the latest one was raised in january 29th, 2021 from a seed round. we can see that the company has founded 6 investors. the most recent ones are Foreign & Commonwealth Office- Uk and AV Ventures.
mehdibella

South African fintech startup Jumo raises second $50M+ VC round | TechCrunch - 0 views

techcrunch.com/...umo-raises-second-50m-vc-round

Jumo Fintech finance SouthAfrica

shared by mehdibella on 12 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • South African fintech startup Jumo closed a $55 million round from a diverse group of investors, the company confirmed.
  • Nigeria, in particular, has become Africa’s unofficial capital for fintech development, surpassing Kenya in 2019 for drawing the most fintech specific and overall VC on the continent
  • Jumo joins a growing list of African digital-finance startups raising big money from outside investors and expanding abroad.
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • Jumo is active in six markets and plans to expand to two new countries in Africa (Nigeria and Ivory Coast) and two in Asia (Bangladesh and India).
    • mehdibella
      mehdibella on 13 Feb 21
       
      Jumo joins a growing list of African digital-finance startups raising big money from outside investors and expanding abroad.
  • “I’m excited for our next phase. This backing will help us build a better business and break new ground,” Jumo founder Andrew Watkins-Ball said.
    • ghtazi
      ghtazi on 13 Feb 21
       
      the company has closed around 55 million USD from many investors, which will help the company to expand its products and reach new objectives
  • Founded in 2015 and based in Cape Town, the venture offers a full tech stack for partners to build savings, lending, and insurance products for customers in emerging markets.This week’s funding follows a $52 million raise by Jumo in 2018, led by U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs, that saw the startup expand to Asia.“This fresh investment comes from new and existing…investors including Goldman Sachs, Odey Asset Management and LeapFrog Investments,” Jumo said in a statement —  though Goldman told TechCrunch its participation in this week’s round isn’t confirmed.After the latest haul, Jumo has raised $146 million in capital, according to Crunchbase.With its latest raise, the company plans to move into new markets and launch new products in Asia and Africa.
    • nouhaila_zaki
      nouhaila_zaki on 13 Feb 21
       
      This excerpt is important because it describes first what Jumo proposes as product/services offerings. Thereafter, it tackles the history of funding secured by Jumo in addition to the list of investors that support the company. Finally, the excerpt explains how Jumo intends on investing the money raised, namely expansion in new markets in Asia and Africa in addition to the launch of new products.
  • Nigeria, in particular, has become Africa’s unofficial capital for fintech development, surpassing Kenya in 2019 for drawing the most fintech specific and overall VC on the continent
    • sawsanenn
      sawsanenn on 13 Feb 21
       
      this excerpt is important because it shows us how jumo expending not only in Africa but also in Asia making fintech grow all over the world
  • hichamachir on 12 Feb 21
     
    JUMO is attracting investors and that means JUMO is doing a great job. Investors are believing in this business and they want to be part of it. That's what happens when you believe in an idea and work hard to improve it.
nouhaila_zaki

Fawry sells major stake for $100M - Wamda - 0 views

www.wamda.com/...-major-stake-in-fawry-for-100m

Fawry Egypt Equity Structure Investments

shared by nouhaila_zaki on 13 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • Helios now owns the lion’s share of the company by acquiring 40 percent, followed by MENA LTV with 25 percent, and EAEF with 20 percent. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) acquired 18 percent of Fawry’s shares at the beginning of 2013, which was followed by another investment by EME International, who did not disclose the stake they took in the company. IFC now owns only 5 percent of Fawry, and 10 percent is owned by Fawry’s management. “The two organizations will remain stakeholders,” said Fawry CEO Ashraf Sabry. “Currently, they have no intention of an exit, and we also have no intention of going public before at least five years.” The arrival of new investors would not affect the company’s management structure, he adde
  • “The most important thing to look for in investors is that they should have experience in investing in similar markets, with similar economic and social conditions,” Sabry said. “This way, they they can understand the challenges that await their investment. This is in addition to their having lots of patience, so they can make their intended profit.”
    • nouhaila_zaki
      nouhaila_zaki on 13 Feb 21
       
      This article and most particularly the highlighted excerpts are very important because they introduce us to the equity structure or fawry (20% Helios, 5% IFC, 10% Fawry's management etc). Also, the article introduces us to the criteria sought in potential investors before accepting and initiating the collaboration, which include the need for these investors to understand the risk coming with their investment in such a fast pace high risk market.
  • nouhaila_zaki on 13 Feb 21
     
    "Helios now owns the lion's share of the company by acquiring 40 percent, followed by MENA LTV with 25 percent, and EAEF with 20 percent. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) acquired 18 percent of Fawry's shares at the beginning of 2013, which was followed by another investment by EME International, who did not disclose the stake they took in the company. IFC now owns only 5 percent of Fawry, and 10 percent is owned by Fawry's management. "The two organizations will remain stakeholders," said Fawry CEO Ashraf Sabry. "Currently, they have no intention of an exit, and we also have no intention of going public before at least five years." The arrival of new investors would not affect the company's management structure, he adde"
sawsanenn

When fintech met crowdfunding - AltFi - 0 views

www.altfi.com/..._when-fintech-met-crowdfunding

FinTech Financial inclusion Strategies

shared by sawsanenn on 13 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • It became clear that fintech companies began to prize crowdfunding three years ago. Monzo crashed our servers in 2016 when it raised £1m in 96 seconds. Last December, the now-serial crowdfunding neobank raised £20m from retail investors. 
    • kenzabenessalah
      kenzabenessalah on 13 Feb 21
       
