Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures (VKAV), a pan-African Venture Capital firm, just closed its first fund at $60 million. Led by investors like Nigeria’s SCM Capital, Taiyo Holdings, and C2C Global Education Japan, the fund will see investments in up to 21 high-growth startups across Africa. 

Per the firm, ticket sizes will range between $1 million and $3 million in startups across various sectors like fintech, mobility, e-commerce, and healthcare across Africa. So far, Verod-Kepple has already invested $17.5 million in 12 companies from countries like Nigeria, Egypt, and Kenya. 

Why is this good news? Considering the current investment downturn, Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures is stepping in to bridge the gap for startups needing capital to scale their businesses. Their focus on Series A and B rounds fills a void where local funding options are limited.

In an interview with Tech Crunch, VKAV partner Ory Okolloh said, “Over the last few years, we have seen a growth in pre-seed and seed funds, and we felt there are not enough funds at the growth stage of investing to get these companies to the next level in terms of scale, exits or even being around as sustainable profitable businesses,”

“Our focus is Series A and B but we have the ability to go earlier to pre-Series A if we think it is a good opportunity. We think there’s still a need for more growth-stage capital with locally based investors,” she said.

The firm’s portfolio presently includes high-hitters like Moove which recently raised $100 million in a Series B round, Moroccan B2B Chari, and fintech Ceviant.

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TikTok has revealed it took down 1.7 million videos posted by Nigerian users in the last quarter of 2023.

Why? According to the platform, these users weren’t following the rules. In its Community Guidelines Enforcement Report, Nigeria was placed among the top 50 countries with videos violating TikTok’s guidelines which include policies on safety, privacy and authenticity. The report by the company also states that the top 50 markets which violated its policies accounted for about 90% of all content removals. In total, TikTok removed 176.5 million videos globally. 

From October through the end of the year, the platform also took a firm stance against fake or spam accounts by removing 169 million fake accounts. The company also said it removed 1.03 billion likes from videos, along with 720 million fake followers and 4.9 billion fake follow requests, all of which were identified as originating from automated or inauthentic means, as per TikTok. About 1.2 million bot comments on content tagged with hashtags related to the Israel-Hamas war were also removed. 

It’s not the first time Nigeria’s been on TikTok’s feed: In Q3 2023, TikTok did something similar and removed 1.4 million videos from Nigerian users. During the evaluation period, 136.5 million videos were taken down from the internet worldwide. They were removed based on the violation of TikTok’s policies.

Despite this purge, TikTok’s popularity shows no sign of declining. The platform continues to be a favourite among social media users, particularly young people worldwide. As per a recent data.ai report, TikTok amassed $3.8 billion in consumer spending through the Apple App Store and Google Play Store in 2023, contributing to its total revenue reaching $10 billion.

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Eight out of ten cars sold on the continent are used vehicles. Africa’s used car market is estimated to be worth $61.24 billion by 2029. Egypt and Morocco have been identified to be the biggest contributors to these numbers. However, countries like South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya are among the continent’s top importers of used cars.

South Africa experienced a surge in the number of used vehicles sold in the past year, listing up to 100,000 new cars for sale, per data from AutoTrader. The country’s used-car market leader is on track for new heights. 

The road to IPO:  Launched in 2001, South African used-car platform, WeBuyCars, started as a family business. The vehicle trader now buys and sells about 13,500 vehicles monthly and has grown to be South Africa’s leading pre-owned vehicle trader, taking an estimated 10%-12% of the market share. 

The company is taking even bigger strides as it goes public.

On Tuesday, WeBuyCars raised R902.7 million ($49 million) ahead of its listing on Johannesburg Stock Exchange today. WeBuyCars listing comes on the back of a new listing wave on the South African bourse after the Johannesburg Stock Exchange deprioritized listing new companies. 

WeBuyCars stock will trade for R18.75 ($1) per share. The company issued 417,181,120 shares while its parent company, Transaction Capital, an investment holding company, sold 8.145 million WeBuyCars shares for about R152.7 million ($8.14).

The company which will begin trading tomorrow, Friday, has set sights on new funding. Per reporting from TechCabal, WeBuyCars seeks to raise about R7.8 billion (~$420 million). Analysts expect WeBuyCars’ share price to rise to about R25 ($1.3) per share in the near future. However, critics are wary about the company’s IPO fortunes. Its earnings from the previous year dropped 14%. The company also had a surge in its cost-to-income ratio—a measure of how the company can convert revenue to profit. It remains to be seen whether these factors will dampen investor confidence in the company’s stock.

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Conversations around carbon credits and carbon offset seem to be the hottest topics today.

Carbon credit and carbon offsets? For countries that emit large amounts of greenhouse gases (CO2 emissions), carbon credits represent the allowed amount of CO2 emission a company can have. Carbon credits on the other hand represent projects that reduce, avoid, or remove these greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. When you buy a carbon offset, it’s like paying for someone to clean up an equivalent amount of pollution you create. 

Africa, despite not being a major contributor to carbon emissions, has been the target of carbon offset by European counterparts, striking deals to mitigate their excess carbon emission and compensate Africans with deals such as investment in renewable energy projects amongst others. 

The news: SunCulture, a solar irrigation startup, is among the companies at the forefront of the conversation on how carbon offsets can be used for sustainable development in Africa. The company, which offers small-scale farmers solar-powered water pumps, has raised new funds to continue its mission. 

Netflix’s co-founder, Reed Hastings, and Eric Schmidt, the former chief executive officer of Alphabet Inc. alongside InfraCo Africa Ltd. and Acumen Fund Inc., participated in the $27 million funding round. 

Zoom out: While there might be concerns that some carbon offset deals might not be equitable, with some worrying that wealthier nations might simply be paying to pollute more elsewhere, without truly helping Africa achieve sustainable development. SunCulture’s deal promises farmers replacement of diesel-powered pumps, helping them increase yields in previously non-irrigated fields.

Coin Name

Current Value

Day

Month

Bitcoin
$70,610

+ 1.77%

+ 2.90%

Ether
$3,563

+ 0.74%

– 11.67%

Saga

$5.74

– 9.91%

– 1.51%

Solana
$172.95

+ 0.61%

+ 12.89%

* Data as of 06:40 AM WAT, April 11, 2024.

The second edition of TechCabal’s Moonshot Conference is set for October 9–11, 2024, at the Eko Convention Centre, Lagos, Nigeria. Moonshot will assemble Africa’s biggest thinkers, players and problem solvers on a global launchpad for change. If you want to join the stakeholders in Africa’s tech ecosystem for three days of insightful conversations, then get an early-bird ticket at 20% off. 
Nigeria’s biggest women-only festival, Hertitude, is back for a third time. For those new to the scene, Zikoko brings all the girls to the yard every year to let their hair down, form bonds and celebrate what it means to be a hot babe. It’s happening on April 20, 2024, in Lagos and will feature everything from talent shows and karaoke sessions to spa services, live music performances and an afterparty. Click here to get tickets.
Attention all music lovers! On Saturday, May 11, 2024, Zikoko wants you outside for a day of link-ups, games, drinks and live performances at Muri Okunola Park, Lagos. Strings Attached is an opportunity for friends to reconnect, lovers to bond and individuals to make friends and build community. To get a free ticket, download the Onebank by Sterling App and sign up using ZIKOKO as the referral code. You’ll get your ticket in your email once tickets are available. Click here to get the app.

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Written by: Towobola Bamgbose & Faith Omoniyi

Edited by: Timi Odueso

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