<h1>Financial Inclusion and Market Linkages Transform Lives</h1>Q&amp;A with Quest Digital Finance founder Jean Antony Onyait <img class="image_resized" style="width:100%;" src="/uploads/20210518_112053_889a1e0b0d.jpg">Since 2016, Ugandan fintech startup Quest Digital Finance has been bringing financial inclusion and market linkages to the “unbanked” through its fintech products&nbsp;<a href="https://akellobanker.com/#">Akellobanker</a> and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.questbanker.com/index.php#welcome">Quest Banker</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;Quest Banker was created to help address the needs of 65% of adults in Uganda with no access to formal credit institutions (World Bank, 2017). By enabling end-to-end digital transformation for financial institutions, Quest Banker de-risks facilitating credit to these underserved populations.&nbsp;The Akellobanker platform serves the other side of the market, enabling smallholder farmers and traders to access loans from financial institutions, primarily SACCOS (Savings and Credit Cooperatives) and microfinance institutions. By providing underserved farmers, their biggest user segment, with access to finance, the fintech company is also helping to bolster food security. A 2022 Renew Capital Angels&nbsp;<a href="https://www.renewcapital.com/newsroom/quest-digital-finance-connects-the-unbanked-to-formal-credit-systems">investment</a> in Quest Digital Finance is helping to fund the growth of the Akellobanker platform user base.Founder,&nbsp;<a href="https://ug.linkedin.com/in/jonyait">Jean Antony Onyait</a> shares his startup journey in an interview with Renew Capital.&nbsp;This interview has been edited for length and clarityQ. What changes and challenges have you seen in entrepreneurship in your country over the past 10 years?&nbsp;Cash flow challenges are the reason most businesses in Uganda die. However, that is changing. The appetite for investment is definitely growing. The government is showing more interest in investing in companies that are locally born. Development partners have also realized the need to support local solutions which have been contextualized to address local problems.Q. What do you think the private sector in Uganda might look like in the next 10 years?In the next 10 years, I think the private sector in Uganda will play a critical role in influencing public policy. For example, if you look at finance 10 years ago, commercial banks were the owners of financial inclusion. Five years ago, financial technology companies came over and showed banks that they could break through to places they weren’t reaching—breaking monopolies and creating healthy competition. This competition goes a long way in reducing prices and making services more affordable for local communities. I foresee many partnerships being created because governments will want to use locally existing solutions to deliver services to the local communities. Already, these public-private partnerships have become common in the agriculture, finance and healthcare sectors.&nbsp;Q. Why is private sector innovation important to bolster agricultural production in Uganda?Uganda’s population is growing fast, but the land mass, especially that which can be used for agriculture remains the same, so there need to be new ways of catalyzing production for agriculture. At the same time, industrialization is increasing, and most of the raw materials will come from agriculture. The only way we can meet this demand is to educate the millions of people working in agriculture and provide access to financial linkages, quality traceable inputs, buyers, equipment and insurance. Today, decisions need to be made with data, which is best leveraged with a traceable, end-to-end digital ecosystem or economy. That’s what our business is helping to build.&nbsp;Q. Can you tell us a bit about your future plans for the business?Demand for our line of work grew as a result of COVID-19 which reaffirmed the importance of helping businesses through digitalization. Unfortunately, the cost of infrastructure can be prohibitive. As such, we need to think about how to bundle more products and services so that we can eventually build a premium product that helps us recoup our money from the transactions and services we deliver. That's why it’s so important and strategic for us to get as many clients as we can now. With the investment from the Renew Capital Angels, we are able to sign on a lot of rural cooperatives and financial service providers as we integrate or link them to relevant products and service bundles that will transform the lives of millions of smallholders.&nbsp;

Q&A with Quest Digital Finance founder Jean Antony Onyait 

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Financial Inclusion and Market Linkages Transform Lives

