All Venture Capital stories from Ghana Innovation Journal.
For years, the narrative of African fintech has been dominated by one word: Credit. From Nairobi to Lagos, rapid-approval loan apps have proliferated, promising to bridge the liquidity gap. But for many users, these apps have become a “debt trap” rather than a safety net. Phundit, the Ghanaian fintech startup, has just closed an undisclosed [...]
Ghanaian healthtech startup Medpharma has raised an undisclosed funding round from Sahara Impact Ventures. What problem is MedPharma solving? Founded by Stephen Yaw Asamoah and Richard Appiah Otoo in 2019, MedPharma is digitising healthcare delivery by aggregating providers, pharmacies, and medical facilities into a single connected platform. Its model tackles one of the continent’s most [...]
Ghana’s agriculture sector is vast , contributing nearly 20% to GDP and employing almost a third of the population but it’s also deeply fragmented. For the majority of smallholder farmers, inconsistent crop quality, volatile incomes, and weak market linkages remain daily realities. Now, Accra-based agritech startup Complete Farmer has secured $5m in debt financing from [...]
OceansMall, the agritech startup revolutionizing seafood logistics, has secured $150,000 in convertible debt from GBHub Africa to expand its operations and digital platform, Pinwheel. The investment also includes technical assistance and market access support, enabling the company to scale its cold chain logistics and strengthen its reach across coastal fishing communities. Founded in 2021 by [...]
VC4A, Africa’s premier platform connecting entrepreneurs, investors, and mentors, has appointed Yaw Preprah as Lead for Special Projects. In this role, he will spearhead key initiatives aimed at accelerating the growth and impact of Africa’s burgeoning startup ecosystem. Peprah steps into the role taking the lead on the coordinating the Africa Early Stage Investor Summit [...]
Mariseth Farms has secured a $560,000 working capital loan from Sahel Capital, through its Social Enterprise Fund for Agriculture in Africa (SEFAA), to scale its crop aggregation operations and expand fair market access for over 8,000 smallholder farmers, many of whom are women. Renaissance Law Chambers advised SEFAA on the transaction, while Pangea Global Ventures [...]
Aruwa Capital Management, the Lagos-based, female-founded and gender-lens early-stage investor, has secured $35 million at the second close of its second fund—Aruwa Capital Fund II—bringing it to 90% of its $40 million target. This milestone enables the firm to double down on its strategy of backing high-growth, impact-driven businesses that are transforming key industries in [...]
Zeepay, a fast-growing player in the digital remittance and mobile money market, has secured $18 million in debt funding, according to a report by Africa Global Funds. The investment, arranged by the South Africa-based financial advisory firm Verdant IMAP, signals strong market confidence in Zeepay's cross-border payment solutions and growth strategy across Africa. The investment, [...]
GB Foods' social impact arm, GBHub Africa, has invested $50,000 in GreenHeart SE, a Ghanaian agritech company that transforms organic biomass waste into carbon-negative agricultural inputs. The investment, structured as a local currency loan with a 5% interest rate in Ghanaian cedis, includes a six-month moratorium and a 60-month repayment period. This funding will enable [...]
Last year, in our This Week in Ghana newsletter, we reported on a GB Foods job listing that signalled a new growth strategy—investing in startups and SMEs across Africa’s food systems. Now, the cat is out of the bag. The FMCG conglomerate behind popular tomato purée brands Gino and Pomo has appointed Innohub’s Nelson Amo [...]
StartBank Africa Fund, an Accra-based venture capital firm, has secured a $15 million commitment from the family office of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Bin Faisal Al Qassimi. The fund aims to reach the final close of its $35 million inaugural fund by April 2025. StartBank Africa Fund’s focus The sector-agnostic fund will invest $300,000 to [...]
Oze, the AI-powered digital lending software for financial institutions and SMEs, has secured new funding from global payment leader Visa and German development finance institution DEG. Existing investors, including Speedinvest and AfricInvest through its Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund, also participated in the round. While the total amount raised was not disclosed, public records indicate that [...]