      Crowdfunding would be a beneficial strategy for EasyEquities to help young entrepreneurs raise money for their new investments.
  • The world’s leading fintechs are using crowdfunding to cement and enhance their relationship with their customers. The latest Unicorns report from Beauhurst, an independent analysis firm, identifies the UK’s 21 unicorn companies – those worth $1bn (around £760m) or more. Of the 21, six are fintechs, and two are digital banks: Monzo and Revolut. Both have turned to crowdfunding – at a time when they are the darlings of the tech scene and its investors – to raise capital. 
    • hichamachir
      hichamachir on 13 Feb 21
       
      Crowdfunding is becoming a very used strategy for fintechs because it's a concept that help entrepreneurs finance their projects. Also it's a concept that makes the community more connected
  • The staggering thing about Monzo’s raise – and it speaks volumes about where crowdfunding and fintech have reached – is that it did not need to raise the £20m from any of us on the street. In October – i.e. just two months shy of the raise – the bank had closed an £85m round led by VC firm Accel. Raising £20m is no walk in the park. You need to build a prospectus, which is a lengthy and expensive process. Monzo’s crowdfunding raise capped all investments at £2,000, meaning the team chose to have more investors to look after. 
    • nouhaila_zaki
      nouhaila_zaki on 13 Feb 21
       
      This excerpt uses the example of Monzo's fundraising through crowdfunding to show that the latter could be a great source of financing for fintech companies.
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • Making consumers owners and giving them a say has become integral to how these companies run. Indeed, many are now building their own platforms to manage ownership. What does this tell us about the future? Here are businesses offering equity – not for money, not because they want to list, but to build an affinity with their customers. As these relationships evolve, both sides benefit: greater engagement – better products – more customers – growth – profit – both sides capitalise.  It could be called the democracy of building business. Technology is making this shift around the consumer possible not just in finance, but across markets. While the former has emerged as the vanguard, there are other non-tech sectors that have leapfrogged traditional ownership structures and cemented their own success. Food and beverage, historically underserved by the financial world, was an early adopter of crowdfunding. BrewDog is the poster child for this – a four-time Crowdcube funded brewery. It has 120,000 investors, aka Equity Punks, who, in its words, kick-started the craft beer revolution and, presumably, enjoy its beer. The prospect gets so much more exciting when you start to think of the markets that are hardest to disrupt, build a community around, and fight injustices: insurance, mining, the coffee industry, healthcare.
    • nouhaila_zaki
      nouhaila_zaki on 13 Feb 21
       
      Here the positive side of crowdfunding is presented and includes the ownership of customers over the businesses/brands they fo to. Crowdfunding here appears to be a great opportunity, which the article describes as the democracy of building business.
  • The world’s leading fintechs are using crowdfunding to cement and enhance their relationship with their customers. The latest Unicorns report from Beauhurst, an independent analysis firm, identifies the UK’s 21 unicorn companies – those worth $1bn (around £760m) or more. Of the 21, six are fintechs, and two are digital banks: Monzo and Revolut. Both have turned to crowdfunding – at a time when they are the darlings of the tech scene and its investors – to raise capital. 
    • ghtazi
      ghtazi on 13 Feb 21
       
      what we can say is crowdfunding is the future for fintech. using Crowdfunding will helps the fintech to have a stronger and powerful relationship with its customers.
  • To answer that, I believe we have to go back to the financial crisis. After 2008, a chasm opened up in financial markets, encouraged by a profound lack of trust. We’re well-versed with the outcomes. The banks that survived had to change their ways, and new players came onto the scene. A decade later, it is the novel relationship between these latest entrants and consumers that gives us an idea of what the future looks like: a world where any business-to-consumer company knows that sharing ownership with its customers is fundamental to long-term success. This is the cooperative movement of the twenty-first century, and it is driven by technology.
    • sawsanenn
      sawsanenn on 13 Feb 21
       
      This could imply that future companies are effective for a variety of reasons. Rather than capitalizing on cost savings, piling up high-quality products and selling them cheaply, or structural brands that are more myth-based than substance-based, they will be firms that effectively utilize network effects, concentrate on being a product first, and bake their clients into everyones brand
nourserghini

Abacus - VC4A - 0 views

vc4a.com/abacus

Abacus E-trade Africa Kenya

shared by nourserghini on 10 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • Abacus allows investors, locally and in the diaspora, to invest in equities, fixed income, unit trust, real estate and unlisted securities in Kenya.
    • ayachehbouni
      ayachehbouni on 10 Feb 21
       
      Abacus builds web and mobile software to help investors across the globe access African financial markets. It makes it possible for both local and international investors to research and invest, any time, any where.
  • We are looking to cover at least 50% of Africa’s financial markets by 2019. We are an e*trade for Africa.We provide real time data and news, research, analyses and insights, technology driven advisory and community forums with investing leaderboards where you can see, copy or follow other investors’ activity. 
    • nourserghini
      nourserghini on 13 Feb 21
       
      This article states that Abacus Kenya is planning on covering about 50% or more in the African financial market these past years, by providing significant data and insights as well as community forums with investors.
nouhaila_zaki

JUMO - Funding, Financials, Valuation & Investors - 0 views

www.crunchbase.com/...company_financials

JUMO South Africa Financials

shared by nouhaila_zaki on 13 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • JUMO has raised a total of $146.7M in funding over 9 rounds. Their latest funding was raised on Feb 26, 2020 from a Series C round.JUMO is funded by 10 investors. Goldman Sachs and LeapFrog Investments are the most recent investors.
    • nouhaila_zaki
      nouhaila_zaki on 13 Feb 21
       