<h1>African E-Commerce Struggles to Scale, While Tech Logistics Companies Attract Capital</h1>An update on Africa’s logistics market intelligence, trends and asset-light tech innovation&nbsp;The Founders of E-Commerce and Logistics Giant Jumia Resign&nbsp;In November, after five years of successive losses, the founders of African e-commerce giant Jumia&nbsp;<a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/jeremy-hodara-sacha-poignonnec-step-134402513.html">resigned</a>. The joint resignation came just 10 days before a rocky third quarter financial report.&nbsp;The company also moved its remaining executives to Africa to account for the rising rent prices of their original Dubai headquarters. Moves like these underscore the issues multinational companies face operating in Africa as currency devaluations, limited access to foreign currencies and heavy government control on imports can continually undermine a business' success.&nbsp;These moves came just as Jumia's stock price dropped by 68% from its high-profile New York IPO in 2019. In 2022, the company suffered from currency devaluation in the markets where it operates, undermining revenues. For example, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://techcrunch.com/2022/11/18/jumia-to-cut-products-and-overheads-as-new-management-chase-profits/">TechCrunch</a> (Q3 2022), “the Nigerian Naira, Egyptian Pound, and West African CFA depreciated by 5%, 14% and 13% respectively against the dollar during the nine-month period ending September 30, 2022.”<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/L_brief_7098c31674.jpeg"></figure>In response, Jumia will emphasize capturing local stock, reducing the need to import items with foreign currency —which governments heavily regulate. The company also intends to shift its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/jumia-announces-leadership-changes-to-support-its-journey-towards-profitability">monetization model</a> from commission charges to offering value-added solutions like advertising and building a stronger local supply of goods, according to Franics Dufay, the current acting CEO.&nbsp;Finally,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-07/jumia-co-founders-step-down-from-loss-making-africa-online-firm?leadSource=uverify%20wall#xj4y7vzkg">Amazon</a> has plans to launch in additional African countries in 2023, including in Nigeria and South Africa, putting increased pressure on Jumia. Importantly, Amazon's first African venture in Egypt, which launched in 2017 with Amazon’s acquisition of Souq, has had mixed success as the global e-commerce company struggled to adapt itself to local markets and expectations.Rwanda's EV and E-Mobility Solutions Struggle Despite Government Push&nbsp;What’s happening: EV and e-mobility solutions have&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-63622624">struggled to scale</a> in Rwanda, despite heavy government investment and private sector&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ipsnews.net/2022/05/six-ways-rwanda-building-resilient-sustainable-transport-systems/">incentives</a> in recent years. While private investments have grown e-mobility solutions throughout Rwanda, limited charging infrastructure, poor local roads and a lack of support for EVs outside of Kigali have prevented e-mobility solutions from scaling beyond the country’s capital.&nbsp;Government&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ipsnews.net/2022/05/six-ways-rwanda-building-resilient-sustainable-transport-systems/">incentives&nbsp;</a>include low charging costs, tax breaks on imports of any e-vehicles, equipment or materials required to develop charging infrastructure and rent-free public land to set up charging stations. At the same time, development agencies have contributed to infrastructure development in support of private sector companies. For example, in 2021 Ampersand, an electric motorcycle company in Rwanda, secured a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dfc.gov/investment-story/reducing-carbon-emissions-east-africa">$9M debt facility</a> from the U.S. Development Finance Corporation to help it scale by installing additional charging stations and purchasing new batteries.Bottom Line: While the government and private sector have made efforts to advance EV and e-mobility solutions in Rwanda, the current challenges the sector faces highlight the difficulties that will impede the widespread adoption of EVs throughout sub-Saharan Africa in the near term. EVs are a necessary step towards reducing carbon emissions but current limitations such as high vehicle costs, limited charging infrastructure and poor road infrastructure are crucial obstacles that must be addressed to ensure their success.<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/L_brief_1_666b0060ec.jpeg"></figure>Kapu Secures $8M in Seed Funding Led by Giant Ventures and Firstminute CapitalIn December, tech newsletter&nbsp;<a href="https://techcrunch.com/2022/12/04/social-commerce-startup-kapu-by-ex-jumia-executive-comes-out-of-stealth-with-8m-funding/">TechCrunch</a> reported that e-commerce startup Kapu, led by former Jumia executive Sam Chappatte, received $8M in a seed funding round co-led by Giant Ventures and Firstminute Capital with participation from Founder Collective, Base Capital, Norrsken and Raven One.&nbsp;Kapu’s solution digitizes the informal retail sector in Kenya. While recent startups including Wasoko (formerly Sokowatch) and MarketForce seek to solve B2B logistics problems for small informal retailers, Kapu takes it a step further, creating direct B2C linkages which reduce grocery prices for Kenyan consumers. Strengthening linkages like these throughout Africa will greatly reduce costs to consumers. Throughout African markets, middlemen typically create these market linkages at high costs, playing the role that scalable technology should replace at a much lower cost to consumers. It is unlikely that Africa’s informal retail sector will formalize in the near term, but investors and companies that recognize and embrace it could become near-term winners.The Logistics Brief is a report on African logistics market intelligence. It focuses on trends and provides updates on asset-light tech innovation in the sector.&nbsp;Subscribe now to stay up to date with the latest investment happening across Africa.&nbsp;