Wangara Green Ventures has announced the appointment of Thomas Wiredu as the Deputy Managing Director, effective January 2025. With his extensive experience in portfolio management and enterprise support, Thomas will play a crucial role in driving Wangara’s mission of supporting the growth of small and growing businesses (SGBs), particularly in the green sector. “I am [...]
Village Capital, in partnership with the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank (FMO) and the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), has launched the Africa Ecosystem Catalysts Facility, a $4 million initiative to support early-stage, impact-driven companies in Ghana, Nigeria, and Tanzania. The facility will collaborate with locally-led Entrepreneur Support Organizations to source, conduct due diligence, and make investment [...]
Small Foundation, a family foundation focused on catalyzing and scaling income-generating opportunities for people living in extreme poverty in sub-Saharan Africa, has launched two pilot facilities to provide essential working capital to African fund managers. These initiatives aim to help bridge the significant $330 billion annual SME funding gap across the continent. Emerging fund managers [...]
Hello everyone, Have you ever wondered why Africa’s smallholder farmers remain poor despite feeding the entire continent? The reasons are plenty—ranging from limited access to finance to outdated supply chains. Fortunately, some startups featured in this edition have secured funding to change that. Here are the top headlines: Accelerator 3 Ghana-based startups advance to the [...]
Wami Agro, the Ghana-based agritech company, has secured additional funding from Acumen, a leading global impact investor. Wami Agro addresses the persistent challenges faced by Ghana’s smallholder farmers, who constitute 70% of the agricultural workforce yet struggle with poverty. To bridge this gap, Wami Agro provides an integrated suite of tech-enabled solutions (Wami Market, Wami [...]
Regulon, a company simplifying business onboarding and automating compliance for fintechs across Africa and the UK has been selected to join the Baobab Accelerator. As part of the three-month accelerator programme, Regulon will receive a $100,000 investment in exchange for 12.5% equity. Additionally, the programme will provide hands-on support, consulting, and access to a global [...]
The Ghana-based digital bank Affinity has secured a $8 million seed round co-led by European VC firms Grazia Equity (Germany) and BACKED VC (London). Other investors that participated in the round include Enza Capital, Launch Africa, Renew Capital, FINCA Ventures, Attijariwafa Ventures, Impact Assets and Eldon Capital, an early backer. What does the company do? [...]
From February, the Ghana Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (GVCA) will be led by Amma Gyampo, who boasts a wealth of experience in early-stage investing as an angel investor and a startup ecosystem enabler. In the role, Gyampo is committed to minimising investment barriers and enhancing collaboration among fund managers, portfolio companies, equity investors, [...]
Ahead of our 2024 Ghana Innovation & Startup Ecosystem Report release, we’re sharing some key insights with our valued readers. Our report reviews Ghana's startup scene, highlighting success, challenges and key trends that shaped the ecosystem in the fiscal year. In 2024, the Ghanaian startup funding ecosystem experienced a remarkable year, with startups raising $127 [...]
Accrue, the cross-border infrastructure platform has a $1.58 million seed round to power cross-border payments in Africa. The round was led by Lattice Fund, with participation from Maven 11, Lava, Kraynos Capital, Distributed Capital, and other strategic angel investors. The funding will enable the company to expand its payment infrastructure across Africa, enhance product offerings, [...]
The Startup Discovery Africa Venture Studio has welcomed its first cohort of founders dedicated to tackling climate challenges across Africa. As part of this nine-month programme, they will receive hands-on support, access to cutting-edge software tools, tailored mentorship, and guidance on commercial, technical, and impact strategies. Meet the Chosen Ones! Merdeo Foods leverages innovative technology [...]
Merdeo Foods, a B2B farm-direct platform that connects farmers with restaurants and food businesses, has been selected as part of the inaugural cohort of the Startup Discovery Africa Venture Studio programme. Founded in 2022, Merdeo Foods leverages innovative technology to aggregate fresh produce from smallholder farmers through its decentralized cold storage network. By utilizing this [...]