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Kenyan Startup Solar Panda Acquires Zambian Solar Firm In Expansion Move
"The acquisition adds more than 100,000 customers to Solar Panda’s portfolio and expands its operations beyond Kenya and Senegal."
- Categories
- Energy, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Press Release: Kumulus Water Raises $3.5mln to Redefine Clean Water Access With Off-Grid Tech in MENA and Europe
"Backed by Bpifrance, PlusVC, Flat6labs, Khalys Venture and Spadel, Kumulus to scale Atmospheric Water Generators (AWS) that extract safe drinking water from air without infrastructure."
- Categories
- Environment, Technology, WASH
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Africa Must Not Be a Spectator in its Own Economic Development: The Need for Pension-Backed Private Capital
Ghana’s startup ecosystem — like that of many African countries — is growing rapidly. But Amma Gyampo at Ghana Venture Capital and Private Equity Association points out that this growth is almost entirely funded by foreign capital. She argues that recent cuts in global development budgets have proven that over-reliance on foreign funding is not sustainable, and explains how tapping pension funds as a source of venture capital can provide a massive infusion of local funding into the continent's highest-growth businesses.
- Categories
- Investing, Technology
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Analysis: The Math Tutor and the Missing $533 Million
"From Dubai, the enigmatic founder of Byju’s recounts how he made his empire — and vows to rebuild it."
- Categories
- Education, Technology
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Building a Better AgTech Funding Model in Africa: Three Key Challenges Behind the Ecosystem’s Loss of Momentum
Startups operating at the nexus of climate and agriculture in Africa have attracted over $1 billion in venture funding over the past decade. But as David Saunders and Ludovica Fioravanti at Briter and Harsha Vishnumolakala at CPI explain, despite the important role this funding can play in supporting innovative African AgTech startups, it has fallen to around $200 million a year — less than half the $500 million raised in 2022. They explore the risks this decline presents to the continent's AgTech ecosystem, and share three key priorities for building a better funding model in Africa and other emerging markets.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Investing, Technology
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South Africa Agri-Tech Startup Nile Raises $11.3 Million to Help More Farmers Trade, Transact Digitally
South African agri-tech startup Nile has raised ZAR200 million (US$11.3 million) in funding to accelerate its growth across Southern Africa.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Scaling E-Mobility in Africa: How Ethiopia is Pioneering the Transition to Green Transportation — And How Battery Swapping Can Help
Several African governments have acknowledged the role e-mobility will need to play in the continent’s transition to green transportation, and according to Yuma Sasaki at Dodai, Ethiopia is leading the way in this transition. But he highlights some key obstacles to greater electric vehicle uptake in Ethiopia and other African countries: unreliable electricity access and limited battery charging infrastructure in rural areas. He explores these issues and explains how solutions like battery swapping can help address them.
- Categories
- Energy, Technology, Transportation
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Union Investment Cuts TotalEnergies Stake Over East African Project Allegations
The TotalEnergies spokesperson cited the company's June 2024 response to a previous JFI report that, after investigating, "the highlighted concerns do not appear to be related to the Kingfisher project operations".
- Categories
- Energy, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- human rights, solar, wind
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