      This excerpt is important because it describes the sources of funding that Jumo is benefitting from. Here one can see that Jumo is funded by 10 investors, and that it raised funding from over 9 rounds.
mbellakbail69

South African fintech JUMO scooped up $55 million in funding - 0 views

www.businessinsider.com/d-55-million-in-funding-2020-2

shared by mbellakbail69 on 09 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • JUMO offers a wide range of services to users in emerging markets via partnerships with other financial institutions
    • nourserghini
      nourserghini on 09 Feb 21
       
      Jumo delivers services to third parties in emerging markets using partnership with other financial institutions.
  • JUMO offers financial services infrastructure to third parties and has served over 15 million customers across countries, including Ghana, Kenya, Pakistan, and Tanzania, and it plans to use the fresh capital to launch new products and expand into new markets: It's set to launch in Bangladesh, India, Côte d'Ivoire, and Nigeria soon, per its website.
    • nourserghini
      nourserghini on 09 Feb 21
       
      The article shows that Jumo specializes in financial services infrastructure to third parties. It operates in African countries such as Ghana, Kenya and Tanzania.
  • South African fintech JUMO scooped up $55 million in funding
    • nourserghini
      nourserghini on 09 Feb 21
       
      Jumo's original location is in South Africa.
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • And while JUMO is focused on serving customers in emerging markets, it should use the fresh captial to offer more consumer products, like loan products, to better close the financial inclusion gap in these regions.
  • JUMO's partners include Telenor and Telenor Microfinance Bank, with which it launched its first commercial product in Asia in 2018, and Tigo, Airtel, and MTN with which it offers short-term loans in Kenya, Zambia, and Uganda. With help of the latest funding, JUMO will be able to further boost such partnerships, and become a more dominant player in the financial services industries in emerging markets.
    • mehdibella
      mehdibella on 13 Feb 21
       
      jUMO is focused on serving customers in emerging markets, it should use the fresh captial to offer more consumer products
  • JUMO offers this technology stack to partners, including telecommunication firms and other financial institutions, to power their financial products and serve consumers via their respective platforms.
  • The fintech's technology stack includes a lending product that gives entrepreneurs quick access to funds or asset finance, and JUMO has so far disbursed over $1.8 billion in loans. It also provides savings options to clients, including short-term, structure, and long-term products, and works together with underwriters and insurers to create standalone insurance products to "safeguard incomes, families, assets, and businesses".
    • ghtazi
      ghtazi on 13 Feb 21
       
      JUMO has already distributed 1.8 billion USD loans, it gives also the possibility to its users to have savings options to clients, including short term, structure, and long-term products. The company also ensures the creation of standalone insurance products.
  • JUMO's debt and equity round included participation from both new and existing investors, like Goldman Sachs, Odey Asset Management, and Leapfrog Investments, per TechStartups.com.
    • nouhaila_zaki
      nouhaila_zaki on 13 Feb 21
       
      This excerpt is important because it reflects the nature of funding that Jumo secures whether through debt or equity; new or existing investors.
  • JUMO's business model of working with third parties helps it to diversify its distribution channels, and allows for quicker expansion — which is likely boosting investor interest in the fintech. To further diversify its offering, and make a bigger impact on serving the financially excluded population in emerging markets, JUMO should look into offering more consumer products, including loan options and bank accounts, as most of its offerings currently focus on serving entrepreneurs and businesses.
    • nouhaila_zaki
      nouhaila_zaki on 13 Feb 21
       
      This excerpt is important because first it clearly states the business model of Jumo. Then, it discusses the possibilities of (geographical) expansion and diversification of offerings (more consumer products, loan options, bank accounts etc).
  • JUMO's business model of working with third parties helps it to diversify its distribution channels, and allows for quicker expansion — which is likely boosting investor interest in the fintech. To further diversify its offering, and make a bigger impact on serving the financially excluded population in emerging markets, JUMO should look into offering more consumer products, including loan options and bank accounts, as most of its offerings currently focus on serving entrepreneurs and businesses.
    • sawsanenn
      sawsanenn on 13 Feb 21
       
      this excerpt included the services that jumo offers, the business model, and some recommendation that the company should consider improving the platform
  • Additionally, only 27% of the population in Southeast Asia has a bank account, leaving a financial inclusion gap of around 438 million consumers. And we've seen fintechs that aim to close this gap attract significant investor interest in the past year: Investment in African fintechs increased by 155% from $111 million in 2018, to $283 million, while Southeast Asian fintechs saw funding surge of 69% from $588 million to $993 million over the same period, per CB Insights.
mohammed_ab

About Us | EasyEquities - 3 views

www.easyequities.co.za/about-us

EasyEquities Investment Platform Trading Fintech

shared by mohammed_ab on 07 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • EasyEquities aims to disrupt and remove the barriers to entry in local and international stock markets, making the purchase of shares easy, cheap and fun, and ensuring that anyone can own shares in the companies they love.
    • kenza_abdelhaq
      kenza_abdelhaq on 07 Feb 21
       
      The South African Investech EasyEquities gives the opportunity to both "newbies and seasoned investors" to invest in stocks either in local or international stock markets by simplifying the process, reducing costs, and ensuring full transparency.
  • EasyEquities (EE), a subsidiary of JSE listed Purple Group Limited (PPE), is an online platform which allows anyone to buy shares in the brands and companies they love. For as little as R5, $10 or whatever amount they have available to invest (and with no monthly brokerage fees) newbie and seasoned investors alike can grow their wealth. EE powered by First World Trader (Pty), as an authorized financial services provider, has a strong focus on customer satisfaction. Our mission is to be a respected and recognized financial services provider. Treating our customers fairly is a primary objective of the conceptualization, creation and launch of the platform.
    • aminej
      aminej on 12 Feb 21
       