An update on Africa’s logistics market intelligence, trends and asset-light tech innovation 

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Africa E-Commerce Struggles to Scale, While Tech Logistics Companies Attract Capital

<h1>Press Release: Renew Capital Invests in BuuPass, a Kenyan Tech Transport Company</h1>Digital infrastructure will streamline long-distance transportation in East Africa<a href="https://latest-api.renewcapital.com/uploads/FINAL_Buu_Pass_Press_Release_e31c1ade91.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Download the Full Press Release</a>&nbsp;NAIROBI, Kenya, February 14, 2023 - Transportation systems in sub-Saharan Africa are challenged and underfunded. More than 30 million Africans rely on inter-city transportation daily, and the domestic transport industry accounts for $40B in yearly spending. And yet, streamlined transportation systems in the region are a challenge due to lack of funds and technology for mass digitization.&nbsp;Renew Capital is helping to address this gap through its recent investment in BuuPass,&nbsp;a Kenya-based tech company with a web-based travel solution and a mission to make long-distance transport more accessible and seamless.BuuPass founders, Wyclife Omondi of Kenya and Sonia Kabra of India, met at Earlham College (Indiana, U.S.)&nbsp;in 2013. Their common interests in entrepreneurship and solving social concerns led them to co-found the college’s first entrepreneurship club and BuuPass, an idea that won them a 2016&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hultprize.org">Hult Prize</a> and the award of a $1M grant. The Hult Prize challenges young people across the globe to solve the world’s most pressing issues through social entrepreneurship.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/Whats_App_Image_2022_10_12_at_10_43_05_aa7c115a2f.jpeg" alt="Team photo of BuuPass co-founders, showcasing gender diversity, alongside team members in the Nairobi, Kenya office, highlighting a gender balance in the startup environment."></figure>“We both had experiences with not having accessible transportation,” says Kabra, noting that mass transit was in high demand in their respective home countries but hard to plan. Before BuuPass, most bus users in East Africa had to go to a bus station to purchase their tickets, which were still being processed on pen and paper. The BuuPass platform allows them to buy tickets online in real time.&nbsp;Registered in Delaware, U.S., with subsidiaries in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, BuuPass’ B2C platform now processes more than 10,000 bookings per day for bus, flight and train transportation for travelers. It recently added personal and business parcel distribution through its bus network. BuuPass aims to build the digital infrastructure for transport across Africa and capture market share in Eastern, Western and Southern Africa by 2030.&nbsp;&nbsp;The deal was signed as part of a Renew Capital Angels women’s investment package aimed at making East African SMEs more gender-balanced in staffing and services. “We&nbsp;wanted to make sure that we build a company that is true to our values as well as de-risking ourselves by creating the right policies and culture,” said Kabra.“BuuPass has proven to be a pivotal company in the transport industry in East Africa,” said&nbsp;Renew Capital Investment and Project Manager for Kenya, Esther Mwikali. “Renew Capital is proud to be part of this journey with BuuPass, kicking off our Kenyan portfolio.”

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BuuPass is an online bus, train and flight ticketing platform that has transformed travel bookings in Kenya and is on a mission to fully disrupt sub-Saharan Africa’s $40B inter-city travel industry. BuuPass works with East Africa’s leading bus, train and flight operators to bring travelers the convenience of digital booking solutions.

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Renew Capital invests in BuuPass, a Kenyan startup enhancing long-distance travel in East Africa with innovative online ticketing solutions for long-distance travel.

