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E-Financial

AfricInvest, Cathay Innovation Complete Final Close of €110M Pan-African Venture Fund

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AfricInvest, a multi-asset investment platform in Africa and global venture capital firm Cathay Innovation, have completed the final close of their joint Pan-African Venture fund, Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund [CAIF], at €110M.

The fund is backed by LPs such as EIB, AfricaGrow, FMO, Bpifrance, Triodos Investment Management, Proparco, SIFEM, BIO and, among others, as well as a diverse pool of globally renowned investors, including Development finance institutions, leading multinational corporations, and high-net-worth individuals across Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

With the close of the fund, the CAIF team will significantly deepen their focus on investing in the most promising early to growth-stage startups improving African lives with disruptive tech-enabled products and services.

With initial check sizes ranging from €1-10M for growth-stage and up to €1M for select seed-stage tickets, the fund invests in startups across multiple sectors, including Fintech, Mobility, HealthTech, EdTech, AI, Digital Content and AgTech.

Since its inception in October 2019, CAIF has backed ten prominent companies operating across the continent, including 54gene, OZÉ, Migo, PalmPay, Heetch, KaiOS, Boomplay, Aerobotics, and WhereIsMyTransport. Most recently, the fund co-led Tunisia-based EdTech startup GoMyCode’s $8M Series A round.

“AfricInvest’s partnership with Cathay Innovation brings to Africa global expertise in the innovation space combined with a robust network in Europe, the US and Asia, all helping to build bridges between Africa and the rest of the world, allowing the fund’s investees to grow into regional and global champions.” said Yassine Oussaifi, Partner at AfricInvest and co-head of CAIF.

“As technology scales and brings massive upgrades to global populations, startups are critical in building the new digital infrastructure needed for emerging regions like Africa to redefine industries and society in the 21st century.

“We’re proud to partner with the AfricInvest team — connecting the entire African continent with tech hubs around the world — in a shared mission of accelerating the transition to a more digital, sustainable and inclusive economy for Africa and beyond,” added Mingpo Cai, Founder and Chairman of Cathay Capital and Cathay Innovation.

Since its launch in 1994, AfricInvest’s multi-strategy platform has actively contributed to strengthening the private equity and venture capital ecosystem in Africa.

CAIF relies on AfricInvest’s rich investment expertise, its extensive pool of resources from its network and its physical presence across 11 regions through offices including Abidjan, Algier, Cairo, Casablanca, Lagos, Nairobi, and Tunis to provide local hands-on support, create synergies with portfolios and assist with geographic expansion.

With over 200 portfolio companies across 25 African countries in a variety of high-growth sectors, of which 106 have exited, AfricInvest has, to date, raised over $2bn AUM across 21 funds and benefits from strong, long-term support from both African and international investors.

Founded in 2015, Cathay Innovation is a leading venture capital firm providing entrepreneurs with the support of a global ecosystem across North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa.

The global platform unifies technology investment across continents, investors, entrepreneurs and leading corporations to accelerate startup growth with access to new markets, invaluable industry knowledge and introductions to potential partners from the start.

With over €2bn assets under management and offices across 3 continents, Cathay Innovation has a strong track record of over 120 global investments, including 19 unicorns, in startups accelerating the sustainable and digital transformation of industry and society.

CAIF enables promising ventures to build and scale innovative technologies that drive inclusive socio-economic growth in Africa. To date, the fund has proved tremendous traction and scalability with portfolio companies expanding their global footprint to over 21 markets across the continent.

The Fund’s portfolio companies have also aggregated significant impact at scale in recent years with over 136m Africans reached with inclusive and digital solutions–meaning $1 spent reaches more than one user on the continent. With its current portfolio, the Fund has created and sustained over 1,400 direct jobs, with women representing an average of 35% of the workforce.

Deployed by a team of investment professionals located in the centers of VC innovation across Africa, the fund will continue to support African entrepreneurs to scale their innovative technologies across the continent and beyond, as well as support global entrepreneurs in their expansion into Africa.

“The Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund was born out of the idea that innovative and tech-enabled startups in Africa are solving important problems and socio-economic gaps. We see this funding opportunity as a means to deliver strategic support to the outstanding startups looking to innovate and improve lives in Africa.

Already, CAIF has reached over a hundred million people through job creation and inclusion, but there are still millions across the continent with limited economic resources on our radar,” said Khaled Ben Jilani, Senior Partner at AfricInvest and co-head of CAIF.

The venture capital market in Africa has seen exponential growth over the last decade with the acceleration in digital transformation across all sectors. As a result, the industry is becoming the fastest-growing innovation ecosystem globally.

In 2021, the ecosystem reached a new milestone of c.$5 billion in venture capital, more than the preceding two years combined and close to three times more than in 2020.

As one of the largest early- to growth-stage Pan-African innovation funds, the final round places CAIF in a solid position to double down its efforts to focus on innovative and scalable post-revenue ventures based in, or with a focus on, Africa. As a result, CAIF will continue to firmly stand at the forefront of the continent’s rapidly evolving VC scene.