      I love this service since it enables people to invest their money in whatever business they want and also for any amount such as 10$, it will teach many people how to trade and maximize their profits
  • We’re cheap We’ve jumped though all the legal and technical hoops to deliver you nice-price investing. No minimums, no monthly fees and the super low commissions. Let’s not forget about Fractional Share Rights, which allow you to invest with whatever amount you can afford. You’re welcome.
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • We’re easy You won’t find tricky tech, jargon or complex functionality here. We’ve kept things super simple so that your experience is quick, intuitive and fun.
  • We’re educational Upping your investment know-how or honing your skills is as easy as checking out our blog or FAQs, where we regularly post research, expert opinions and customer stories to help guide you in your journey. We’re also constantly engaging with our community on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube where you can chat to other investors and find helpful videos and tips.
  • We’ve got common purpose We dream big and want to see everyone investing. That means rewriting the rules, breaking away from the norm and creating a culture of empowered savers. Who’s with us?
  • mohammed_ab on 13 Feb 21
     
    I really like the value proposition of Easyequities. They've provided an easy and cheap platform to invest in fractional shares or real shares to African investors.
aminej

About - 1 views

thndr.app/about

Trading Platform Online Mobile Investing Literacy Financial

shared by aminej on 08 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • We are thrilled to be pioneering commission free trading in Egypt. We believe that saving through investing is the right and sensible thing to do.
  • an app that is designed for everyone, green and expert investors alike. Our technology innovation allowed us to remove the barriers that anyone could face when opening or funding their brokerage accounts, helping us open up the market for a whole new wave of investors.
    • mehdibella
      mehdibella on 08 Feb 21
       
      this app main mission is to help the Egyptian lives easier by enabling investments opportunities easier and accessible to eveyrone.
  • we don't stop there. Through access to the right tools, our app is built to empower you to invest smartly.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • We are thrilled to be pioneering commission free trading in Egypt. We believe that saving through investing is the right and sensible thing to do. So, we built an app that is designed for everyone, green and expert investors alike. Our technology innovation allowed us to remove the barriers that anyone could face when opening or funding their brokerage accounts, helping us open up the market for a whole new wave of investors. And, we don't stop there. Through access to the right tools, our app is built to empower you to invest smartly.
    • aminej
      aminej on 12 Feb 21
       
      I believe that it is an interesting application that would help many people discover the culture of trading and investing smartly in order to maximize their profits
mbellakbail69

Egypt's Fawry becomes Africa's 3rd Unicorn to reach a US$1B valuation - FurtherAfrica - 2 views

furtherafrica.com/...corn-to-reach-a-us1b-valuation

shared by mbellakbail69 on 13 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • Fawry’s fortune is partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic that caused more people to place a high demand for its e-payment offerings. Being the leading fintech company in Egypt, Fawry’s revenue for the first half of 2020 increased by 47% to EGP 549.26M, from EGP 373.33 generated in 2019.Fawry has joined the rank of African companies that have become unicorns. Jumia was the first to attain unicorn status after listing on the New York Stock Exchange. Interswitch also became a unicorn after Visa acquired minority stakes last year. All three have attained global recognition, credibility, and reputation. The unicorn status creates a good public perception for investors and potential customers.
    • hibaerrai
      hibaerrai on 13 Feb 21
       
      Covid-19 has caused Fawry's profits to skyrocket making it one of the most leading fintechs in Africa.
  • Fawry’s fortune is partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic that caused more people to place a high demand for its e-payment offerings. Being the leading fintech company in Egypt, Fawry’s revenue for the first half of 2020 increased by 47% to EGP 549.26M, from EGP 373.33 generated in 2019.
  • Ashraf Sabry and Mohamed Okasha founded Fawry in 2008. It has an online payment gateway for business owners to transact with customers via cash, credit cards, and e-wallets. In 2019, Fawry listed about 36% (254.6M) of its ordinary shares on the Egyptian Stock Exchange. It initially sold at EGP 6.46 per share, and then it tripled to EGP 18.78 at a market cap of EGP 13.3B in July 2020. After going public, other investors took an interest that led to a significant increase by over 300% in its stock price since its debut at the Egyptian Stock Exchange.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • Ashraf Sabry and Mohamed Okasha founded Fawry in 2008. It has an online payment gateway for business owners to transact with customers via cash, credit cards, and e-wallets. In 2019, Fawry listed about 36% (254.6M) of its ordinary shares on the Egyptian Stock Exchange. It initially sold at EGP 6.46 per share, and then it tripled to EGP 18.78 at a market cap of EGP 13.3B in July 2020. After going public, other investors took an interest that led to a significant increase by over 300% in its stock price since its debut at the Egyptian Stock Exchange.
    • mbellakbail69
      mbellakbail69 on 13 Feb 21
       
      I believe Fawry has joined the rank of African companies that have become unicorns. Jumia was the first to attain unicorn status after listing on the New York Stock Exchange.
  • mohammed_ab on 13 Feb 21
     
    It's really interesting to see that covid-19 had a positive impact on the fintech industry. Fawry is yet another great example of this unexpected effect of Covid-19 pandemic. Their revenues have increased by nearly 50% in the first semester of 2020, and the reason behind that is that the population started to rely more and more on e-payment.
  • mehdi-ezzaoui on 13 Feb 21
     
