Welcome to the This Week in StartupGhana newsletter. We have been on a hiatus for a few weeks. Whiles we were away, these were the headline stories in the Ghanaian ecosystem
- Warc Africa raises $7.5 million to improve farmer income and promote regenerative agriculture.
- GIZ Ghana boosts Ghana Climate Innovation Centre’s green entrepreneurship mission with €1.2 million.
- Association of Ghana Startups announces the Top 50 Startups to watch list.
- SC Ventures-backed SOLV launched in Ghana to support SMEs to scale.
- Jetstream Africa appoints Schandorf Adu Bright as Ghana Managing Director.
- Poka app selected for the Essity & FemTech Lab Accelerator.
Funding
- The Ghana-based agtech company Warc Africa successfully closed its Series B round, securing $7.5 million. Since its inception, the company has leveraged several rounds of funding from impact investors, including Cordaid, Acumen, Ceniarth, and the Mulago, Small, and Dovetail Foundations, as most agtech startups in Africa do. After validating its market, business and revenue models, the Swiss family office Kielder Agro led its Series B round, and the US-based catalytic investor Rippleworks provided the debt financing. According to the company, the fresh capital raised will boost Warc Africa’s reach to serve over 100,000 farmers in Ghana, increase their incomes, and protect the soil.
- The Ghana Climate Innovation Centre and GIZ Ghana have launched a €1.2 million partnership to develop a Business Incubation and Acceleration Programme for green businesses to stimulate economic growth. The participating businesses will have access to financial grants up to €10,000 to boost their operations and facilitate the further development of green enterprise initiatives.
Talent moves
- Jetstream Africa, the digital logistics company, has appointed Schandorf Adu Bright as the Ghana Managing Director. Schandorf is a Jetstream veteran who joined the company in 2019. Over the last five years, he has led teams in Ghana and Nigeria to navigate complex and sensitive supply chain challenges. Prior to this role, he was the company’s Director of Key Accounts.
Accelerator
- The female healthtech startup led by Nana Adwoa T Amponsah-Mensah, Poka app has been selected for the Essity Ventures and FemTechLab accelerator programme. The venture support program helps startups run market pilots and solidify their go-to-market strategy by leveraging the global hygiene and health company Essity and FemTechLab’s capabilities and networks. Poka app seeks to empower women with the knowledge and tools to make informed decisions about their bodies and improve access to affordable and high-quality healthcare. .
Product launch
- SC Ventures, Standard Chartered’s innovation, fintech investment and ventures arm, has launched SOLV Ghana, a business-to-business online marketplace that offers MSMEs short-term invoicing financing, buy now pay later services, and business loans via a trusted marketplace of verified buyers and sellers. The platform has already onboarded 40 supply chain ecosystems linked to over 9,000 MSMEs in Ghana.
- The Association of Ghana Startups has launched its Top 50 list of startups to watch. The list highlights some exciting and innovative companies providing solutions in Ghana and across Africa. Startups that made the list include AkoFresh, Wami Agro, Grow4Me, Wear Ghana, WeWire, Bezo Money, Kudigo, ShaQ Express, Wahu Mobility, Feenix Technology, Copianto AI, Jetstream Africa, and Stac Ai.
