LA NEWS: February 2024
Lagos Angel Network
LAN's mandate is to enable the Nigerian Business Ecosystem through education, early deals and public sector advocacy.
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WHAT'S INSIDE?
AND MUCH MORE!
MAKING THE NEWS
Check out these leading African investment moves from January 2024!
Sony Innovation Fund announces first Africa investment
Carry1st, an Africa-focused game publisher and digital commerce platform, has received an investment from the Sony Innovation Fund, the venture capital arm of Sony Group Corporation. Carry1st is the inaugural investment out of the Sony Innovation Fund: Africa, which was established by Sony as an initiative to support the growth of entertainment businesses in Africa.
AfriLabs launches Connect Deal Room to boost local investment landscape
Innovation hub support organization AfriLabs has launched the AfriLabs Connect Deal Room (ACDR), aimed at addressing the critical challenges of identifying, funding and accessing investible startups in Africa.
AltSchool Africa launches in Kenya, its second-biggest market by revenue
AltSchool Africa, the Nigerian edtech startup that styles itself as the African version of the US coding bootcamp BloomTech, has set up shop in Kenya, its second biggest market by revenue. The company’s founder, Adewale Yusuf, confirmed the news to TechCabal.
Nigerian startup Cova shuts down
Nigerian wealthtech startup; Cova co-founded by ex-CEO and founder at Printivo, Olu'yomi Ojo and Yomi Osamiluyi, is shutting down due to "several factors", the co-founders said in an email to users on Tuesday (January 23).
British International Investment backs outsourcing company
Growth Investment Partners (GIP) Ghana, an investment platform created by British International Investment (BII), announced its first investment in Ghanaian business processing outsourcing (BPO) company E-Services Africa Limited (eSAL). GIP will invest the Ghana cedi equivalent of $3.2 million in eSAL, to support the company’s growth and global delivery of cost-effective and high-quality outsourcing solutions for businesses.
SafeBoda is returning to Kenyan roads
After a three-year hiatus in Kenya, SafeBoda, a ride-hailing startup based in Uganda, is set to resume its operations in the country in February.
Interswitch and Opay Forge Strategic Partnership to Enhance Digital Payment Experience
Leading the charge in Africa's digital payment and commerce sector, Interswitch has announced a pivotal collaboration with OPay through its Interswitch Payment Gateway (IPG). This integration enables OPay users to seamlessly make direct payments for goods and services on merchants' websites from their OPay Wallet balance.
UNDP and Africa launch $1 billion Timbuktoo initiative for a startup revolution
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) announced on Wednesday, January 17, 2024, a partnership with African countries to launch the Timbuktoo Initiative. The initiative, expected to provide significant capital to accelerate the growth of the African startup ecosystem, will raise and allocate $1 billion to create 10 million job opportunities and transform 100 million lives.
How Adebayo Ogunlesi’s contrarian bet led to $12.5bn BlackRock tie-up
Adebayo Ogunlesi, co-founder of Global Infrastructure Partners, credits his wife Amelia for a career switch that led on Friday to a $12.5bn deal and a leadership position at BlackRock, the world’s largest money manager.
OUR ED REFLECTS
The Lagos Angel Network
Read this introduction to angel networks, highlighting LAN and our value proposition, and showcasing other funding solutions for startups in Lagos.
DON'T MISS THIS
Join ARM Labs’ Demo Day in Lagos where you can witness their exceptional cohort of founders present their progress over the last three months. This is a great opportunity to connect with visionary entrepreneurs, gain insights into their innovative products, and hear firsthand about their exciting plans for their startups.
Event Date: February 20th
领英推荐
The program is open to startups building all kinds of exciting products that solve critical problems for people and businesses on the continent.
Deadline: February 16th
The Spark Accelerator is a platform for bold and visionary founders to grow and scale their businesses. Anchored around our purpose of transforming lives, our goal is simple yet powerful, to empower startups with the access they need to succeed.
Deadline: February 16th
Leverage mobile and digital technology to pilot and scale solutions that address humanitarian challenges in low- and middle-income countries. Range between ￡100K and ￡250K.?
Deadline: February 12th
RAPID FIRE WITH LAN ANGELS
For our February Member Spotlight, we were delighted to put cyber security expert Gerrad Olisa-Ashar in the hot seat. Gerrad is the Founder/CEO of Cyber Bridge Group and the Co-founder of Diaspora Investment Partners Africa .
What's the most valuable entrepreneurial/investment lesson that you've learned in the past six months?
Customer value is best demonstrated by a paying customer. If a customer is not paying for your service or product then you are probably not delivering real value to them. As an entrepreneur it is really important to get paying customers very early to help understand if you are really delivering value to grow your business.
TALENT MARKETPLACE
Calling all member angels! Showcase open roles in your funds and startups to elevate opportunities and connect with top talent!
JOIN THE COMMUNITY!
Interested to join our community? Then join the waitlist here!
What do you get with membership?
Community!
We plan to hold our next member-only community event on Tuesday, February 13th. As usual, this will be an opportunity to meet your favorite ecosystem leaders, founders and investors, educate yourself more on the ecosystem, and discover new ventures.
Deals!
Our next set of deals will be released to members in February. If you are interested in accessing investment opportunities, then join the waitlist.?
And the best thing is that it’s free!
That’s right–as a new member, you will not be required to pay a membership fee for your first three months.
So, what are you waiting for? Join the waitlist!
Of course, if you would like to discuss further, please don’t hesitate to reach out by booking a meeting.
We look forward to welcoming you!