    Fawry has joined the rank of African companies that have become unicorns. Jumia was the first to attain unicorn status after listing on the New York Stock Exchange. Interswitch also became a unicorn after Visa acquired minority stakes last year. All three have attained global recognition, credibility, and reputation. The unicorn status creates a good public perception for investors and potential customers.
mehdibella

Why this Nigerian fintech startup is volunteering audited financials | TechCrunch - 0 views

techcrunch.com/...olunteering-audited-financials

Bank Transfer Money Telecom Fintech Strategy

shared by mehdibella on 13 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • Nigerian fintech firm Carbon — an early-stage financial services startup based in Lagos — has posted on its website financials audited by KPMG.This comes four months after the company obtained a credit rating as a pre-IPO venture. Carbon — which recently rebranded its OneFi holding company and PayLater product titles into one name — plans to continue releasing its financial results on an annual basis, co-founder and CEO Chijioke Dozie told TechCrunch.This may not be totally unheard of in other global tech markets, but for startups in Africa’s big tech hubs — such as Nigeria — it’s a rarity.One of the first glimpses into startup financials in Nigeria came when Jumia shareholder Rocket Internet went public in 2014, which required it to include limited Jumia data in its annual report. The accompanying prospectus to Jumia’s listing this year on the New York Stock Exchange offered the most expansive financial data to date on a tech venture operating in Africa.Prior to this — and still for the most part — companies in the continent’s (mostly) pre-public (earlier-stage) startup hubs — such as Nigeria — provide little to no financial performance info.“Typically, in the local market, we have not seen a lot of voluntary transparency or the availability of data,” said Lexi Novitske — a Lagos-based VC investor at Acuity Venture Partners.“Most startups are concerned such disclosure could expose losses, give market intel to competitors or attract unwanted attention from regulators. It could also lead to negative negotiation leverage if partners saw that they were making good returns.”So why’d Carbon go to the trouble of putting its pre-public accounting out in the open for anyone to see?
  • Clients and recruiting were two reasons. “From a customer perspective, we are trying to get people to trust us with their financial services…so they can see this is the institution I’m dealing with and this is their financial position,” explained Carbon’s Dozie.Carbon has evolved from its original focus as an online lender to offer a broader array of mobile-based financial services — including payments, investment products, credit reports and business banking services. In March, the company acquired Nigerian payment solutions company Amplify for an undisclosed amount.By stats offered by Briter Bridges and a 2018 WeeTracker survey, fintech now receives the bulk of VC capital and deal-flow to African startups, many of which are attempting to reach the continent’s large unbanked and underbanked populations.Carbon fits into that category and its CEO believes being upfront about the startup’s financial position will attract top talent. “From a recruitment perspective, we want recruits to know we have good prospects — that this is a company that’s doing well and wants to keep doing well,” said Dozie.That impression is buoyed by Carbon’s initial results, which were fairly positive for a Series A-stage startup. The company had revenues in 2018 of $10 million, according to its online annual report, and turned a profit of around $500,000.It’s helped with recruiting interest, according to Dozie, who said he’d marked an increase in candidates inquiring about open positions since the results were posted.
    • samiatazi
      samiatazi on 13 Feb 21
       
      the main leypoints of this article: Nigerian fintech firm Carbon posts financials evaluated by KPMG. Carbon as of late rebranded its OneFi holding organization and PayLater item titles into one name. The organization had incomes in 2018 of $10 million, as indicated by its online yearly report.
  • we don’t get considered because investors don’t really think that you can get the results or this performance in the markets that we’re in,” he added — noting that Carbon has operations in Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa and is considering expansion in Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, DRC and Egypt.Investor Lexi Novitske thinks Carbon offering financial performance data is a good thing for Africa’s tech ecosystem. “The move builds trust from clients, partners or investors in a market where there is not a lot of openness,” she said. “I am encouraged to see how other companies will react. My hope is that more will openly report their own metrics…”Dozie says the company will continue to post audited financials on an annual basis, even if they show losses. If the startup continues to expand, attract capital and talent and grow revenues, other Nigerian fintech firms may follow suit.
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • Why this Nigerian fintech startup is volunteering audited financials
  • Clients and recruiting were two reasons. “From a customer perspective, we are trying to get people to trust us with their financial services…so they can see this is the institution I’m dealing with and this is their financial position,” explained Carbon’s Dozie.
  • Carbon has evolved from its original focus as an online lender to offer a broader array of mobile-based financial services — including payments, investment products, credit reports and business banking services. In March, the company acquired Nigerian payment solutions company Amplify for an undisclosed amount.
mbellakbail69

MoneyFellows - Funding, Financials, Valuation & Investors - 0 views

www.crunchbase.com/...company_financials

shared by mbellakbail69 on 13 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • MoneyFellows has raised a total of $5.6M in funding over 5 rounds. Their latest funding was raised on Jun 22, 2020 from a Series A round.MoneyFellows is funded by 8 investors. Sawari Ventures and Partech are the most recent investors.
    • mbellakbail69
      mbellakbail69 on 13 Feb 21
       
      MoneyFellows has raised a total of $5.6M in funding over 5 rounds. Their latest funding was raised on Jun 22, 2020 from a Series A round.
tahaemsd

