Hello Friends,
Welcome to our final newsletter for 2023. Blitz through the Ghana Innovation Journal to know what happened in weeks 48 to 50 in the innovation landscape.
Funding frenzy: $18.5 million+ funding deals secured.
Ghana-based startups collectively raised at least $18.5 million in equity and grants over the last fortnight. This turnaround is exciting for an ecosystem that has experienced a dry spell in funding for a while. Regarding ticket sizes, Koa, the cocoa upcycling company, raised a $15 million Series B round to scale its operations and develop new products. Maka, the fashion and beauty e-commerce platform, also raised $2.65 million to deepen its presence in Ghana and Nigeria. By participating in the Techstars Lagos Accelerator programme, Swoove and One Plan are guaranteed funding of up to $120,000 each. Furthermore, 3Farmate Robotics secured angel funding to bring its autonomous farm robots to market.
€700,000 grant funding deal was also closed by seven startups through the develoPPP Ventures programme. Beneficiaries include Built Financial Technologies, Legendary Foods Africa, Grow For Me, Kola Market, HJA Africa, InstantRad and Nelplast Eco.
Product launches
Three products in the legal, fintech, and mobility sectors were launched.
- Founded by Jessie Abugre, Nana Adwoa Amponsah-Mensah, and Kwame Owusu Afram, Zuputo aims to make legal services accessible and affordable.
- StacAi acquired regulatory approval from the Bank of Ghana for its financial trust infrastructure platform. Founded by Dr Arnold Kavaarpuo, former CEO of Jumo Ghana and Kuda Ghana, StacAi aims to enable financial institutions and businesses to authenticate, verify, score and manage the creation of financial assets by providing the most diversified and extensive data on consumers and SMEs for risk assessment.
- The Government and Ghana Private Road Transport Union-backed ride-hailing app, Tap N’ Go, was launched by the Vice President, Dr Bawumai. Although it is early days for the app, we are still wondering how it can outcompete venture-backed platforms such as Bolt and Uber. With access to venture dollars, Bolt and Uber subsidize prices and incentivize riders and drivers on the platforms. We anticipate Tap N’ Go’s customer-acquiring strategies on the market.
Green Revolution: Electric Vehicle Policy Launch.
The President launched the anticipated electric vehicle policy at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai. The Policy will be implemented in three phases, with the preparatory phase (2024-2026) focusing on addressing the challenges and barriers to EV uptake. Phase 2 (2027 – 2035) will ensure a successful take-off and transition to EVs. The target is that by the end of this phase, the EV penetration rate will be around 35%. For the final phase (2036 – 2045), efforts will be made to ensure that, by 2045, no new petrol or diesel vehicles will be sold or imported into Ghana.
Talent
- The President of Ghana FinTech and Payments Association, Martin Kwame Awagah, has been appointed by the Africa Fintech Network as a Board Member from 2023 to 2026. Africa Fintech Network is the umbrella body for in-country Fintech Associations dedicated to propelling Africa’s fintech solutions and related technologies.
- MacCarthy Mac-Gbathy, the founder of the Tamale-based innovation hub, HOPin Academy, joined the Board of Advisors of MICollaboratory. The Paris-based non-profit organization MICollaboratory aims to accelerate social innovation opportunities for youth in marginalized communities and developing economies.
- Sadly, we bid farewell to a key pillar in the startup ecosystem—the CEO of iCODE, Prince Bonney. He passed away after a short illness. As the CEO of the hub, he trained and supported over 20,000 youth in the Western Region in technological skills and entrepreneurship.
#YearEndWrapUp
