Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund (CAIF), a Pan-African fund launched via a partnership between AfricInvest, a multi-asset investment platform in Africa and Cathay Innovation, a European-born but global-focused venture capital firm, has achieved a final close of €110 million.
Tech companies buy marketing agencies less often than the other way around. But performance marketing solution vendor Stirista did just acquire digital branding firm ZDI. Stirista combines its own identity data pool with email and ad buying systems, specializing in Connected TV.
IFC, a global development organization, has announced an investment in Wave Mobile Money S.A. (Senegal) and Wave Côte d’Ivoire S.A., mobile money companies that are assisting with lowering pricing and extending services in the region. This investment aims to promote financial inclusion and boost economic growth in Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire.
Martech keeps taking larger bites out of marketing budgets: 17.3% last year, 19.9% this year, 23.5% next year, and 30.9% five years from now, according to the latest CMO Survey. This despite barely more than half (56.4%) of current tools being used and nearly half (48.8%) of the survey respondents reporting worse-than-expected results. Oddly enough, marketers rate selecting marketing technologies as the thing they do best.