[NEWS] Africa Roundup: Jumia’s IPO, DHL launches Africa e-Shop, Cathay’s $168M VC fund, ConnectMed acquired – Loganspace

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[NEWS] Africa Roundup: Jumia’s IPO, DHL launches Africa e-Shop, Cathay’s $168M VC fund, ConnectMed acquired – Loganspace


The most piquant knowledge in a month of weighty African headlines modified into as soon as Jumia checklist on the Unusual York Inventory Alternate.

After filingSEC IPO doctors in March, the Pan-African e-commerce company’s shares began trading on the NYSE April 12, opening at$14.50 below ticker symbol JMIA. Jumia stock rose north of 70 percent on its first day of trading and started this week at $46.

With the public checklist, Jumia turned the first startup from Africa to record on a vital world change. The IPO raised nearly $200 million for the files superhighway endeavor.

The checklist created yet any other milestone for Jumia.  In 2016 the corporate turned the first African startup unicorn, achieving a $1 billion valuation after afunding sphericalthat included Goldman Sachs and MTN.

Essentially based in Lagos in 2012 with Rocket Webbacking, Jumia now operates more than one online verticals in 14 African international locations—from user retail to lag bookings.

Jumia has also opened itself up to Africa’s merchants with more than 80,000 energetic sellers on the platform.

AdoreAmazon,Jumia brings its win mix of supporters and critics. On the vital aspect, there are questions ofwhether it’s in point of fact an African startup. The parent for Jumia Community is included in Germany and contemporary CEOs Jeremy Hodara and Sacha Poignonnec are French.

On the flipside, fashioned Jumia co-founders (Tunde Kehinde and Raphael Afaedor) are Nigerian. The corporate is headquartered in Africa (Lagos) andincluded in each nationwherein it operates (belowECART Web Companiesin Nigeria). Jumia pays taxes on the continent, employs 5,128 americans in Africa (net page 125 of Okay-1) and the CEO of its largest nation operation Juliet Anammah is Nigerian.

The Jumia authenticity and selection debates will no query continue. Nonetheless basically the most piquant query — the driver within the wait on of the VC, the IPO, and query for Jumia’s shares — is whether the startup can originate profits. The corporate has generated years of losses, including harmful EBITDA of€172 million in 2018in contrast with revenues of €139 that identical 365 days.

DHL Africa e-Store

Name it coincidence or competition, but the day sooner than Jumia’s IPO, DHL partnered with yet any other e-commerce startup—MallforAfrica.com—to commence itsDHL Africa eShopapp for world shops to promote goods to Africa’s patrons markets.

The platform brings more than 200 U.S. and U.Okay. shops — from Neiman Marcus to Carters — online in 11 African international locations.

DHL Africa eShop operates using startupMallforAfrica.com’swhite mark provider, Hyperlink Commerce.

The unique online platform takes lend a hand of the transport big’s present supply structure on the continent to in finding goods to doorsteps discontinuance to and a long way.

DHL’s accomplice for the unique app, MallforAfrica, modified into as soon as based mostly in 2011 to solve challenges world user goods companies face when entering Africa.

On aB2Cstage, DHL Africa eShop brings distinct advantages on a transaction payment foundation (i.e. the payment of supply) given it’s connected to at least one in every of the enviornment’s logistics masters, DHL.

But any other a part of DHL and MallforAfrica’s partnership is the marketplace for offering e-commerce success companies thru MallforAfrica’s white mark Hyperlink Commerce provider.

This would possibly perhaps perhaps presumably presumably build the duo on a footing to compete with (or work with) big e-commerce names entering Africa and adds yet any other layer of competition with Jumia, which offers itswin success companies vertical in Africa.

Cathay Africinvest Innovation Fund

There’s a novel $100 million plus African VC fund within the works. Tunisia-based mostly totally totally non-public equity agencyAfricinvestteamed up withCathay Innovationto dispute the Cathay Africinvest Innovation Fund, with a aim elevate of $168 million.

Tiny print are nonetheless approaching near, but the fund will focus totally on Sequence A to C-stage investments in startups all over several international locations within the areas of fintech, logistics, AI, agtech and edutech. Investments would possibly perhaps presumably well well open up as early as 2019, fund co-founder Denis Barrier urged TechCrunch.

He expects to see solid local showing for startups from all over Africinvest’s 10 nation offices in North and Sub-Saharan African. The agency will open an space of job in Johannesburg within the discontinuance to future, in line with a company commence.

Zipline expands in Ghana

Zipline, the San Francisco-based mostly totally totally UAV manufacturer and logistics companies provider, launched a program in Ghana for drone supply of clinical presents.

Working with the Ghanaian authorities, Zipline will feature 30 drones out of four distribution facilities to distribute vaccines, blood and life-saving medications to 2,000 health facilities all over the West African nation each day. Talking toTechCrunch, the corporate’s CEO Keller Rinaudo described the Ghana operation as “the largest drone supply network on this planet,”

The Ghana program adds a second nation to Zipline’s live operations. Zipline obtained off the bottom in Rwanda and has leveraged its skills in East Africa to open up checking out clinical supply companies within the USA. Zipline plans to switch from pilot-segment to live-supply of clinical presents within the U.S. in some unspecified time in the future this summer season.

ConnectMed obtained by Merck

And within the spoil, German pharmaceutical companyMerck KGaaobtained the technology of Kenya based mostly totally totally online healthtech companyConnectMed. A 2017Startup Battlefield Africa competitor, ConnectMed paired up telehealth kiosks to local pharmacies—turning them into online clinics the keep sufferers spend the startup’s tablet based mostly totally totally app to join live to doctors for overview and prescriptions. The startup had obtained grant and seed funds from UK based mostly totally totally Entrepreneur First andNorway’s Katapult Accelerator.

Merck KGaa (no longer be at a loss for phrases with U.S. pharmaceutical company Merck) took over ConnectMed’s telehealth capabilities. “Following the handover of the corporate’s telehealth alternate solutions to Merck…ConnectMed will terminate operations,” said a company commence on the deal. Merck will mix ConnectMed’s platform into its winCURAFA hospital networkin Kenya.

Extra Africa Linked Stories @TechCrunch

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