 


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E-Financial

Enza Raises $6.75m Seed Funding to Boost Embedded Payment Solutions Across Africa

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Enza, an embedded payment startup based in Dubai and founded by former Network International executives, has raised $6.75 million in seed equity funding. The round was co-led by Algebra Ventures and Quona Capital.

Enza Raises $6.75m Seed Funding to Boost Embedded Payment Solutions Across Africa

Founded in 2023, Enza’s payment solutions enable banks and fintechs to offer locally tailored payment services across African markets, including card issuance, digital wallets, and real-time payments.

The Enza platform is built to support both sides of the transaction chain — serving banks and fintechs on the issuing side, as well as SMEs and merchants on the acceptance side.

Existing client use cases feature the rollout of digital payment solutions, including domestic payment schemes, real-time payment services, mobile money, and Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) options, alongside international payment schemes across several African countries.

With operations in Egypt, Nigeria, and South Africa, the recent capital injection will help enza expand its footprint into other key markets throughout Africa.

Before founding enza, the leadership team oversaw global acceptance, processing, and consumer finance divisions at Network International.

Hany Fekry, CEO of enza, stated: “This investment is a strong vote of confidence in our team, our market-leading solutions, and our dedication to empowering banks and fintechs to advance financial inclusion across the continent.”


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E-Financial

UBA Grows Profit to ₦804Bn, Declares N3 Kobo Final Dividend

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Oliver Alawuba, group managing director/chief executive officer, UBA,
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United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has released its audited financial results for the full year ended December 31, 2024, with all major indicators witnessing significant improvement.

The bank’s profit after tax rose by 26.14 per cent to ₦766.6 billion, up from ₦607.7 billion recorded at the end of the 2023 fiscal year.

UBA’s gross earnings also grew significantly from ₦2.08 trillion recorded at the end of the 2023 financial year to ₦3.19 trillion in the period under consideration, representing a 53.6 per cent growth.

The bank’s total assets rose remarkably by 46.8 per cent, from ₦20.65 trillion in 2023, to close at ₦30.4 trillion in December 2024.

Oliver Alawuba, group managing director/chief executive officer, UBA, said the bank’s performance demonstrated its focus on driving earnings growth, preserving asset quality, and expanding business operations.

The bank has proposed a final dividend of ₦3.00 kobo per share, bringing the total dividend for the year to ₦5.00.

The dividend is subject to shareholder approval at the upcoming Annual General Meeting.

UBA is one of the largest employers in the financial sector on the African continent, with 25,000 employees group-wide and serving over 45 million customers globally.


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E-Financial

SEC Declares War on Capital Market Fraudsters

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Dr. Emomotimi Agama, director-general, SEC,
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Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that only fit and proper individuals are permitted to operate in Nigeria’s capital market to enhance investor protection.

SEC Declares War on Capital Market Fraudsters

Speaking in an interview in Abuja over the weekend, Dr. Emomotimi Agama, director-general, SEC, emphasized that market operators engaging in unscrupulous activities would not be allowed to go unpunished.

According to him, “It’s important that, as a form of self-regulation, they are aware beforehand that if you do what is not right, the SEC will bring you out to the wall to say that you do not have character, because the very ethics of regulating or of registering a securities market operator is in the principle of the fit and proper person’s test.

“A fit and proper person’s test means that you satisfy all of the requirements that have been laid down in the Investments and Securities Act 2007 and in other regulations that the SEC has brought out to make sure that this happens.

“Disclosures by public companies will be very, very essential making sure that the investor has enough information to make decisions. If information is not provided, then that will be against the rules and regulations of the SEC and indeed, the ISA. So clearly for us, it is getting people to understand that there is no hiding place anymore for anybody that has an intention to defraud Nigerians and to defraud anybody that is investing in this market.”

The SEC Director-General stated that investor protection is a fundamental principle for the Commission, as the Investments and Securities Act (ISA) 2007 clearly outlines the objectives of securities regulation in Nigeria, with investor protection and market development as its twin priorities.

He emphasized that for any market to thrive, investor protection must remain a top priority.

He further asserted that the SEC is committed to ensuring that all market participants understand the Commission’s sacred responsibility, stressing that the SEC’s leadership, entrusted with this duty by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, will carry it out effectively.

“It is important to state clearly that every investor in Nigeria is under the cover of the SEC as long as the person operates within the Nigerian capital market. And so the year 2025 is a year where we say that there is zero tolerance for any activity that does not fall within the laws of the Investments and Securities Act 2007.

“We are excited that the National Assembly has passed the new Investment and Securities Act and we are earnestly waiting for the President’s assent as the Bill is going through an administrative process to get to the President, to get it assented to.

“And that alone also signifies our intention to make sure that everyone that is investing in this market, or intends to invest in this market has a cover. That cover runs across so many lines, particularly, let me mention that Ponzi schemes will no longer be a place where people will be factoring, where people will be interested in, because the penalties in the new ISA you know, towards people that are engaged in Ponzi scheme is stiff enough to deter them.”


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