Fawry - Funding, Financials, Valuation & Investors - 0 views

www.crunchbase.com/...company_financials

fintech payments africa modernization electronic

shared by tahaemsd on 12 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • <ul>FundingFawry has raised a total of $122M in funding over 4 rounds. Their latest funding was raised on Jul 1, 2019 from a Private Equity round.Fawry is registered under the ticker EGX:FWRY .Fawry is funded by 5 investors. responsAbility&nbsp;and&nbsp;Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund are the most recent investors.Fawry has made 2 investments. Their most recent investment was on Feb 16, 2020, when Bosta raised <list-m</ul>
    • tahaemsd
      tahaemsd on 12 Feb 21
       
      Investments and funding of Fawry
mbellakbail69

SA startup Jumo gets the backing from Goldman and Sach - 0 views

www.finextra.com/...-backing-from-goldman-and-sach

shared by mbellakbail69 on 11 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • This is the most coveted industry and selection of service in South Africa, where the fintech has become the most profitable business and have attracted millions of investors from around the world to become a part of the tech revolution currently changing the lives of everyday people across the continent.&nbsp;
  • Yet another African startup is raking up millions from investors around the world during its round of financing and this time around the major investor is America’s most prestigious investment bank- Goldman and Sachs. The bank is just one of the investors willing to put its assets into the South African fintech startup Jumo that just recently closed its 55$ million round.
  • samielbaqqali on 11 Feb 21
     
    Companies like Jumo helped the citizens of the African continent be aware and familiar with Fintech.
kenza_abdelhaq

AgroCenta CEO on the Challenges of Entrepreneurship in Ghana - 0 views

www.seedstars.com/...llenges-entrepreneurship-ghana

AgroCenta Ghana Specialized market

shared by kenza_abdelhaq on 12 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • Does being an entrepreneur in Ghana – and in a developing economy in Africa – presents any ulterior challenges you had overcome?Being an entrepreneur in Africa and in emerging markets, in general, is quite difficult because of the lack of structure and supports put in place by the government. It requires a lot of courage and persistence to get the simplest things done. Any simple tech solution that you might want to build can end up being a very complex challenge because it relies on services that do not exist or don’t work properly. Access to funding also remains a big problem for many entrepreneurs who will need money to test, pilot and scale a platform or a solution. Many investors are quite held back when it comes to making investments in Africa for an obvious reason: corruption.
    • nouhaila_zaki
      nouhaila_zaki on 12 Feb 21
       
      This excerpt is important because it reflects the challenges faced by AgroCenta in Ghana, i.e. corruption, lack of financing, lack of proper infrastructure, lack of government help, among other things.
  • Our business model is simple, we are a B2B business that generates commission fees on trade volumes from the businesses we work with.
    • nouhaila_zaki
      nouhaila_zaki on 12 Feb 21
       
      This excerpt is extremely important because it clearly states the business model of the company.
  • we are definitely improving the financial livelihood of smallholder farmers through fair trade. Many smallholder farmers are paid less than $1 a day and our objective is to increase it to $4 a day by 2020.
    • kenzabenessalah
      kenzabenessalah on 12 Feb 21
       
      AgroCenta is an extremely important concept because it is helping to increase farmers' salaries. Going from $1 a day to $4 a day is already an improvement.
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • AgroCenta focuses on 3 key impact goals for Ghana:No Poverty: Gender Equality: in Sub-Saharan Africa, traditions and land ownerships do not favor women, which ends up in many women being excluded from the agriculture value chain. By engaging the relevant stakeholders, AgroCenta rents arable agricultural lands to female smallholder farmers for free. Women are also given seeds, fertilizers, mechanized tractor services and extensive advisory information on farming best practices such as what type of seed to plant, when to plant, how to plant, etc.Decent Work &amp; Economic Growth: we empower smallholder farmers to see agriculture as more than just a way to survive and position it as a viable industry that can be sustainable for their family.
    • mehdibella
      mehdibella on 13 Feb 21
       
      as you can see this company cares a lot about the livelyhood of their farmers and is trying to provide them only with the best features that would make life easier which in fact the main things that they tackle in the SDGs.
  • Seedstars Summit has been phenomenal. It has put AgroCenta on a pedestal and in the spotlight of a huge community in Africa. The experience after the Summit has been amazing: we received a lot of proposals from potential investors, partners and other service providers keen on working with us for growth and expansion.
  • Winning the vote of the entire jury, AgroCenta from Ghana was crowned the Seedstars Global Winner of the 5th edition of Seedstars Summit. At Seedstars, we are convinced that AgroCenta will shape the future of AgriTech in Africa. Indeed, the start-up’s mission is to improve the financial livelihood of smallholder farmers through fair trade.
    • aminej
      aminej on 12 Feb 21
       
      Agrocenta will have a great impact on farmers in Africa since it will enable them to protect their production and have an insurace in case of any risks. It will also help them regulate the market of agricultural products in order to set a price for each one
  • We identified a missing gap in the value chain that was the capacity to access the market for smallholder farmers after they have successfully cultivated their commodities. Access to the market was a huge problem for millions of smallholder farmers.
    • kenza_abdelhaq
      kenza_abdelhaq on 13 Feb 21
       