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Press Release: Renew Capital Invests in BuuPass, a Kenyan Tech Transport Company

<h1>Easy Matatu: The Startup Innovating in Africa’s Urban Transportation Sector</h1>Q&amp;A with Lema Carl Andrew, co-founder and CEO of Easy Matatu<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/Renew_Strategies_Easy_Matatu_14_1bae0eb0cb.jpg"></figure>In most cases, a simple commute in a matatu, the local name for 14-seat public minibuses in Uganda’s capital of Kampala, isn’t actually simple or pleasant. Getting from point A to point B involves long queues and delays which can cost commuters hours of their time. Due to the informality of the transportation sector, matatus in Uganda operate with little regulation. And the same applies to other major cities on the continent. Easy Matatu is one of Renew Capital’s portfolio companies that is working to solve this urban mobility challenge through a tech-enabled solution. The Easy Matatu app allows commuters to book and pay for a seat in advance, reducing wait time and minimizing delays. The company aims to make Uganda’s public transportation system safer and more reliable, improving the lives of all commuters. They also plan to bring their solution to other African cities with similar problems.&nbsp;We spoke to the CEO and co-founder of Easy Matatu,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/carl-lema/?originalSubdomain=ug">Lema Carl Andrew</a>, on the heels of receiving an investment from the Renew Capital Angels network. He shared how the company’s product is more than just a ridesharing app, contributing the necessary infrastructure to support the growing urban transportation sector in Africa.This interview has been shortened for length and clarity.Q. What got you interested in solving the challenges of public transportation in a place like Uganda?&nbsp;Initially, Easy Matatu was started to solve a simple transportation problem. How do I get to work on time? How do I get back home predictably? I live in Entebbe, which is located 34 kilometers from the city, and I have to commute in and out of the city every day. For anyone who lives that far out, traveling is extremely hectic. To get to work on time, you have to be up before the crack of dawn, or you will be late. You also have to contend with long queues and literally have to fight at the bus terminal just to get a seat because there are not enough matatus during rush hours. Entebbe to Kampala is a pretty straightforward route. Easy Matatu started by creating this simple route with a single matatu that would leave in the morning at 6 AM, and arrive in the city just before 7 AM, giving the commuter ample time to do a connecting journey to work. In the evening, you'd have the option for the 5 PM matatu that would get you home at 7 PM at the latest. Soon after we started, we quickly saw that the problem we were solving was not unique to us. It was common to pretty much everyone that lived more than 10 kilometers away from the city. Commuting to work was a hassle, and returning home was even more hectic.Q. What gave you the idea to create a tech-enabled platform to solve these transportation challenges?Before we started Easy Matatu, I had recently traveled to Kigali, Rwanda. Kigali pretty much had transportation like every other African city—chaotic, dangerous and unsafe. But a few months earlier, the government had intervened and partnered with a local tech startup that provided a payment solution that helped to address the problem. Traveling in Kigali became efficient and smooth. Back in Kampala and seated at the back of a matatu at 9 PM, my co-founders and I were reflecting on how difficult it was to get back home from the city. What was supposed to be a half-hour journey took about three hours. It dawned on us that everyone is digitizing different parts of the economy. At the time, there was a company called SafeBoda, that was digitizing boda-bodas. Uber had come into Kampala about three years earlier and had changed the way people used cabs, but still, nothing was being done about the matatus, which were pretty much transporting about 80 percent of all commuters in the city.Having seen what happened in Kigali, and since I am a software engineer and I had worked with a couple of startups in East Africa, we launched Easy Matatu. It’s bigger than just the app. Now our mission is to fix public transport in Africa’s cities, using technology. This looks different in different African cities. In Kampala right now, for example, we’re using 14-seater minibus taxis to provide reliable, safe and clean rides. But if you go to Nairobi, it's a different story. They have 30-seater matatus. In Tanzania, there are dala-dalas, which are even in worse condition than most other African cities. That's the mission we are on. That's what keeps us energized.Q. Who is your target market?Women are our biggest user demographic making up eight in 10 of our repeat customers. This is because of the convenience and safety that our service provides to them. With our service, customers can book a seat and have it waiting for them when they leave work and get to the terminal. With Easy Matatu we vet the drivers, train them and onboard them. The app provides users with the name and phone number of the driver. The second demographic that we are impacting is the matatu drivers themselves, who are primarily male. Prior to working for Easy Matutu, most drivers were undereducated and untrained and operated in an extremely stressful environment with daily targets that they had to meet to be able to get a wage. Our business model aims to flip this as we now engage them as drivers and use our platform to pull customers which makes their jobs easier, especially during peak hours.Q.&nbsp; What are the most significant changes and challenges you've seen in mobility and transport in Africa over the last 10 years?&nbsp;Over the last 10 years, African cities have grown very rapidly. Kampala itself has become increasingly congested. The city is bulging at the seams and the transportation infrastructure cannot sustain that. It’s projected that our cities are going to continue to grow over the next 10 to 20 years while the governmental response in many cases does not look like it will catch up to meet the demand. What I believe is needed are partnerships between the public sector and private players to further develop the transportation infrastructure.&nbsp;Q. What do you think the private sector in Africa, especially as it relates to transportation will look like in 10 years?My hope is that we will have more blended modes of transportation that make it easier for commuters to get to work and get back home and have a well-balanced life. Although informal transit is not ideal, it supports millions of livelihoods. Blended modes of transport that help commuters move about are unique to Africa. It's really unlikely we're going to have subways all over the place in a decade. We'll still have people sharing 14-seater buses, whether they're electric or not. We'll still have people hopping on boda-bodas. There is nothing inherently wrong with these informal modes of transportation as long as they are efficient and they work hand in hand with the more traditional mass transit options.&nbsp;

