After a low Venture Capital (VC) funding year so far compared to 2023, July saw twenty-eight venture capital (VC) deals across Africa with a value of over $500 Million, and with four major funding deals taking the bulk of the value in funding raised. Fintech was the main investment category, once again emphasizing the value of this sector in the African VC arena.
D.light, producer of solar-powered household products, raised $176 Million in funding for additional new facilities in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. D.light has previously created five such facilities in Sub-Saharan Africa, in Kenya Tanzania and Nigeria.
The company has also just announced that it has reached the best quarterly revenue and profits results ever achieved in Q2 2024 since its launch in 2007, and is projecting a 60% growth in annual earnings for the full financial year. The company’s growth, in the last quarter (Q2) was driven predominantly in sales growth in the Sub-Saharan Africa area, where it has its largest presence.
CEO Nedjip Tozun commented “D.light has been EBITDA profitable for several years and we are thrilled to announce our first-ever net income profitable quarter. It’s a true indicator of long-term sustainability”.
Egyptian FinTech group MNT-Halan, raised $157.5 million in its latest funding round. $40 million came from the International Finance Corporation with the balance provided by Development Partners International and Lorax Capital Partners, funds managed by Apis Partners LLP, Lunate and GB Corp. The current funding round follows capital raises of $400 million in January 2023 and $120 million in September 2021.
The FinTech company also purchased Turkish commercial finance company Tam Finans and its $300 million loan book in a move that will expand its operations into Turkey. It bought the company from private equity firm Actera Group and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for an undisclosed sum. Founder and CEO of MNT-Halan, Mounir Nakhla, said the company’s plans for international expansion would be powered through a mix of both mergers and acquisitions and partnerships.
The other two large VC raises in July were from the Indian owned company Terrapay with a $95 Million capital raise and African money remittance start up, Nala, that raised $40 million in what is now one of the largest Series A transactions in Africa.
The Nala funding is aimed at its global expansion plans and to enhance the reliability of payments to Africa by developing its payment rails. This new capital injection follows a $10 million seed funding in 2022.
