Goldman Sachs and China to lead big investment in African tech startups in 2020
The founder of Africa Tech Summit , Andrew Fassnidge, has expressed big optimism concerning tech startups in 2020. He projected massive funding, new entrance and low exit from the attractive African tech landscape in 2020.
Fassnidge, who is familiar with the new narrative surrounding African startup ecosystem, saw US banking giant, Goldman Sachs’, series B funding to the tune of $30 million for Twiga Foods in East Africa, the $40 million investment into PalmPay led by Chinese Transsion Holdings, and Opera backed investors from China taking the lead in ride-hailing and payment systems, as signs of what is to come this 2020.
To further highlight his optimism for the industry in the new year, he pointed out other notable tech exploits in 2019 as foundations:
“Financial service provider, Carbon, also moved outside of its home location, setting up shop in East Africa at the very end of December, with a view to making inroads into the buoyant Kenyan market, integrating with the likes of mPesa, as well as bringing free credit reports to customers as it continues its quest for much improved financial education in the African market. 2019 was a relentless year for the digital bank, which also raised a $5 million debt facility from Lendable, and became the very first African fintech platform to secure a Credit Rating, acquire another fintech platform – Amplify, and also saw them break all the rules when it comes to African banking, by releasing full audited financials.”
The tech enthusiast believed Africa is at a stage where it can hardly monitor all the deals coming into the ecosystem. He mentioned the series D injection of $100 million into Andela in January 2019 as some of the most critical investment since the tech sector needs to raise the skills set of young people to keep the talent pipeline on the continent ever greased.
The 3rd Africa Tech Summit will hold in Kigali, Rwanda, and London, in February and May, 2020, respectively. The summit aims to connect African tech startups with bigger opportunities to push the frontier of financial inclusion, e-commerce and several other sectors where technology is presently providing solutions across the continent.
For participation click link Africa Tech Summit