Q&A with Lema Carl Andrew, co-founder and CEO of Easy Matatu

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Easy Matatu: The Startup Innovating in Africa’s Urban Transportation Sector

<h1>Ten Years Invested to Grow a Company, Build a Nation and Leave a Legacy</h1>Renew Capital team shares their vision for African SMEs&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/1_Y9_A3705_6eb0e0a1f7.jpg"></figure>The year 2022 marked a decade since Renew Capital started its journey in Africa to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by providing the “missing middle” with the capital they need to build the private sector. From its inception, Renew Capital has been guided by the philosophy that investment and good management can transform SMEs into market leaders that drive the economic transformation of the continent.&nbsp;Building on a vision, the Renew Capital&nbsp;<a href="https://latest-api.renewcapital.com/uploads/Renew_Capital_2021_22_Impact_Report_b027a62dd1.pdf">2021-2022 Impact Report</a> notes over the past decade our work in Africa has mobilized close to $39M in capital and created over 2,200 jobs. Renew Capital has also grown its African presence from Ethiopia to eight countries, adding Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania and Zambia, with plans to expand its presence to seven additional countries by the end of 2023.&nbsp;In the report, Renew Capital Chief Operating Officer Emily Ziethen said that over the next decade, the world will recognize Africa as a private-sector success story.&nbsp;&nbsp;“We’ll see a thriving and resilient middle class and inspired and successful entrepreneurs creating SMEs that, in turn, create millions of decent jobs for men and women.”&nbsp;Renew Capital is hopeful that growth can alleviate poverty and increase productivity in a region with a large youth population. “Africa’s private sector represents real hope for the billion+ people who live on the continent,” she added.&nbsp;Renew Capital Angels member Jodi Morris captured that vision in her statement for the Impact Report.“In the next 10 years, my hope is that when I tell people that I have just returned from Africa, they don’t ask me how I enjoyed safari,” she said.“I see emerging models for education developing the future leaders for Africa in Africa. I see young and vibrant cities with a rising middle class, and entrepreneurs developing world-class companies to serve them. Finally, I see a new realization in the West—that Africa has much to teach us.”&nbsp;In fact, Africa is proving itself to be a hotbed of innovation, creative problem-solving and a resilient entrepreneurial spirit. According to the pan-African network of innovation and technology hubs, AfriLabs, as of 2019, there were more than 643 active tech hubs on the continent with at least one hub in each country supporting the burgeoning entrepreneurial scene. In fact, according to Africa: The Big Deal, African startups raised over $4.8B in 2022, breaking the record year for the past years.&nbsp;&nbsp;“In Kenya, SMEs have been identified as the country’s key engine for economic growth and employment creation,” says Renew Capital Investment and Project Manager for Kenya, Esther Mwikali.&nbsp;She adds, “We are constantly seeing the importance of investment to the Kenyan ecosystem, which has grown to have a tech reputation, dubbed “Silicon Savannah”, characterized by some phenomenal innovation and entrepreneurs making Kenya the second most popular investment destination after Nigeria.”Still, a lot of capital needs to be poured into the continent’s private sector to create the millions of jobs needed, Renew Capital Founder and CEO Matthew Davis explained in the report.&nbsp;“If during the next 10 years, 25% of the $40B Official Development Assistance (ODA) could be diverted to SME-focused blended finance projects that deliver 5X or more leverage from the private sector, we could attract more than $50B to invest in businesses and, by my estimate, create 8 million jobs per year—effectively closing Africa’s job gap.”&nbsp;Renew Capital has deployed a model of blended finance for the last decade with a growing partner portfolio including Global Affairs Canada, USAID, AGRA, the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank (FMO), Refugee Investment Network and the World Bank’s Gender Innovation Lab among others. Notably, Renew Capital recently signed&nbsp;<a href="https://www.renewcapital.com/newsroom/press-release-government-of-canada-and-renew-capital-sign-a-seven-year-partnership-to-expand-the-firms-business-model-across-africa">an agreement with Global Affairs Canada</a> to launch a seven-year Accelerating Regional Business Growth (ARBG) project to spur regional business development. The project aims to support the mobilization of capital and train SMEs to harness the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfTCA). According to the AfCFTA Secretariat, the AfCFTA signed in 2018 is the largest regional trade bloc in the world covering about 1.3 billion people. As of 2022, it represents a GDP of $3.4T and is estimated to grow to $29T by 2050.&nbsp;&nbsp;“We see tremendous potential to increase trade between African countries, driven by investments in small and medium-sized firms that are the bedrock of these economies,” said Renew Capital Angels Member and Director of Regional Private Sector Projects of Renew Capital Lucas Robinson. “The companies that we’re working with are investing in new technologies and hiring talent to drive growth. It’s inspiring to work alongside them.”One of our recent investments, Teraki, a diverse online audio platform, is a good example of youth-driven innovation and nation-building. Founded by two young Ethiopian tech innovators, Nahom Tsegaye and Abel Engida, the company is helping to bring together Ethiopians from across the globe through audiobooks and podcasts in various local languages.“Our generation is highly and increasingly dependent on technology, and Ethiopian youth are increasingly using Teraki to understand different current affairs and define our place in this world,” said co-founder Nahom Tsegaye.&nbsp;That’s a mission Renew Capital is confident it can help promote.&nbsp;“In the next 10 years, we are all going to realize that Africa has been the best solution for Africa all along,” Renew Capital Senior Investment Manager Diana Njuguna said in the report.&nbsp;Learn more about our ten years invested in Africa in “Building on a Vision:&nbsp;<a href="https://latest-api.renewcapital.com/uploads/Renew_Capital_2021_22_Impact_Report_b027a62dd1.pdf">2021-2022 Impact Report</a>” and subscribe to our newsletter to keep up with investment news and more.

