TechNigeria: A weekly digest of what went down in Nigeria’s tech space

Messenger, Peach Motors, Trella, Twitter, Jada, GrEEK, Haul247, Creditchek, Maltento, JP Morgan, Brookfield Asset Management, byanat were some of the names that made the headlines in the tech ecosystem this week.

Creditchek, a Nigerian fintech startup, has launched to help lenders across Africa assess credit risks by providing reliable verification of potential consumers’ creditworthiness.

Also, Nigeria’s Haul247, a logistics tech platform that connects businesses with haulage and warehousing services, has announced securing a $3 million in seed funding.

Let’s get into details.

A Nigerian logistics platform, Messenger, has announced raising an undisclosed pre-seed funding round led by Nama Ventures with participation from Aidi Ventures and notable Angels.

The startup made the announcement in a press release signed by CEO Amanda Etuk, and seen by Ripples Nigeria on Friday, June 16, 2023.

Messenger, which is a logistics platform that finances and aggregates end-to-end logistics, claims to have successfully completed 700,000 deliveries.

Peach Motors, a Kenyan auto marketplace has announced raising a $5m seed funding round led by Japan-based The University of Tokyo Edge Capital Partners (UTEC) and other angel investors.

According to the startup, investors in the round include Shintaro Yamada (founder and CEO of Mercari), Peter Kenevan (VP, Head of Japan at PayPal), and Hiroaki Ohta (general partner at Japan’s Waseda University Ventures).

Ripples Nigeria gathered that the startup was founded in 2020 by Kaoru Kaganoi and Zachary Petroni.

Egypt’s marketplace for trucks, Trella, on Friday, has secured a US3.5m from Avanz Capital Egypt.

The raiser comes on the heels of a 2023 raiser when the startup secured $6 million in debt funding from ALMA Sustainable Finance (ALMA) and the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC).

Founded in 2018 by Omar Hagrass, Ali El Atrash, Pierre Saad, and Muhammad El Garem, the company is connecting shippers with trucks in real-time.

Elon Musk’s Twitter has entered into a new legal battle as the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) has sued the company for allowing unlicensed music posts.

NMPA claims Twitter promotes copyright infringement.

Unlike other platforms, Twitter doesn’t pay music rights holders. YouTube, Facebook, Snap, and TikTok make significant annual payments to music industry.

 

Jada Fund of Funds has announced intent to invest in Investcorp Saudi Pre-IPO Growth Fund.

The Fund, which focuses on companies in Saudi Arabia, aims to access public capital markets in the next few years.

Investcorp previously led a $100 million Pre-IPO funding round in TruKKer and invested in NourNet.

 

GrEEK Campus and MQR merge, forming Egypt’s largest community of entrepreneurs.

READ ALSO:TechNigeria: A weekly digest of what went down in Nigeria’s tech space

They will operate independently under centralized leadership.

The merger creates a network of 14 locations for members to expand their networks and find new business opportunities. The agreement was signed by Ahmed El Alfi and Muhammad Nagi at The GrEEK Campus in Cairo.

 

Nigeria’s Haul247, a logistics tech platform that connects businesses with haulage and warehousing services, has announced securing a $3 million in seed funding.

The funding, according to the company, will be used to expand its market share in Nigeria, enter other African markets, recruit talent, and enhance its technology.

Haul247 was founded in 2020 by Sehinde Afolayan, Tobi Obasa, and Akindele Phillips as a marketplace that facilitates connections between companies, shippers, and storage providers.

 

Creditchek, a Nigerian fintech startup, has launched to help lenders across Africa assess credit risks by providing reliable verification of potential consumers’ creditworthiness.

According to the team, the startup has developed a user-friendly web app and API that utilizes machine learning to transform raw data from various sources into actionable insights.

Kingsley Ibe, co-founder and business lead of Creditchek, in his remarks, highlighted the prevalence of African consumers taking loans from multiple lenders simultaneously, often leading to over-indebtedness.

 

Maltento, a company specializing in unlocking the functional compounds of insect-based feed solutions, has raised $3.3 million in capital from Sand River Venture Capital.

This investment represents a significant milestone as Maltento continues its mission to develop sustainable and innovative solutions in the animal feed market.

Dominic Malan, the commercial director of Maltento in Cape Town, South Africa, expressed excitement about Sand River’s investment, emphasizing their shared values and commitment to funding innovative solutions for a sustainable future.

 

JP Morgan is set to launch an investment app similar to ChatGPT, joining the trend of financial institutions embracing Artificial Intelligence (AI) products.

The company made this known in a statement seen by Ripples Nigeria on Monday, June 12, 2023.

According to the company, its team is working on trademarking a product called IndexGPT, which utilizes AI-powered cloud computing software for analyzing and selecting securities tailored to customer needs.

 

Brookfield Asset Management, a startup based in Canada, has announced plans to acquire payments provider, Network International for a cash sum of $2.76 billion.

Network International, which operates in two segments, stated in a press release, that it aims to expand its payments business in the Middle East and Africa with this deal.

The startup seeks to leverage its $5 billion in assets under management in the region.

 

Data analytics company, byanat, has closed its seed funding round with contributions from 500 Global, Sanabil Investments, Omantel, Al Jabr MENA, and angel investors including Yaser Alghamdi.

The company’s SaaS solution focuses on scaling and maintaining connected infrastructure through unified connectivity management, device management, and data analytics.

The investment will accelerate product development, provide access to the Saudi market, and support rapid growth.

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