      AgroCenta is fulfilling a market gap that is the need for smallholder farmers to access the market.
  • AgroCenta focuses as well as Seedstars on achieving the Sustainable Goals set up by the UN
    • sawsanenn
      sawsanenn on 13 Feb 21
       
      one of the main goals is to reach economic growth by empowering smallholders farmers to see agriculture not only as a survival solution but as an investment
  • Gender Equality: in Sub-Saharan Africa, traditions and land ownerships do not favor women, which ends up in many women being excluded from the agriculture value chain. By engaging the relevant stakeholders, AgroCenta rents arable agricultural lands to female smallholder farmers for free. Women are also given seeds, fertilizers, mechanized tractor services and extensive advisory information on farming best practices such as what type of seed to plant, when to plant, how to plant, etc.Decent Work &amp; Economic Growth: we empower smallholder farmers to see agriculture as more than just a way to survive and position it as a viable industry that can be sustainable for their family.
    • hibaerrai
      hibaerrai on 13 Feb 21
       
      Agrocenta main goals are the following: first and the most evident one no poverty especially for farmers who are not paid enough. second, gender equality and finally economic agricultural development within the country.
  • A great team for sure! Our major strength has been a team made of people with diverse backgrounds and experiences and a deep understanding of the agricultural value chain. This asset allowed us to save a lot of time we would have naturally spent on trying to fine tune and launch the AgroCenta platform. Thanks to that we avoided making the common mistakes many new and unexperienced founders make.
    • ghtazi
      ghtazi on 13 Feb 21
       
      what we can understand is that having a great team is the key asset that led to the rapid growth of Agrocenta. cross-cultural team has been a plus for the development of agrocenta. it helped the company to save time and avoid making common mistakes that many new and inexperienced founders make.
  • Many investors are quite held back when it comes to making investments in Africa for an obvious reason: corruption.
nouhaila_zaki

Frontiers | How Risk Profiles of Investors Affect Robo-Advised Portfolios | Artificial ... - 1 views

www.frontiersin.org/...full

Robo-Advising Invesments Fintech Strategy

shared by nouhaila_zaki on 13 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • Automated financial advising (robo-advising) has become an established practice in wealth management, yet very few studies have looked at the cross-section of the robo-advisors and the factors explaining the persistent variability in their portfolio allocation recommendations. Using a sample of 53 advising platforms from the US and Germany, we show that the underlying algorithms manage to identify different risk profiles, although substantial variability is evident even within the same investor types' groups. The robo-advisor expertise in a particular asset class seems to play a significant role, as does the geographical location, while the breadth of the offered investment choice (number of portfolios) across the robo-advisors under study does not seem to have an effect.
    • kenzabenessalah
      kenzabenessalah on 13 Feb 21
       
      Robo-Advisors go way beyond portfolio allocation; they help keep in the company in tact. Investment companies, like EasyEquities, need such expertise to manage all the financial transactions.
  • Given the different attitudes of investors toward digitalization, robo-advising can be segmented into two main sectors. The first one is pure robo-advising, which is completely free from human intervention in the advisory process. This results in considerably lower fees compared to traditional advisory services, attracting lower-income clientele. As reported by Ringe and Ruof (2018), pure RAs charged fees ranging between 0.4% (US market) and 0.8% (European markets), compared to human financial advising costing circa 1–2%. Pure RAs have become quite popular due to their propensity to avoid conflict of interests due to automation. Fisch et al. (2017) highlight that RAs are less exposed to conflict of interests due to their higher independence, smaller bias to recommend actively managed funds that generate commissions as a potential additional expense, more transparent cost structures, lower minimum investment requirements, and 24/7 availability.
    • nouhaila_zaki
      nouhaila_zaki on 13 Feb 21
       
      This excerpt explains how robo-advising works as well as its positive sides. The most interesting one in my opinion would have to be the avoidance of conflict of interests due to automation which could prove to be very useful in a continent (Africa) that is infested with corruption and nepotism.
ayoubb

We Got Funded: Egypt-Based Fintech Startup Moneyfellows Raises Seed Funds - 0 views

www.entrepreneur.com/...308849

shared by ayoubb on 13 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • Egypt-based Moneyfellows, a tech startup that digitizes informal lending between friends and family networks, has raised US$600,000 in an investment round led by Dubai Angel Investors and 500 Startups.
    • ayachehbouni
      ayachehbouni on 13 Feb 21
       
      The company reached out to every single investor in the region. Some refused, some did not answer at all and yet, Moneyfellows was able to secure such a huge investment thanks to some angel investors. Now, the company will probably receive more offers of investments.
  • Founded in 2015, the idea for Moneyfellows hit the startup’s founder and CEO Ahmed Wadi in Germany, where as a fresh graduate with a modest pay, he was looking to fund his own wedding and honeymoon. “Doing an offline money circle with friends and family back home was my only resort,” Wadi recalls. “It was extremely painful to find a suitable one, manage it, and keep track of it. If there existed a digitized version of this, I would’ve been a frequent user myself. There wasn’t; so, I decided to do something about it, and do it myself.”
    • ayoubb
      ayoubb on 13 Feb 21
       
      MoneyFellows
kenza_abdelhaq

Fintech Trends: Crowdfunding | finleap - 1 views

www.finleap.com/...fintech-trends-crowdfunding

Fintech Strategy Crowdfunding Borrowing

shared by kenza_abdelhaq on 13 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • The most obvious benefit of crowdfunding for entrepreneurs is the funding. With so many startups on the market, it is hard to gather the money needed to bring ideas to life. Through crowdfunding, ventures that do not have a company builder like FinLeap behind them, can gain support at the very beginning. Crowdfunding provides a way for innovate ideas to be presented attractively, so it can be launched. Moreover, a crowdfunding platform can help successful entrepreneurs to validate their product which can then help with gathering the Series A funding. It makes validation faster and more scalable. Additionally, a crowdfunding platform allows entrepreneurs to get insights from their future customers and experts in the startup field while building awareness for the idea. [3]
    • kenzabenessalah
      kenzabenessalah on 13 Feb 21
       
