CDP Institute

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has today launched a US$225 million venture capital platform to back early-stage startups in Africa, Middle East, Central Asia, and Pakistan.

New York-based venture platform Modus has launched Modus Africa, a venture capital fund for AI and blockchain startups across sub-Saharan Africa. The fund is expected to reach its first close in the first quarter of next year.

Lentra, an Indian embedded AI-based finance startup, has raised $60 million — a Series B that values the startup at “over $400 million. Existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners and Susquehanna International Group (SIG) led the round with strategic participation also from Citi Ventures, a subsidiary of the New York-based investment banking giant Citigroup.

As Bharti Airtel rolls out 5G services in select cities in India, Cloud major Oracle is busy helping the telecom operator in its digital metamorphosis, internally as well as externally, to serve its stakeholders and customers better as it transitions from 4G to 5G. Oracle and Airtel announced new cloud and data centre deals to help boost digital economy and empower 1 million enterprise customers.

Contentstack, India’s largest homegrown content management system and composable architecture pioneer, has announced $80 million in Series C funding.  The Company will use the funds to continue supporting enterprise companies on their path to composable, empowering them to meet consumer demand for omnichannel and personalized experiences.

Antavo, closed a Series A round at €10 million led by Euroventures alongside Lead Ventures, iEurope, Innovation Nest and private investors. The new investment will enable Antavo to continue reinvesting in its technology for greater omnichannel capabilities and superior integration, while expanding its global presence. In 2022, the company signed major global brand customers including BMW, KFC, Kathmandu and BrewDog, resulting in 3.2X year-on-year growth and a 3-fold increase in headcount.

Dialpad for Good, which has increased tech accessibility for businesses throughout Canada, the US and the UK, is now available to businesses in Australia and New Zealand via its Dialpad for Startups program. Dialpad for Startups helps startups and their backers by removing communication obstacles and freeing up time and resources to focus on product development, including acquiring customers, and hiring talent. Eligible businesses accepted into the program will receive an award-winning business communication package, encompassing seamless and reliable voice calls, business text messaging, and video conferencing.

Mexican startup Quinio, which raised US$20 million last year in a seed round, now announced the closing of a US$40 million round made up of equity and debt, although without disclosing the amounts of each part. Quinio’s strategy is based on buying mid-sized e-commerce brands with an annual turnover of at least US$250 thousand that sell quality products and have a good reputation among buyers. Quinio already owns several brands in Mexico, Colombia, Chile, and the U.S., in areas such as home, beauty, and health.

Franq, an open banking startup based in Florianópolis, Brazil, raised US$12 million in a round led by Quona Capital, a fund focused on emerging market fintechs. Created in 2019, Franq operates by matching personal bankers with up to 50 financial institutions—banks such as Itaú, Bradesco, and Santander, and fintechs, to sell their products to individuals and SMEs. They have around 7,000 of these personal bankers and 70% of Franq’s clients are individuals, while companies represent 30% of the clients.

Yassir, an African super app platform that offers on-demand services such as ride-hailing, food and grocery delivery, and payments, has raised $150 million in Series B funding, five times what it raised in its previous priced round last November.

Egyptian fintech startup Paymob, the leading omnichannel payments facilitator in MENAP, has embarked on the next phase of its regional expansion with a launch in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Kuda, the London-based and Nigerian-operating startup taking on incumbents in the country with a mobile-first and personalized set of banking services, is expanding to the U.K. by offering a remittance product to Nigerians in the diaspora.