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Releaf Secures $4.2M in Seed Funding Plans To Drive Industrialisation of Food Processing in Africa

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Nigerian agritech start-up, Releaf, has just announced a $2.7 million seed funding led by Samurai Incubate Africa, Future Africa and Consonance Investment Managers with participation from Stephen Pagliuca, Chairman of Bain Capital and Justin Kan (Twitch).

In addition to the seed round, Releaf also secured $1.5 million in grants from The Challenge Fund for Youth Employment (CFYE) and USAID.

The seed funding will enable the development of industrial food processing technology in Nigeria’s smallholder-driven Oil Palm sector, while the grant will enable Releaf to provide working capital and other value-added services for smallholders and small-scale processors. Grant funding will support the training, recruitment and retention of more women and youth in Nigeria’s Oil Palm sector by creating both digital and technical jobs.

Nigeria’s oil palm industry is dominated by smallholder farmers, with 80 percent of the local market share. However, production rates are low because many still rely on inefficient processes for de-shelling, including the use of rocks and inappropriate hardware. These ineffective processes also lead to low-quality palm kernels, largely unfit as input for high-quality vegetable oil manufacturing. As a result, food factories are unable to purchase these raw materials and operate significantly under capacity. On average, food factories have 3X more installed capacity than utilisation, which impacts the cost of food and further investment into processing capacity.

Releaf acts as a bridge between smallholder farmers and food manufacturing companies with its proprietary patent-pending machinery, Kraken. Kraken can process any quality of palm nut into premium quality (95 percent purity) inputs for food factories. Releaf’s software connects the start-up to more than 2,000 smallholder farmers, ensuring consistent, large-scale supply. While palm kernel oil production is not foreign to Nigeria, Releaf’s technology and scale mean it can process 500 tonnes of palm nuts per week. The software offerings also allow the start-up to receive inbound supply requests from farmers via USSD, provide working capital financing, and collect proprietary data on supply availability.

Speaking about the new funding, Ikenna Nzewi, CEO and co-founder of Releaf, said, “our mandate is to industrialise Africa’s food processing industry. This round of funding enables us to develop and prove our technology with smallholder farmers in the oil palm sector. Given Nigerians spend ~60 percent of their income on food and Africa’s population is set to increase by 100,000 people per day over the next three decades, we’re presented with an incredible opportunity to feed more people, reduce consumer costs, and supply the fastest-growing food market in the world. Releaf is committed to harnessing technology to accelerate the economic wealth of rural, agrarian societies throughout the Continent. We firmly believe that a robust real economy is the foundation for long-lasting and shared prosperity for Africans and are excited to deepen partnerships with like-minded organisations, governments, and firms.”

Rena Yoneyama, Managing Partner at Samurai Incubate Africa who led the round, commented, “Releaf’s novel approach to operating within the value chain with proprietary technology set it aside from many agritech startups we have spoken about to. We believe the firm’s thesis on decentralizing food processing would strongly match Africa’s economic development landscape for the next few decades. Ikenna and Uzo are the perfect founders to disrupt this market in Nigeria and beyond. We are thrilled to back them as they innovate in providing both agro-processing and financial services to rural communities and farmers.”

Iyin Aboyeji, General Partner at Future Africa noted, “more than 50% of the goods in supermarkets globally contain glycerine – an extract made from palm oil – a cash crop that is passed down from generation to generation. The team at Releaf is building the agro-allied industry of the future from the ground up, starting with palm oil which they have developed a novel technology to aggregate, deshell and process into critical ingredients like vegetable oil and glycerine. Future Africa is delighted to back Releaf to build the future of modern agriculture.”

Dr. Nneka Enwonwu, Country Relationship Manager, from The Challenge Fund for Youth Employment (CFYE), said, “We are thrilled to partner with Releaf on their mission to improve efficiency and profitability for farmers and food factories in Africa. The founders’ vision and the team’s enthusiasm gave us confidence that Releaf will deliver real value for rural communities and create digital/technical jobs for women and youth. We are looking forward to their results and success over the coming years and continuing to support their work.”

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Fund Raising

Nigerian Mobility Pioneer Moove Raises $76 Million in Game-Changing Financing Round

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Moove, a trailblazing player in Nigeria’s mobility and logistics sector, has successfully raised $76 million in a financing round that promises to reshape the landscape of transportation and mobility services in the country.

This substantial investment further solidifies Moove’s position as a driving force behind innovative transportation solutions.

The company’s unique approach to automobile financing, which utilizes a hire-purchase model, has garnered attention from both investors and industry experts.

Under this model, Moove rents cars to drivers, allowing them to ultimately become car owners once they complete payments based on a predetermined value set by the company.

This infusion of funds will enable Moove to accelerate its efforts in bringing affordable and flexible mobility solutions to Nigerian drivers, fostering economic opportunities and contributing to the growth of the local transportation ecosystem.

The financing round boasts support from 31 investors, including prominent names such as BlackRock and Mubadala.

It said in a statement that, “Moove is different from typical mobility companies like Uber or Taxify; instead, it operates as an automobile financing startup that employs a hire purchase model. Under this approach, Moove rents cars to drivers, who eventually become car owners after paying the predetermined value set by Moove.”

