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Vendease Secures $30M to Transform Procurement for Restaurants Across Africa

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Vendease, a Y Combinator-backed digital platform that allows restaurants in Africa to buy supplies, access financial services and power their business operations, has raised $30 million in an equity and debt funding round to consolidate its growth and operations in Nigeria and Ghana, and to support its expansion across the continent.

The series A equity round of $20 million was co-led by TLcom and Partech, in a rare joint investment by two of the biggest Africa-focused funds.

The equity round also included VentureSouq, Hustle fund, Hack VC, GFR Fund, Kube VC, Magic Fund and Kairos Angels, who re-invested after participating in the previous round. The $10 million debt round was raised from the local finance market.

Africa’s restaurants and food businesses feed 700 million people across the continent daily. However, these businesses lose $100 billion annually due to expensive and unreliable supply, limited access to data to inform procurement decisions, wastage and theft, as well as limited access to capital to fund procurement.

Vendease’s digital procurement engine makes it easier for restaurants in 8 cities across Nigeria and Ghana to buy food supplies at considerably cheaper rates than open market prices, with guaranteed 12-hour delivery.

The company is building the operating system that automates the flow of food from farm to restaurant, optimises business operations across the value chain through accurate data deployment, reduces wastage and drives profitability.

Restaurant owners simply need to download the app, complete the registration process in a few clicks and they will be able to access all the benefits of Vendease’s platform. They can also access working capital through Vendease’s Buy-Now-Pay-Later offering to maximise the growth opportunities available to them.

Despite ongoing inflation and global shortage in food supply, Vendease’s solutions have delivered significant savings for its users and provided relative stability for their stock levels.

Over the last 12 months, Vendease has moved more than 400,000 metric tonnes of food through its platform, helping its users save more than $2,000,000 in procurement costs and more than 10,000 procurement man-hours. Its data has also helped them reduce wastage from overstocking by an additional $485,000.

The company has seen 3x growth in the number of users on its platform and 5x growth in its revenue over the last 12 months. Users have also accessed more than $12 million worth of inventory via its embedded finance product.

The new funding will support the delivery of these services to more restaurants and food businesses across Africa, as well as the development of new solutions and services to drive growth across the food value chain.

Commenting on the funding, Tunde Kara, CEO and co-founder of Vendease, said, “our mission is to enable the efficient flow of food across the continent, from point of production to point of consumption.

“It is more than just placing orders for supplies, we want to transform how the entire sector works and remove the bottlenecks that stunt the growth of restaurants and food businesses.

“With greater efficiency in the supply chain, we believe we can unlock more growth opportunities across board, which is why we are excited to have raised this round, led by two of Africa’s biggest VCs, who understand what it takes to power such an ambitious mission.”

Following their investments, Andreata Muforo (Partner at TLcom) and Cyril Collon (General Partner at Partech) will join Vendease’s board as new directors.

Andreata Muforo, Partner at TLcom, said, “Restaurants and food businesses play a vital role in communities across the continent and Vendease is on a mission to bring affordability, convenience, and reliability to these businesses and builds a platform that allows the wider food sector to optimise their operations. We look forward to working alongside the team as they pursue the next phase of growth and unlock significant value in Africa’s fragmented food supply chain.”

“Vendease is delivering vital solutions that impact critical issues around the food system in Africa,” said Cyril Collon, General Partner at Partech. “We are thrilled to be working with them to take these solutions to more restaurants and food businesses across the continent. We see huge scope for growth in Nigeria and beyond and we are very optimistic about what can be achieved”.


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NAICOM Signs Agreement with NDPC on Data Protection in Insurance Sector

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The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), has signed agreement with the Nigerian Data Protection Commission (NDPC) with the aim of enhancing data protection within the insurance sector.

According to NAICOM, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has as its objectives training and capacity building in the area of providing training to enhance awareness and skills in data protection, establishing privacy clinics by setting up specialised clinics to address data protection concerns and provide guidance.

