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Efayomi Carr: Transforming Africa’s Economic Landscape through Strategic Investment and Innovation

Efayomi Carr: Transforming Africa’s Economic Landscape through Strategic Investment and Innovation

Efayomi Carr is a visionary investor and entrepreneur who is profoundly committed to enhancing financial health and economic opportunity across Africa.

Currently serving as a Principal at Flourish Ventures, a global venture capital firm that champions entrepreneurs advancing financial inclusion, Efayomi’s expertise and passion lie in supporting innovations that tackle some of the continent’s most pressing economic challenges.

At Flourish Ventures, he has spearheaded numerous investments in African startups, focusing on sectors that promise transformative financial accessibility and impact, from fintech and mobile financial services to digital infrastructure.

Beyond his role at Flourish, Efayomi is the co-founder of Madica, an Africa-focused pre-seed investment platform designed to bridge structural gaps in the African startup ecosystem.

Madica offers capital, mentorship, and comprehensive support to early-stage startups, targeting entrepreneurs who may lack access to traditional venture networks.

Through Madica, Efayomi aims to decentralize funding and empower talented African founders, especially those outside the typical tech hubs, fostering a diverse and robust entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Prior to his current roles, Efayomi was instrumental in strategic finance at Lori Systems, a Nairobi-based tech company revolutionizing logistics in Africa.

During his tenure as Head of Strategic Finance and later as Interim Chief Financial Officer, he led a team of 15 finance professionals across multiple countries, helping to navigate the company through the complexities posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

His work at Lori significantly contributed to the development of cost-saving market infrastructure for Africa’s trucking industry, directly supporting more efficient, scalable supply chains.

Efayomi’s investment journey began with Quona Capital, a venture capital firm dedicated to financial inclusion, where he specialized in African investments.

He also worked at Boston Consulting Group, developing strategies for diverse clients across various industries.

Notably, at Jumia, Africa’s leading e-commerce platform, Efayomi served as Head of Marketplace, where he played a pivotal role in driving revenue growth and operational efficiency, helping solidify Jumia’s position in the African market.

He holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

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Egypt Launches $30 Million Deloitte Innovation Hub to Boost Digital Exports and Job Creation

Key Developments

Egypt Launches $30 Million Deloitte Innovation Hub to Boost Digital Exports and Job Creation

Egypt’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Amr Talaat, has inaugurated the Deloitte Innovation Hub, a new venture established with an investment of $30 million over three years.

As Deloitte’s first center dedicated to exporting digital services from Egypt, the hub aims to broaden the company’s global footprint in digital services.

The Deloitte Innovation Hub will offer services to clients in Europe and the wider region, focusing on artificial intelligence, data analysis, cloud technology, cybersecurity, and enterprise resource planning.

Deloitte envisions the hub supporting 5,000 jobs in the coming years, diversifying its service offerings and expanding its impact across various business sectors.

Hani Girgis, leader of the Innovation Hub, emphasized that the hub is designed to foster local talent, bring value to Egyptian society, and support clients across Europe and the Middle East.

Minister Talaat echoed this sentiment, highlighting Egypt’s appeal as a strategic location for IT and digital innovation, driven by its skilled young workforce and the government’s commitment to job creation and digital exports.

The Egyptian government has set ambitious goals.

Digital exports reached $6.2 billion in 2023, marking a 26% increase from $4.9 billion in 2022.

The government aims to create high-value jobs for youth and build a knowledge-based economy. It plans to train more youth in digital skills, freelancing, and outsourcing to achieve $3.7 billion in digital exports by 2024 and $9 billion by 2026.

Egypt has seen increasing investments from international tech companies, including Telecom Egypt and Huawei Cloud.

The latter recently announced plans to launch the first public cloud platform in Egypt and North Africa, supporting the nation’s digital transformation strategy.

 

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British International Investment and Absa Group Announce $150 Million Trade Facility to Support African SMEs

New Investments

British International Investment and Absa Group Announce $150 Million Trade Facility to Support African SMEs

British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance institution, has unveiled a $150 million trade facility with Absa Group.

The facility aims to narrow Africa’s substantial trade finance gap, which is estimated to be between $100 and $120 billion.

This latest agreement continues a longstanding partnership between BII and Absa, which has delivered significant trade liquidity to countries such as Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Mozambique, supporting over $1 billion in trade volumes since 2019.

This new facility targets critical sectors across the continent, including agriculture, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), and healthcare.

It emphasizes sustainable and inclusive funding for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and businesses led by women and young entrepreneurs.

The initiative also qualifies for the 2X Challenge, an impact investment standard that promotes gender equality, inclusive leadership, and social progress.

UK Development Minister Anneliese Dodds highlighted the partnership’s importance, stating:

“This facility demonstrates BII and Absa’s shared commitment to address Africa’s estimated $100 billion trade financing gap, fostering sustainable and inclusive economic growth.”

