Private equity investments in sub-Saharan Africa totaled $1.6 billion in 2013, an increase of 43% from the year before. Sectors in the region which received most investments were energy and natural resources and banking and financial services.
Institutional investors
Munich-based Teqcycle gets backing of T-Venture Holding
Teqcycle Solutions, a Munich-based firm that provides mobile devices trade-in and reuse solutions, has bagged an undisclosed investment from T-Venture Holding, a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom.
Pan-European accelerator Startupbootcamp opens fintech incubator in London
A fintech incubator has just been rolled out by pan-European accelerator Startupbootcamp in London. The FinTech bootcamp is backed by big names that include Lloyds, Rabobank and MasterCard, TechCrunch reported.
London-based Birdback raises $2.4M in funding round for "card linking" platform
Birdback, a London-based fintech startup, has obtained $2.4 million in its funding round led by Passion Capital and joined in by Paul Nikkel, Luke Johnson, Playfair Capital and #1seed, TechCrunch reported.
Indian fashion portal confirms $50M capital injection from Premji Invest and rejects Flipkart merger
Bangalore, India-based fashion portal Myntra confirmed that it raised $50 million in a new funding round led by Premji Invest, and decided not to pursue a merger with Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart.
Latest News
Mike Cousins and Cliff Weiner, former executives of Orix USA, have been hired by Preston Hollow Capital, reuniting them with their former CEO Jim Thompson, Bloomberg reported.
San Francisco, US-based mobile shopping platform secured $10.5 million in a Series B funding led by Khosla Ventures to make the process of ordering and paying for food via mobile an easier process.
New York, US-based lending platform Fundera raised $3.4 million in funding from a recent venture round to help connect small businesses to a network of certified lending alternatives to banks.
Apartment List, an online rental marketplace, was able to raise an additional $6 million in financing in a follow-on round led by Glynn Capital and Passport Capital, TechCrunch reported.
Renowned technology innovators invested $5 million to close the latest funding round of San Francisco-based mobile technology firm Apportable, bringing to $7.4 million total funds raised to date.
Tokyo, Japan-based incubator and investment firm Netprice.com Inc is planning to invest $500,000 to $4 million in three or four mobile and web startups in India this year, according to The Economic Times.
San Francisco, US-based customer service software startup Zendesk is moving closer to an initial public offering (IPO) and has hired Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs to handle the transaction, according to a report.
MPC Synergy Real Estate, a private equity firm that formed a joint venture with Akme Projects, will be exiting its investments in the India- based firm, according to sources interviewed by The Economic Times.
US tech giant Microsoft selected five African tech startups to receive innovation grants, technical support, and mentorship from Microsoft under its venture arm extension, the Microsoft 4Afrika Initiative.
