CDP Institute

Seedstars Capital and Fondation Botnar have announced the launch of the Seedstars Youth Wellbeing Ventures mandate, to invest US$20 million in early-stage, purpose-driven companies with the aim to improve the wellbeing of young people in low-and middle-income countries across the continent.

Yellow, an asset financier for solar energy and digital devices in Africa, has raised $14 million series B funding in a round led by Convergence Partners with participation from the Energy Entrepreneurs Growth Fund, managed by Triple Jump, in addition to follow-on investment from Platform Investment Partners.

Nigeria’s Eze, a wholesale marketplace for used and new electronics, has secured US$3.7 million in seed funding to develop its technology infrastructure, broaden its product offering and expand into new markets in Africa, Europe and South America. Eze is a B2B wholesale marketplace for smartphones, laptops, tablets, and other electronics, which connects thousands of buyers from across the world to over 200,000 SKUs that have been vetted, tested, and can be purchased at the click of a button.

WebEngage, a leading full-stack Retention Operating System, today announced its partnership with Dubai-based full-funnel marketing consultancy Team Red Dot. The partnership will enable Team Red Dot to provide its clientele with retention-marketing services by leveraging WebEngage’s full-stack solutions suite, which has garnered a reputation for best-in-class customer engagement, data analysis, and personalization across the GCC region and beyond.

Information and communications technology (ICT) player Sify Technologies is expanding its data centre services capacity driven by an exponential growth in data generated by India Inc as it embarks on digitisation and applying Artificial Intelligence to business.

CleverTap, the leading global B2B SaaS platform for customer engagement and retention, has made its platform available within the UAE through data centers hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS). It will help CleverTap’s customers in the UAE strengthen compliance in accordance with amendments to the DIFC (Dubai International Financial Centre) Data Protection Law.

Thales’ acquisition of Australia’s Tesserent for $119.1M will boost its footprint in Australia and New Zealand. It will also add 500 Tesserent employees with expertise in providing cybersecurity service to enterprise and midsized companies.

Vietnam, which has become known for favorable tech infrastructure and affordable labour costs, has become an attractive location for top Australian financial institutions. ANZ Bank, HSBC, Deutsche Bank, and NAB, have establish digital hubs, and NAB launched the NAB Innovation Centre Vietnam (NICV) in to enhance technology and customer experience.

Malaysia-based integrated car e-commerce platform Carsome Group Inc, has announced the closing of its latest fundraising round, which brings the group’s liquidity position to approximately $200 million. It is noted that in 2022, the group’s revenue grew 250 percent to $1.5 billion, with the newly established regional retail line Carsome Certified contributing 35 percent of total revenue.

Short video app TikTok, owned by China’s ByteDance, said it would invest billions of dollars in Southeast Asia over the next few years, as it doubles down on the region amid intensifying global scrutiny over its data security. Southeast Asia, a region with a collective population of 630 million — half of them under 30 — is one of TikTok’s biggest markets in terms of user numbers.

Zuru recently announced the successful raise of $680K. The company provides digital access to top-notch cargo insurance coverage for SMEs involved in foreign trade and supply chain. The startup operates through three business divisions: E-commerce for import/export SMEs; SaaS for logistics operators; and Embedded insurance via API integration for digital partners. Zuru has main offices in Mexico and Peru, with the ability to serve clients regionally in Latin America.

VIOO, the Mexican startup, raises US$1 million in seed funding to become a leading marketplace connecting companies with professional photographers for on-demand visual content creation. With impressive results in their first year, generating nearly $10 million in sales and delivering 2,800 sessions, VIOO serves various sectors such as real estate, tourism, and e-commerce. The platform offers agility, high-quality production, 24-hour delivery, and coverage in 70 cities nationwide. Their community of over 1,500 registered photographers with expertise in different verticals is a valuable resource.