Deal-Street Africa [August 16- 20]: JPMorgan Launches Fund For South African Black-owned Firms

Egyptian Startup Schoolz Raises Six-figure pre-Seed Funding

Schoolz, a Cairo-based student transportation platform, raised a six-figure pre-Seed investment round from Saudi Arabian and Egyptian investors. Schoolz intends to use the new investment to launch Schoolz for business, which aims to transport employees to their place of work, and Schoolz cloud services to provide SaaS solutions to companies in Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

South African Startup Acumen Software Raises Funding To Scale Platform

Acumen Software, a South African workforce and asset management startup, raised an undisclosed amount of money to expand its My Smart City platform. The funding round included Imvelo and Sappi’s Andzani Ventures.

Nigerian Startup Rooomxix Secures USD 1.5 Mn Funding For Expansion

Rooomxix, an urban streetwear fashion brand, secured USD 1.5 Mn investment from Patricia, a Bitcoin trading firm based in Lagos, to facilitate its nationwide expansion. The brand aspires to make high-end streetwear more accessible and affordable across Africa.

Nigerian Startup Showlove Raises USD 300 K pre-Seed Funding

Showlove, a Nigerian social platform for gifting, raised USD 300 K in pre-seed capital as it goes live with the first version of its product. The fresh capital came from Fedha Capital and other angel investors.

Nigerian e-Sports Gamr Raises Seed Funding Round

Gamr, an e-sports startup based in Nigeria, received seed funding to expand its operations and provide new opportunities to Africa’s estimated 750 million gamers. Participants in the round included empawa Africa, Adrenaline gaming, and other angel investors.

African Fintech Pngme Closes USD 15 Mn Series A Round

Pngme, a platform that distributes users’ data to financial institutions and fintech startups via its API and machine learning architecture, raised USD 15 Mn in a Series A round. European VC firm Octopus Ventures led the round. Other participants were Raptor Group, Lateral Capital, EchoVC, Future Africa, Two Small Fish Ventures, and US-based early-stage VC firm for immigrant-founded startups, Unshackled Ventures. The round also included several angel investors, including Hayden Simmons, Dan Kahn, Richard Talbot, and Kyle Ellicott of Intersect VC. The firm intends to use the funds to grow its personnel and expand its customer base.

JPMorgan Launches USD 20 Mn Fund For South African Black-owned Firms

JPMorgan Chase & Co announced the launch of a USD 20 Mn fund for black-owned businesses in South Africa. The fund was launched in partnership with South Africa’s Department of Trade, Industry, and Competition (DTIC). The R300 million (USD 20.14 Mn) fund, which comes with a R40 million (USD 2.69 Mn) grant, will be disbursed as short-term loans with a three- to four-month repayment period and long-term loans with a two- to five-year repayment period.

Kenya’s CashBackApp Raises USD 475 K pre-Seed Funding Round

CashBackApp, a Kenyan customer loyalty startup, raised a USD 475 K pre-seed fundraising round to help scale its service in Kenya and prepare for expansion into neighboring countries. Institutional investors in the round included Lofty Inc, Sherpa Ventures, and Loyal VC, with several angel investors based in the US, UK, Nigeria, and Kenya also participating.

South African Startup myFanPark Secures Investment

myFanPark, a South African celebrity engagement platform, received an undisclosed amount of funding from Seed South, a South African VC firm, as it works on a larger seed funding round to help it expand.

Bidayat Acquires Stake In Egyptian Fashion Startup Okhtein

Bidayat, a subsidiary of Alsara Investment Group, the investment vehicle formed by Valentino board chairman and Mayhoola CEO Rachid Mohamed Rachid, acquired an undisclosed stake in Okhtein, an Egyptian accessories brand. Okhtein will benefit from the company’s assistance in opening more stores, expanding distribution, developing a wider variety of items, and expanding the brand’s internet business.

South African Healthtech VitruvianMD Snags Funding

VitruvianMD, a South African e-health startup, raised an eight-figure ZAR fundraising round to scale its technology and launch more pilots. The round was led by the Singapore-based Verge Healthtech Fund and several angel investors.