      Crowdfunding would help EasyEquities come up with new innovative ideas for entrepreneurs and future customers. With this strategy, the company will always be classified high in the "Trend" sectors of the FinTech industry.
  • One thing to remember, however, is that the entrepreneur does not choose his investors which leads to unclear boundaries in the process. In addition, depending on the platform, entrepreneurs have to pay out between 8% and 12% of their raise which has to be budgeted in. [5] Moreover, crowdfunding platforms usually require through reporting and disclosure procedures that are strictly followed, making every step of the entrepreneur difficult. Due diligence is also absent as investors can contribute very small amounts, so are not particularly concerned with it. [6]Finally, the low percentage of success in crowdfunding is the main disadvantage
    • nouhaila_zaki
      nouhaila_zaki on 13 Feb 21
       
      Though crowdfunding appears to be a great opportunity, this excerpt introduces us also to the drawbacks of this fintech strategy in order for us to make an informed decision when formulating a strategy. Problems of failure, due diligence, disclosure of confidential information to investors and the need for entrepreneurs to pay a certain percentage of their raise, and the need to carefully budget the amount needed since it cannot be changed later, are really discouraging many fintech companies from considering crowdfunding as an option.
  • the practice of funding a project or venture by raising many small amounts of money from a large number of people, typically via the Internet”. Thus, crowdfunding has become the champion of small businesses, allowing them to have a chance to succeed by showing their innovate business models to the world
    • kenza_abdelhaq
      kenza_abdelhaq on 13 Feb 21
       
      Crowdfunding is a great alternative to have access to financing even though the success rates of these campaigns may be low, but the prompt describing the project should be promising and innovative.
mehdibella

Ghanaian Agritech startup, Agrocenta raises $790k pre-series A - Techpoint Africa - 1 views

techpoint.africa/...agrocenta-raises-790k

ghana Fintech Agrocenta

shared by mehdibella on 12 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • In 2018, Agrocenta won the Seedstars World competition — an early-stage startup pitching competition –, receiving $500k in equity funding. By December of the same year, the company closed a seed round of equity and non-equity funding to scale its operations.&nbsp;
  • Ghanaian Agritech startup, Agrocenta has raised $790,000 pre-series A funding. The investors that took part in the round include Shell Foundation, FCDO, AV Ventures and Rabo Foundation.
  • The latest funding takes Agrocenta’s total disclosed funding to $1.9 million.
  • ...5 more annotations...
    • nouhaila_zaki
      nouhaila_zaki on 12 Feb 21
       
      This article is important because it reflects the/some sources of funding, namely grants from competitions or series A equity, that AgroCenta is using to finance its operations.
  • “This is a significant milestone for AgroCenta, having the support of leading institutions, particularly with the COVID-19 backdrop, underlining the strength of AgroCenta and the importance of its mission.”
    • kenzabenessalah
      kenzabenessalah on 12 Feb 21
       
      I feel grateful to know that AgroCenta is being supported by leading institutions. During this pandemic, farmers need all the support they can get.
  • Ghanaian Agritech startup, Agrocenta has raised $790,000 pre-series A funding. The investors that took part in the round include Shell Foundation, FCDO, AV Ventures and Rabo
  • The company claims the registered farmers on its app, CropChain, has rapidly grown from 3,000 to 48,000. These farmers handle crops like maize, rice, soybean, cowpeas, and sorghum.
  • “This is a significant milestone for AgroCenta, having the support of leading institutions, particularly with the COVID-19 backdrop, underlining the strength of AgroCenta and the importance of its mission.”
    • mehdibella
      mehdibella on 13 Feb 21
       
      Ghanaian Agritech startup, Agrocenta has raised $790,000 pre-series A funding. The investors that took part in the round include Shell Foundation, FCDO, AV Ventures and Rabo
ayachehbouni

YCombinator backed investment platform, Thndr, receives first new brokerage license in ... - 0 views

waya.media/ense-in-egypt-in-over-a-decade

shared by ayachehbouni on 12 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • Thndr, a YCombinator backed investment platform, makes it easy to invest in stocks, bonds, and funds completely commission free. Thndr aims at solving Egypt and the region’s painful, outdated and time consuming process to open, fund and actively manage investment accounts. Thndr’s first product is a mobile first equities trading platform in Egypt. The startup just acquired the necessary licensing from the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) making the fast growing startup the first company to acquire a brokerage license in Egypt since 2008. Issuing a license to a tech company is a testament to the regulator’s strong commitment to seek modern methodologies to enhance the investment landscape in Egypt.
    • aminej
      aminej on 12 Feb 21
       
      They acquired an important license from the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) which shows that they are following strict regulations. It is good for the traders because it is a official trading platform that offers safety when investing and trading
  • Thndr pre-seed funding involved an array of distinct investors such as Y-Combinator, 4DX Ventures, Endure Capital, The Raba Partnership, MSA Capital, along with some other notable investors that include Tom Stafford, Managing Partner, DST “Savings and investing is a critical part of building wealth and economic development, and Egypt’s youth needs a mobile first platform like Thndr to open the floodgates of investing in the coming decades.
    • ayachehbouni
      ayachehbouni on 13 Feb 21
       
      Investors are attracted to Thndr because of its ideals and goals but mostly because of its innovative services. The platform removes all barriers and friction that users face throughout their investment journey, be it when it comes to account opening, associated costs, access to resources or ease of use. The important mission these services carry out are what made the success of the company among its competitors.
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