Renew Capital team shares their vision for African SMEs 


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Ten Years Invested to Grow a Company, Build a Nation and Leave a Legacy

<h1>Press Release: Government of Canada and Renew Capital Sign a Seven-Year Partnership to Expand the Firm’s Business Model Across Africa</h1>Announcing the Accelerating Regional Business Growth program<a href="https://latest-api.renewcapital.com/uploads/FINAL_ARBG_Press_Release_41f70716f4.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Download the Full Press Release</a>&nbsp;Over the past decade, Renew Capital has been working in partnership with the development and investment communities to design, test and scale blended finance mechanisms and innovations to grow Ethiopia’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) ecosystem in the areas of job creation, investment facilitation and gender equality. Now, a seven-year partnership with funding from the Government of Canada will help Renew Capital build on that success and expand this model across East Africa to support the shared priority for inclusive, sustainable economic growth across the continent.&nbsp;“Canada’s support for this project demonstrates our commitment to supporting innovative initiatives that build a more inclusive, sustainable and resilient Africa. We will continue to work with our partners to contribute to the region’s efforts to create a more prosperous Africa and a better future for its people,” said Harjit S. Sajjan, Minister of International Development and Minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada.<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/1_Y9_A3550_4eb7320cd1.jpg"></figure>The&nbsp;Accelerating Regional Business Growth&nbsp;(ARBG) program aims to promote regional economic integration, provide wrap-around technical assistance training and support, leverage private capital into the space and promote cross-cutting themes of gender equality and environmental sustainability. The program uses both a bottom-up approach, which prioritizes investment and training to help create a cadre of gender- and environment-smart SMEs, as well as a top-down approach, which escalates SMEs’ concerns through advocacy for policy reform.&nbsp;By the end of its seven-year duration, ARBG will operate in seven cities: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Kigali, Rwanda; Kampala, Uganda; Nairobi, Kenya, Lusaka, Zambia; Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; and Khartoum, Sudan. In addition, ARBG seeks to create 12,000 jobs, at least 50% of which are for women; facilitate $175M CAD of private capital into SMEs; facilitate $125M CAD in regional trade; and support 150 SMEs to increase the representation of women in their workforce and leadership.&nbsp;Thousands of executives and managers will receive gender-smart training on topics including the private investment process, regional trade readiness, executive business management and finance. The goal is to support businesses throughout their journey, both as they raise funds and then as they utilize that capital to grow their companies.&nbsp;“The ultimate outcome is a growing, more resilient and gender-responsive local SME sector contributing to regional trade, decent jobs and women’s economic empowerment in Africa,” said Renew Capital Founder and CEO Matt Davis.&nbsp;With this agreement, Renew Capital will also be adding research and training around trade to its mission. It comes shortly after the signing of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).&nbsp;“We see tremendous potential to increase trade between African countries, driven by investments in small and medium-sized firms that are the bedrock of these economies,” added Renew Capital Angels Member and Director of Regional Private Sector Projects of Renew Capital Lucas Robinson. “The companies that we’re working with are investing in new technologies and hiring talent to drive growth. It’s inspiring to work alongside them.”The ARBG program will serve as a launching point for Renew Capital’s ambitious plan to expand its investment network to half of Africa’s 54 countries by 2027.&nbsp;“Africa is ripe with thriving SMEs, but entrepreneurs continue to face challenges accessing capital,” said Renew Capital Senior Investment Manager Njuguna Diana. “The ARBG program is promising as it provides a platform to help entrepreneurs navigate these challenges through the different training programs coupled with the advocacy work with stakeholders such as governments.”&nbsp;