Admir Imami, Director of Trade & Supply Chain Finance at BII, echoed the sentiment, noting:

“Our partnership with Absa is rooted in a mutual goal of advancing inclusive economic development, particularly for SMEs and women-led businesses. By combining BII’s support with Absa’s cross-border expertise, we aim to improve access to trade finance and the flow of essential goods across Africa.”

Charles Russon, Absa Group’s Interim Group Chief Executive Officer, added:

“Our reach across Africa and beyond positions us to facilitate the capital and trade finance needed by African businesses to scale. Through strategic partnerships, we are fostering sustainable growth and new opportunities in emerging markets, strengthening Africa’s economic ecosystem.”

The agreement was formalized at the World Bank Annual Meetings in the presence of Nick O’Donohoe, BII CEO, Anneliese Dodds, and Charles Russon.

 

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Pan-African Talent Cloud Tech Company Gebeya Partners with NVIDIA to Upskill 50,000 Developers in Africa

Key Developments

Pan-African Talent Cloud Tech Company Gebeya Partners with NVIDIA to Upskill 50,000 Developers in Africa

Gebeya, a leading Pan-African talent cloud technology company, has joined forces with NVIDIA, a global powerhouse in graphics and AI technology, to establish a network of 50,000 NVIDIA-certified developers in Africa.
 

The ambitious initiative will unfold in phases, beginning with a pilot phase within the first year and aiming for a continent-wide reach by year three.

The partnership allows African developers to access NVIDIA’s advanced ecosystem, offering participants training, certifications, and community support through the NVIDIA Deep Learning Institute.

This collaboration comes just eight months after Gebeya transitioned into an all-in-one talent cloud provider, reflecting its expanded focus on solving organizational needs through various talent cloud solutions.

Gebeya’s AI-powered Talent Cloud will play a pivotal role in this partnership, with NVIDIA’s Deep Learning Institute integrated into its platform to provide certified learning paths.

Through this collaboration, African developers will gain critical AI skills, addressing the region’s shortage of expertise in this area while advancing growth and innovation across Africa’s tech industry.

Wei Xiao, NVIDIA’s Director of Developer Relations, emphasized the collaboration’s strategic importance in positioning Africa as an AI talent hub, which could attract investments and boost the continent’s global tech competitiveness.

Gebeya CEO Amadou Daffe noted the initiative’s potential to unify fragmented tech communities, address skill shortages, and accelerate industry development, establishing Africa as a center for NVIDIA technologies.

Gebeya’s partnership with NVIDIA follows its December 2023 collaboration with Microsoft to launch a platform dedicated to skilling and job-matching.

The platform aims to upskill 300,000 developers across several African nations. The target for the first year is 150,000 trained developers, creating significant momentum for tech talent development on the continent.

This new initiative with NVIDIA is expected to transform Africa’s AI capabilities, strengthening the continent’s position as a competitive tech talent hub on the global stage.

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African VC Janngo Capital Closes Second Fund at $78 Million to Back African Entrepreneurs

New Investments

African VC Janngo Capital Closes Second Fund at $78 Million to Back African Entrepreneurs

Janngo Capital, an African venture capital firm, has successfully closed its second fund at $78 million, exceeding its initial goal of $63 million by 20%.

Backed by notable institutions including the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) and the European Investment Bank (EIB), the fund aims to catalyze African entrepreneurship and foster job creation, with a specific focus on opportunities for youth and women.

The firm closed the fund for the first time in 2022 at €26 million, with initial backing from the AfDB and EIB.

Additional support for the final close came from new investors such as the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund, Tunisia’s ANAVA fund, the endowment fund of Ghana’s Ashesi University, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC).

Founded by Fatoumata Bâ, Janngo leverages technology and funding to establish digital ecosystems in high-growth sectors.

It aims to empower African SMEs and provide growth pathways for youth and women in the workforce.

With women-led companies comprising 56% of its portfolio, Janngo is tackling the region’s gender gap within the entrepreneurial landscape.

Notable investments include Nigeria’s Sabi, a B2B eCommerce platform, underscoring the firm’s commitment to supporting female-led ventures.

Bâ has emphasized Janngo’s commitment to impact-driven investment, noting that Africa, while having the highest global rate of female entrepreneurship, receives only a small share of global VC funding.

She highlighted that although venture capital funding in Africa has grown from $150 million a decade ago to around $4 billion to $5 billion today, Africa’s share remains at only 1%-2% of global funding—a figure that does not align with the continent’s population share of 17%.

Bâ remarked, “If we believe tech is critical to economic development in Africa, we should have proportional access to VC.”

Since its inception in 2018, Janngo’s portfolio has included over 30 investment rounds across 21 startups, including Series B follow-on investments.

The firm allocates between €150,000 and €5 million to startups in sectors such as healthcare, logistics, financial services, retail, agritech, mobility, and the creator economy and maintains offices in Abidjan, Mauritius, Tunis, and Paris.

In March 2024, Janngo’s Startup Fund (JCSF) also received a €4 million ($4.3 million) equity investment from Tunisia’s “ANAVA” fund, designated for francophone African startups and female-founded businesses.

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