Rocket Internet
Jumia’s Q1 earnings report continues to show falling losses, slow growth
African e-commerce giant Jumia today shared its earnings for the first quarter of 2021 that ended in March. While its customer count grew, a drop in the company’s revenues spoke to the fact that
4 keys to international expansion
Adopt a “hire slow, fire fast” mentality for your expansion strategy. Don’t be afraid to pull the plug if things don’t work out.
Hong Kong logistics unicorn Lalamove unveils foray into the US
Lalamove, an on-demand logistics service active in China, Southeast Asia and Latin America, has officially entered the U.S. seven years after launch. As the COVID-19 pandemic keeps millions of Americ
Prosus Ventures leads $13 million investment in Pakistan’s ride-hailing giant Bykea
Bykea, which leads the ride-hailing market in Pakistan, has raised $13 million in a new financing round as the four-year-old startup looks to deepen its penetration in the South Asian country and beco
As it delists, Rocket Internet’s ill-fated experiment with public markets is over
It was all supposed to be so different. When Rocket Internet IPO’d in 2014 it was the largest tech company floatation in Europe for seven years. A year later it had lost $46 million and its valuatio
Berlin’s Cavalry Ventures closes €80M, backed by DACH founders and EIF
Cavalry Ventures, the Berlin-based early-stage venture fund which was the lead investor into BRYTER, has closed its second fund of €80 million, more than 3.5x the size of its maiden fund. Geared som
DHL acquires stake in Link Commerce developed by MallforAfrica
DHL has acquired a minority stake in Link Commerce, a turn-key e-commerce company that grew out of MallforAfrica.com — a Nigerian digital-retail startup. Link Commerce offers a white-label solution
Cathay Innovation’s first investment in Germany is healthcare startup Medwing
Medwing, a German startup with an ambition to tackle Europe’s shortage of healthcare workers, said on Tuesday that it has secured €28 million ($30 million) in a Series B financing round. Globa
TikTok parent ByteDance leads $6M round in financial AI startup Lingxi
TikTok’s parent company ByteDance has added Lingxi, a Beijing-based startup that applies machine intelligence to financial services such as debt collection and insurance sales, to its ever-expan
African fintech firm Flutterwave launches SME e-commerce portal
San Francisco and Lagos-based fintech startup Flutterwave has launched Flutterwave Store, a portal for African merchants to create digital shops to sell online. The product is less Amazon and more e
Goldman-backed ventures Jumia and Twiga partner on produce in Kenya
Pan-African e-commerce company Jumia and B2B agtech startup Twiga Foods are partnering to deliver produce in Kenya using adaptive measures during COVID-19. Jumia offers online goods and services verti
Tinvio, a communication platform for supply chain merchants, gets $5.5 million seed round
Being a supply chain merchant often means cobbling together different ways of keeping in touch with buyers, including emails, text messages and paper invoices. Tinvio wants to simplify the process wit
Trade Republic, a German Robinhood, raises $67M led by Accel and Founders Fund
In the U.S., Robinhood has led the charge in upending the stock investing model through its mobile-first, minimal-step, commission-free trading platform. Now a startup out of Germany built on a simila
Jumia adapts Pan-African e-commerce network in response to COVID-19
Pan-African e-commerce company Jumia is adapting its digital retail network to curb the spread of COVID-19. The Nigeria headquartered operation — with online goods and services verticals in 11 Afric
South African fintech startup Jumo raises second $50M+ VC round
South African fintech startup Jumo closed a $55 million round from a diverse group of investors, the company confirmed. Founded in 2015 and based in Cape Town, the venture offers a full tech stack for
Africa e-tailer Jumia reports first full-year results post NYSE IPO
Pan-African e-commerce company Jumia got into the black (by a small amount) on its gross profit vs. fulfillment expenses, expanded financial services and still posted losses. The online sales company,
How Bykea is winning Pakistan’s ride-hailing and delivery market
Increasingly, the streets of Karachi and Lahore are being flooded with men riding bikes and wearing green T-shirts, a writer friend recently told me. In a sense, these men represent the emergence of P
Kenyan logistics startup Sendy raises $20M round backed by Toyota
Africa’s logistics startup space has gained another multi-million-dollar round with global backing. Kenyan company Sendy — with an on-demand platform that connects clients to drivers and vehic
What we know (and don’t) about Goldman Sachs’ Africa VC investing
Goldman Sachs is investing in African tech companies. The venerable American investment bank and financial services firm has backed startups from Kenya to Nigeria and taken a significant stake in e-co
Jumia, DHL and Alibaba will face off in African e-commerce 2.0
The business of selling consumer goods and services online is a relatively young endeavor across Africa, but e-commerce is set to boom. Over the last eight years, the sector has seen its first phase o