NAICOM said other objectives of the agreement include conducting compliance activities, regularly monitoring and enforcing compliance with data protection regulations, promoting awareness in the area of educating insurance companies on the importance of data protection and the benefits of adhering to best practices.

Developing data protection guidelines through creation of specialized guidelines for insurance institutions to ensure they are equipped to handle data protection responsibilities effectively.

NAICOM said the collaboration marked a significant milestone in safeguarding the personal data of insurance policyholders and promoting trust in the insurance sector.

The commission said to ensure the effective implementation of the agreement, an implementation committee would be established. The committee, the commission said, would comprise of representatives from the two agencies, as well as other key industry associations, including the Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) and the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB).

 


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5 Benefits of MTN Mobile Ads for your Business

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Businesses worldwide are increasingly embracing mobile advertising services, allowing them to connect with potential customers directly on their smartphones and engage with them more effectively.

This trend is rapidly gaining momentum, and companies in Nigeria are also taking part in this shift.

Every day, more Nigerian businesses are seeking the most efficient strategies to reach their target audiences and convert them into loyal customers.

MTN Nigeria is redefining digital advertisement with MTN Mobile Ads. With a rich customer base of 79.5 million subscribers in Nigeria, MTN Mobile Ads continues to help businesses reach millions of customers nationwide.

Here are five reasons you should use MTN Mobile Ads for your business advertisements:
Targeted marketing

MTN Mobile Ads uses first party data to enable specific targeting of audience based on behaviour, interests and demographic. This ensures that your marketing efforts are directed toward the most relevant audiences, thereby increasing engagement and conversion.

Data-Driven Insights:

Businesses can gain valuable insights from their advertising campaigns, allowing them to fine-tune their strategies for maximum impact. This data-driven approach helps in optimizing campaigns based on real user behaviour and preferences

Diverse advertising formats

This service supports several advertising formats including targeted SMS, marketplace listing on the MyMTN app, display banners, and Rich messaging services (RCS) across both mobile and web platforms. This versatility allows your business to customize your marketing strategy to suit different audience preferences and increase engagement opportunities.

Data-free solutions

MTN Mobile Advertising provides data-free solutions. That means users can view your Ads with or without data. This feature significantly increases engagement rate as it allows your business connect with customers who may have been avoiding ads to save their data.

Cost-effective

With MTN Mobile Ads, you can choose an advertising plan that suits your budget. This flexibility allows businesses to enjoy the benefits of advertising without overspending.

As competition in businesses increase, the need to make advertising a crucial part of your marketing strategy cannot be over-emphasized.

MTN’s Mobile advertising services are the most result-oriented strategy your business should engage in so you can have the same opportunities your competitors may have.


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Zuckerberg’s Mar-a-Lago Meeting with Trump: What It Means for Tech

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Billionaire Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg met Wednesday with incoming US president Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, the latest sign of the Meta chief’s warming up to the president-elect ahead of his second term.

“It’s an important time for the future of American Innovation. Mark was grateful for the invitation to join President Trump for dinner and the opportunity to meet with members of his team about the incoming Administration,” a Meta spokesperson told CNN.

Politico was first to report Zuckerberg was spotted at Mar-a-Lago. It was not immediately known what the two discussed.

Zuckerberg was in touch with Trump in the months leading up to the election, according to a New York Times report. After the assassination attempt on Trump’s life in July, Zuckerberg told Bloomberg that Trump standing back up and pumping his fist in the air was “one of the most badass things I’ve ever seen in my life.”

In a book released this summer, Trump accused the Meta chief of “plotting” against him and threatened Zuckerberg with “life in prison” if he did “anything illegal” during the election.

“We are watching him closely,” Trump wrote, “and if he does anything illegal this time he will spend the rest of his life in prison — as will others who cheat in the 2024 Presidential Election.”

In an interview on Wednesday night on Fox News, Trump adviser Stephen Miller confirmed the meeting and said Zuckerberg “has been very clear about this desire to be a supporter of and a participant in this change that we’re seeing all around America all around the world, this reform movement Donald Trump is leading“


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