This line-up of stories will help you discover the latest happenings around the tech world, today.
1. Nigerian founded Moove secures $100m in Series B funding
Nigerian-owned mobility fintech startup Moove, has secured $100 million in Series B funding, bringing its total raised capital to over $460 million and valuing the company at $750 million.
Ladi Delano, founder of Moove confirmed this raise in a statement seen by Ripples Nigeria on Wednesday March 20, 2024.
The funding round, which includes investment from Uber and existing investor Mubadala, aims to expand Moove’s vehicle ownership access model globally, particularly focusing on electric vehicles.
Founded in 2020, Moove connects mobility entrepreneurs with fair financing options through ride-hailing platforms, operating in nine markets across Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia.
With plans to enter 16 markets by 2025, Moove aims to address the vehicle financing gap for entrepreneurs worldwide.
Speaking on the development, the founder said: “Today’s announcement marks a significant milestone for us. When we founded Moove in 2020, we were motivated to solve the acute shortage of vehicle financing that over two million African mobility entrepreneurs faced.”
Trivia: 1,180,591,620,717,411,303,424 bytes is equal to one ____?
A. Exbibyte
B. Pebibyte
C. Yobibyte
D. Zebibyte
See Answer Below
2. Kenyan tappi expands operations to Côte d’Ivoire
A digital commerce startup, tappi, has broadened its reach to include Côte d’Ivoire, marking its third African country of operation following prosperous ventures in Kenya and Nigeria.
Kenfield Griffith, tappi’s CEO and co-founder, confirmed this in a statement seen by Ripples Nigeria on Wednesday March 20, 2024.
This expansion, facilitated by an established partnership with MTN, aims to tap into the telecom giant’s vast customer base of 17 million subscribers.
Utilizing integrated data bundles, MTN customers can seamlessly access tappi’s suite of services, enabling businesses to swiftly generate SEO-optimized websites within minutes, distribute online advertisements, and avail themselves of various digital solutions.
Kenfield stated: “With a robust GDP growth rate of 6.9%, Côte d’Ivoire not only presents an ideal market to empower MSMEs aiming to digitize and significantly expand their customer base but also serves as a crucial gateway to Francophone Africa.”
This expansion comes on the heels of tappi’s successful pre-seed fundraising round in December 2023, securing $1.5 million in investment led by Mercy Corps Ventures and Chui Ventures.
3. P1 Ventures secures $35m for second fund to boost Africa’s Tltech landscape
P1 Ventures, an early-stage venture capital fund, has finalized the second close of its second fund, securing $35 million with the aim to propel advancements in sectors like AI-powered Software as a Service (SaaS), where the firm sees Africa’s substantial economic potential.
Mikaeql Hajjar, co-founder and managing partner of P1 Ventures, confirmed this in a statement seen by Ripples Nigeria on Wednesday March 20, 2024.
The influx of funds will facilitate the expansion of P1 Ventures’ team and operations into Dakar, Senegal, and Nairobi, Kenya.
Established in 2020 by Mikael Hajjar and Hisham Halbouny, P1 Ventures has welcomed its inaugural public institutional investor, The International Finance Corporation (IFC), aligning with its mission to nurture Africa’s brightest entrepreneurial talents.
With ambitions to achieve a total of $50 million by the fund’s final close, this new funding round follows the firm’s initial close of $25 million in September 2023.
Mikael said: “We’ve allocated significant resources to develop in-house data science tools and processes, enhancing our investment team’s capabilities in sourcing and screening.
“As pioneers in Africa, we aim to discern valuable signals amidst the noise, focusing on themes such as repeat founders. Leveraging these tools, we aspire to generate more value for our portfolio companies.”
Trivia Answer: Zebibyte
A zebibyte (ZiB) is a unit of data storage equal to 270 bytes, or 1,180,591,620,717,411,303,424 bytes. Like kibibyte (KiB) and mebibyte (MiB), zebibyte has a binary prefix to remove any ambiguity when compared to the multiple possible definitions of a zettabyte.
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