Oxfam Novib partners Goodwell to launch $21.7M Pepea fund. 2 other stories and a trivia

This line-up of stories will help you discover the latest happenings around the tech world, today

1. Oxfam Novib partners Goodwell to launch $21.7M Pepea fund

Oxfam Novib and Goodwell have teamed up to set up Pepea, a €20 million ($21.7m) fund, to provide financing to early-stage startups in Kenya, Uganda, and Ethiopia.

Goodwell Investments managing partner, Els Boerhof, confirmed the funding partnership in a statement on Thursday.

The venture debt fund, according to the company, was established with support from Oxfam Novib Impact Investments and will specialize in mezzanine finance, or debt that may be converted into equity.

“Oxfam Novib played a sterling role in developing the microfinance sector as a means to provide access to financial services where they were most needed.

“As that sector has matured beyond the realm of NGOs, we are ready to change direction towards a less-served segment of the market,” said Oxfam Novib, investment manager, Tamara Campero.

Pepea, the first fund established by the impact investor and the non-governmental organization, said it would use Goodwell’s capital to make an initial payment of up to $500,000 and subsequent investments of up to $1 million.

Tech Trivia:Which of the following interfaces supports the fastest transfer rates?
A. FireWire
B. USB 3.0
C. Thunderbolt
D. Gigabit Ethernet
Answer: see end of post

2. Spotify to support Ghana’s creative community

Audio streaming and media services company, Spotify, has announced a donation to Ghana’s Vibrate Space through its $100 Million Creator Equity Fund to support Ghana’s creative community.

Read also:Nigerian B2B e-commerce startup, Alerzo, lays off 15% workforce. 2 other stories and a trivia

Spotify’s Global Head of Artist and Audience Partnerships, Joe Hadley, confirmed the development in a statement seen by Ripples Nigeria on Thursday.

Vibrate Space is a community recording studio and music business program that offers education and mentorship for young Ghanaian artists so they can create, connect, and collaborate and operated by Surf Ghana in Accra,

“Spotify is proud to continue our efforts to support and uplift creatives with our Creator Equity Fund. I’m excited to share that from that fund, we’re announcing a donation to the Vibrate Space in Accra, Ghana,” said Hadley.

Ripples Nigeria understands that the donation will be dispersed over two years, enabling the organization to work with and assist even more aspiring young artists looking to launch their careers.

3. Effy secures $22 million first external funding round

French energy renovation company, Effy, has secured $22 million in its first external funding round.

Founder and CEO Frédéric Utzmann confirmed the funding in a media release seen by Ripples Nigeria on Thursday.

The company works on energy renovation for public buildings, residential buildings, and industrial facilities.

According to the release, the company will expand to other European countries in the future, starting with Germany and Spain.

“Our story starts 15 years ago, we tackled this market very early on because we really believed in it,” explained Utzmann.

Since its inception, the French company has acquired Calculeo, a tool that helps you calculate how much you can get in public subsidies for energy renovation work, and Quelle énergie, a VC-backed startup that could calculate how much money you would save by insulating your roof, changing your windows and more.

Trivia Answer:Thunderbolt

Thunderbolt is a high-speed I/O interface developed by Intel and Apple. It is based on the PCI Express and DisplayPort technologies and supports both data devices and displays

By Kayode Hamsat

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now