The fund will invest in early-stage software startups across Africa, with a focus on fintech, e-commerce, healthtech, SaaS, and AI.

P1 Ventures was founded in 2020 by Mikael Hajjar and Hisham Halbouny, both of whom have extensive experience investing in and operating businesses in Africa.

The firm has a strong track record, having already invested in 29 early-stage companies across 10 countries, including Money Fellows in Egypt and Reliance Health in Nigeria.

The firm’s second fund is backed by a global group of investors, including institutional investors, family offices, and high-net-worth individuals.

The fund’s first close is a significant milestone, and it demonstrates the strong investor interest in Africa’s rapidly growing startup ecosystem.

P1 Ventures is a highly selective investor, and it takes a high-conviction approach to investing.

The firm typically invests between $500,000 and $2 million in early-stage startups, and it provides its portfolio companies with access to its deep network of mentors and advisors.

The firm’s investment in Africa’s startup ecosystem is timely, with the continent priding itself on the youngest and fastest-growing population in the world.

This presents a significant opportunity for software startups that can address the needs of Africa’s growing population and middle class.

The first close of P1 Ventures’ second fund is a positive development for the African startup ecosystem.

It demonstrates that global investors are increasingly interested in investing in early-stage software startups in Africa.

The startups were selected through the Investing in Innovation Africa (i3) program, which is a pan-African initiative to support the growth of early- and growth-stage healthcare supply chain companies.

The selected startups operate in 21 different African countries and are developing a wide range of innovative solutions, including online pharmacies, telemedicine platforms, inventory management systems, and data analytics tools.

The goal of these startups is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of healthcare supply chains in Africa, which will help to ensure that more people have access to the essential medicines and medical supplies they need.

The i3 program provides selected startups with a grant of $50,000, as well as access to market opportunities and tailored investment readiness support.

The program is sponsored by Cencora (formerly AmerisourceBergen), Merck Sharpe & Dohme (MSD), Microsoft, and Chemonics.

The following is a list of the 29 healthcare supply chain startups selected for the second cohort of the i3 program:

1. Afia Group Limited (Tanzania)
2. Aimcare Health (Kenya)
3. Bena Care (Nigeria)
4. BioCertica (Ghana)
5. Chari Pharma (Morocco)
6. CheckUps Medical (Nigeria)
7. Chefaa (Egypt)
8. Dawa Mkononi (Tanzania)
9. Drugstore Nigeria (Nigeria)
10. Famasi Limited (Ghana)
11. Field Intelligence, Inc. (Kenya)
12. GICMED (Nigeria)
13. Grinta (Rwanda)
14. Healthtracka (Nigeria)
15. Kapsule (Ghana)
16. Medical Diagnostech (Nigeria)
17. Medpharma Alliance International Limited (Kenya)
18. Octosoft Technologies Limited (Nigeria)
19. Pharmarun (Nigeria)
20. Pharmaserv Health
21. Project Nigeria Limited (Nigeria)
22. Reductiona (South Africa)
23. SASA Health Limited (Nigeria)
24. Tech Care For All Eastern Africa (Kenya)
25. Technovera – Pelebox Smart Lockers (Cameroon)
26. Tibu Health (Kenya)
27. UltraTeb (Algeria)
28. Waspito (Rwanda)
29. WellaHealth (Kenya)
    Welo (Senegal)

The Gates Foundation’s investment in these startups is a significant boost for the healthcare supply chain sector in Africa.

The startups are developing innovative solutions that have the potential to make a real difference in the lives of millions of people.

Complete Farmer, a Ghanaian agritech startup, has secured $10.4 million in pre-Series A funding to streamline its operations and expand its reach.

The funding round was co-led by the Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund (ARAF) and Alitheia Capital (via its uMunthu II Fund in partnership with Goodwell Investments).

Other participants in the round include Proparco, Newton Partners, VestedWorld Rising Star Fund, Sahel Capital’s SEFAA (Social Enterprise Fund for Agriculture in Africa) Fund, Alpha Mundi Group’s Alpha Jiri Investment Fund, and Global Social Impact Investments.