According to the statement, the collective efforts of Nigerian mobility and logistics startups were making a substantial impact, employing 1,374 individuals in total, averaging around 49 employees per company, as highlighted by Disrupt Africa’s research.

With this successful funding round, Moove has now raised $550 million across 15 rounds as it eyes unicorn status. “Unicorn” status—a term used to describe privately held startup companies valued at over $1 billion—represents a significant milestone in the realm of entrepreneurship and innovation.

 

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Zuvy Secures $4.5 Million to Revolutionize SME Financing in Africa

Nigerian startup Zuvy raises substantial funding to transform the landscape of small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) financing in Africa, addressing the critical challenges faced by businesses in accessing capital

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Nigerian startup Zuvy has secured $4.5 million in funding to revolutionize SME financing in Africa by addressing the challenges faced by businesses in accessing capital for their operations.

Zuvy, founded in 2021 and operating out of Nigeria, specializes in providing innovative invoice financing and management tools for SMEs.

The co-founders, Angel Onuoha and Ahmad Shehu, share a passion for digitizing and providing financing solutions tailored to the unique needs of small businesses in Africa.

“When I first came to Lagos, I was helping one of my aunties run her food catering business, and I saw just how much of an impact that invoice financing could have had on her business,” shares Angel Onuoha, reflecting on his personal motivation for establishing Zuvy.

“This was primarily because most of her work is determined by large contracts that she would get from large oil and gas companies. They wouldn’t pay her for 30 or 45 days at a time, and I found that a lot of these payment delays are very common for vendors.”

Payment delays are a prevalent challenge faced by SMEs in Nigeria, where large corporations often take as long as 90 days to settle invoices for services rendered. This creates significant cash flow constraints for smaller businesses, adversely affecting their operations and growth prospects.

Zuvy aims to bridge this financing gap by providing invoice financing to SMEs, particularly in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), healthcare, and supply chain sectors where payment delays are rampant.

By offering cash advances based on invoices issued by businesses, Zuvy enables SMEs to access the funds they are owed, reducing their dependence on delayed payments.

To ensure the legitimacy of each application, Zuvy collaborates closely with the businesses receiving the services. This approach not only verifies the authenticity of the invoice but also streamlines the repayment process.

Repayment terms, ranging from 30 to 90 days, are determined based on the specific needs of each business, allowing for flexibility and tailored financing solutions.

Zuvy’s innovative approach to SME financing has garnered support from investors, with TLG Capital leading the recent funding round. The funding, split between debt ($4 million) and equity ($580k), will enable Zuvy to expand its loan book and meet the increasing demand from vendors in Nigeria.

“TLG’s innovative approach to lending in Naira, a critical aspect of our operations, has demonstrated their deep understanding of the unique challenges and opportunities within our market,” says Angel Onuoha, expressing his enthusiasm for TLG Capital’s investment.

“Most importantly, their deal execution speed is unparalleled, and we are highly aligned with their mission in fostering the growth of SMEs on the continent.”

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Fund Raising

Nigerian Health Tech Startup Helium Health Secures $30 Million in Funding to Expand Offering in Africa

Nigerian health tech startup Helium Health has secured $30 million in series B funding to expand its offering across Africa.

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Nigerian health tech startup Helium Health has secured $30 million in series B funding to expand its offering across Africa.

The funding round was led by AXA IM Alts, with participation from Capria Ventures, Angaza Capital, Anne Wojcicki, and Flatworld partners. Other existing investors that participated in the round include Tencent, Ohara Pharmaceuticals, LCY Group, WTI, and AAIC.

With the recent funds raised, Helium Health seeks to expand the reach of its fintech product Helium Credit, which is one of the leading digital finance products for Africa’s healthcare sector.

Speaking on the recent funds raised, Helium Health CEO and Co-founder Adegoke Olubusi said, “We believe in a future where good healthcare is a reality for Africans, not just a few. We are deeply committed to supporting both private healthcare providers and public health stakeholders with finance, technology, and data to achieve that vision. We are delighted to have such seasoned healthcare investors accompany us on our journey”.

Also commenting on the funding round, Helium Health lead investor AXA IM Alts through the head of impact investing Jonathan Dean said, “We are delighted to invest, through AXA IM Alts’ impact investing strategies, in ‘Helium Health’s mission of providing digital solutions to improve the quality and efficacy of health services in resource-constrained environments, whilst also directly equipping health sector enterprises with affordable financial services. This investment directly contributes to AXA IM Alts’ broader impact goals of improving financial inclusion and reducing inequalities globally.”

Launched in 2020, Helium Health has extended more than $3.5 million in credit to over 200 healthcare facilities in Nigeria, including pharmacies, diagnostics centers, Hospitals, and Clinics, which have used the loans to purchase medical equipment and medications in bulk and also expand their locations.

The health tech startup works with leading global health organizations and governments, supporting them to execute their strategies, informing policy and decision-making, and improving outcomes for us all. The YC-backed HealthTech startup claims to be the widest-reaching EMR platform in West Africa, used by over 10,000 health workers across 1,000 facilities to care for over 1 million African patients, Investors King understands.

Since Helium’s health series A investment, it has grown its credit from $250,000 to a handful of healthcare facilities to more than $3.5 million across 200+ healthcare facilities in Nigeria.

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