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Transforming Startup Financing: The Rise of Venture Debt and Alternative Finance in MENA
The venture capital ecosystem in the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) experienced a 23% drop in funding and a 34% decline in the number of transactions closed in 2023. But as Reem Goussous at Village Capital and Dunya Bashiti at Capifly explain, alternative capital solutions are emerging to fill the gap — including venture debt, which reached $757 million in the region last year, a staggering 50-fold increase from 2020 levels. They explore how venture debt provides an important financing tool for early-stage, high-growth startups in MENA, enabling them to access funding without diluting their equity.
- Categories
- Investing
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Africa CEOForum: Afreximbank Announces a $50 Million Line of Credit for Spiro’s EVs
The loan should enable the start-up, which operates in Rwanda and Togo, among other countries, to expand its electric motorbikes and battery exchange stations.
- Categories
- Transportation
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Paystack-Led Consortium Acquires Brass, Replaces CEO
The acquisition ends months of uncertainty over the future of Brass after delays in processing customer withdrawals began in October 2023.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- digital finance, fintech, startups
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Kenya’s Copia Mulls Shutdown Amid Plans to Lay Off Over 1,000 Staff
The layoffs would be a drastic cost-cutting measure for the company.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- distribution, e-commerce, employment, failure, startups
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Techstars-Backed BlackCopper Set Out to Disrupt Lending, Now It Owes Investors ₦1 Billion
Despite its bright start and significant press coverage, BlackCopper soon faced an existential crisis: it could not recover over 60,000 loans disbursed to customers.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- digital finance, failure, fintech, lending, startups
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M-Pesa and Data Revenue Push Safaricom to First Profit Growth in Three Years
Revenues from M-Pesa grew 20% year-on-year, reaching $1 billion (KES140 billion) from $891.3 million.
- Categories
- Telecommunications
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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OpenseedVC Announces First Close of $10 Million Fund to Back Early-stage African Operators
OpenseedVC is a venture capital firm that plans to support operator-launched startups in Africa and Europe with their first investment.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- startups, venture capital
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Maad Raises $3.2M Seed Amid B2B E-Commerce Sector Turbulence in Africa
Maad, a B2B e-commerce startup based in Senegal, has secured $3.2 million debt-equity funding to bolster its growth in the western Africa country and to explore fresh opportunities in the wider Francophone region.
- Categories
- Investing, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- e-commerce, startups
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