Complete Farmer is an end-to-end agricultural marketplace that provides African producers and industries across the globe with competitive markets, resources, and data.

It utilizes in-house cultivation protocols for crop production, ensuring that small and large-scale farmers can rear crops and other agricultural products that satisfy international market needs, reducing post-harvest losses.

The company was founded in 2017 by Desmond Koney, who was inspired to start the business after inheriting his father’s farm and discovering the many challenges faced by farmers in Ghana and across Africa.

Complete Farmer has since grown to become one of the leading agritech startups in Ghana, working with over 10,000 farmers and supplying buyers in over 10 countries.

The new funding will be used by Complete Farmer to expand its team, develop new products and services, and reach more farmers and buyers.

The company plans to launch a new finance solution that promotes remittances from buyers to farmers, as well as a vendor outlet that facilitates the purchase of fertilizers and commodities by farmers.

The investment in Complete Farmer is a sign of the growing interest in agritech in Africa.

The continent is home to over 60% of the world’s arable land, but its agricultural sector is still underdeveloped.

Agritech startups are playing a vital role in addressing this challenge, using technology to improve efficiency and productivity across the agricultural value chain.

This brings the company’s total investment to date to $13.5 million.

ANKA provides a comprehensive e-commerce solution for African businesses, including website design and development, payment processing, and shipping.

The platform also offers a variety of features to help businesses grow their online sales, such as marketing tools and analytics.

ANKA plans to use the new funding to strengthen its product development and expand its services.

The investment in ANKA is a sign of the growing interest in African e-commerce.

E-commerce sales in Africa are expected to reach $30 billion by 2025, according to Statista.

ANKA is well-positioned to capitalize on this growth with its comprehensive e-commerce solution and focus on African businesses.

The round was supported by several notable investors, including Launch Africa Ventures, Soumobroto Ganguly, and David DeLucia, along with several angel investors.

Fixit45 is a mobile app that provides on-demand car maintenance and repair services.

The app allows users to schedule appointments with verified mechanics who come to their location to perform the necessary services.

Fixit45 also offers various other services, such as car wash, roadside assistance, and spare parts delivery.

The company was founded in 2022 by three entrepreneurs: CEO Olumide Soyombo, COO Tolulope Olanrewaju, and CTO Samuel Olatunji.

Soyombo is a former engineer at Google and Microsoft, while Olanrewaju and Olatunji have both worked in the Nigerian auto industry.

The pre-seed funding round will be used to expand Fixit45’s operations in Nigeria and other African markets.

The company also plans to use the funds to develop new products and services, such as a subscription-based car maintenance service.

The investment in Fixit45 is a sign of the growing interest in the African auto-tech sector.

In recent years, there has been a surge in the number of startups developing innovative solutions to address the challenges of car ownership in Africa.

According to a report by Disrupt Africa, the African auto-tech sector is expected to reach $5 billion by 2025.

The round was led by African Renaissance Partners, with participation from Norrsken Accelerator, Zephyr Acorn, Marcus Boström, and Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation.

Emata was founded in 2020 by Bram van den Bosch and Ronald Lutwama. The company provides digital agricultural finance to smallholder farmers in East Africa.

Emata’s platform allows farmers to apply for loans quickly and easily, without the need for collateral. The loans are then disbursed directly to the farmers’ mobile money accounts.

Emata’s seed funding will be used to expand its operations across East Africa.

The company plans to focus on Uganda and Tanzania, but it also has plans to expand to other countries in the region.

Emata also plans to use the funding to develop new products and services, such as insurance and advisory services for farmers.

“We are thrilled to have secured this funding,” said Bram van den Bosch, CEO of Emata.

“This will allow us to scale our operations and reach more farmers across East Africa. We believe that digital agricultural finance is essential to help farmers increase their productivity and improve their livelihoods.”

The investment in Emata is a vote of confidence in the potential of agritech to transform the agricultural sector in Africa.

Agritech startups are developing innovative solutions to address the challenges faced by farmers, such as access to finance, inputs, and markets.

hese solutions have the potential to improve food security, reduce poverty, and boost economic growth in Africa.