CDC GROUP

A look into the British DFI’s plan to invest in African economies, venture funds and tech startups

On April 4, the U.K.’s development finance institution, Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC) Group, formally changed its name to British International Investment. As part of the name change, t

Egyptian fintech Paymob raises $50M led by PayPal Ventures and Kora Capital

Egyptian fintech Paymob, which enables merchants to accept digital payments online and in-store, announced today it has raised $50 million in Series B funding. PayPal Ventures, the global corporate ve

Egypt’s Pylon gets $19M to scale software for water and electricity distribution companies

Pylon, an Egyptian infrastructure management platform for water and electricity companies in emerging markets, has raised a $19 million seed round. The round, a combination of debt and equity, was led

M-KOPA raises $75M as it clocks 2 million customers across four African markets

A 2019 World Bank report says 85% of Africans live on less than $5.50 per day. A large percentage of these adults are unbanked and underbanked; thus, they don’t have access to credit and can’t aff

TLcom Capital targets $150M for its second fund to invest in 20 African startups

TLcom Capital, the Africa-focused venture capital firm known to have made bets on Andela and Twiga, is raising $150 million for its second fund targeted at making early- and late-stage investments. Th

TradeDepot raises $110M from IFC, Novastar to extend BNPL service to merchants across Africa

Startups digitizing B2B e-commerce and retail in Africa continue to grab the headlines after the pandemic paved the way for widespread offline retail and commerce disruption. TradeDepot, a Nigeria- an

Indian online grocery startup BigBasket raises $60M

Indian grocery startup BigBasket has raised $60 million as it scales its business in the country to meet growing demand from customers stuck at home. Alibaba and other existing investors including Mir

As Indian startups raise record capital, losses are widening

Indian tech startups secured nearly $14 billion in 2019, more than they have raised in any other year. This is a major rebound since 2016, when startups in the nation had bagged just $4.3 billion. But

Indian tech startups raised a record $14.5B in 2019

Indian tech startups have never had it so good. Local tech startups in the nation raised $14.5 billion in 2019, beating their previous best of $10.6 billion last year, according to research firm Tracx

India’s Indifi raises $21M to expand its online lending platform

Indifi, a Gurgaon-based startup that offers loans to small and medium-sized businesses and also operates an online lending marketplace, has raised 1,450 million Indian rupees ($21 million) in a new fi

Online grocery startup Grofers lands $200M led by SoftBank’s Vision Fund

Hot on the heels of Indian delivery startup BigBasket raising $150 million — at a unicorn valuation, no less — so its close rival Grofers has also pulled in capital after it announced a $2

Grocery startup BigBasket becomes India’s newest unicorn with new $150M investment

India has a new unicorn after BigBasket, a startup that delivers groceries and perishables across the country, raised $150 million for its fight against rivals Walmart’s Flipkart, Amazon and hyperlo

UK Gov’t Leads $56M Round For Daraz, Rocket’s Amazon Clone In Pakistan, Bangladesh And Myanmar

Earlier this month, Rocket Internet announced that it would be stepping up aggressive growth in Asia once more, with one new launch per quarter to expand in emerging markets. Today, the e-commerce