Announcing the Accelerating Regional Business Growth program

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Press Release: Government of Canada and Renew Capital Sign a Seven-Year Partnership to Expand the Firm’s Business Model Across Africa

<h1>Reflecting on 2022 and Looking Forward to an Impactful 2023</h1>Renew Capital celebrates its continued growth across Africa.Renew Capital has closed out 2022 having achieved a string of important milestones and generating a lot of momentum for growing the company and furthering its mission in the year to come. This past year, the firm celebrated its 10--year anniversary of impact investing in Africa with expansion to several new countries and investments in gender-smart business and new areas of technology, as well as a brand refresh.In the coming weeks, it will be launching a series of new partnerships, some of which are announced here below.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/10_Years_707878f4d8.png"></figure>Investing In and Building GenderSmart Companies&nbsp;Building on Renew Capital’s ongoing commitment to invest in African women, this year, the firm worked with its partnering organizations to create several toolkits to empower businesswomen to grow and participate in gender-smart small and medium enterprises (SMEs).One of the biggest examples was the publication of the&nbsp;<a href="https://sg2x.squarespace.com/entrepreneurs">SME Gender Growth (SG2X) Playbook</a>. Co-written and designed by Renew Capital and its partners USAID and the gender-lens investment empowerment organization 2X Challenge, the SG2X toolkit was created to help fund managers and SMEs operating in Africa to build gender-smart SMEs with gender-balanced executives that aim to deliver both attractive financial results and impact.The content for the toolkit was developed from two years of online gender-smart courses provided by this partnership and implemented by Renew Capital.&nbsp;&nbsp;Renew Capital and the Alliance for Green Revolution (AGRA) have also spent the last two years providing women in agribusiness with training and resources through the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.renewcapital.com/newsroom/arise-re-launches-the-last-week-of-september-2022">African Resilience and Investment Series for Women Executives (ARISE) Program</a>. ARISE was developed with the goal to help women-operated agri-businesses recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and grow their capacity for other potential business crises. The program included training in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.renewcapital.com/newsroom/speaking-up-and-stepping-up">building the self-confidence needed to meet these challenges</a>.&nbsp;Tech Package Delivers Four InvestmentsRenew Capital’s investment team spent much of 2022 training, preparing and ultimately investing in several SMEs in an East African tech package aimed at promoting food security, inclusive credit practices for unbanked populations, improved access to transportation and greater social and cultural exchange and preservation.&nbsp;Two of the Ugandan companies were direct compliments to each other. Renew Capital’s investment in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.renewcapital.com/newsroom/Quest%20Digital%20Finance%20Connects%20the%20Unbanked%20to%20Formal%20Credit%20Systems">Quest Financial’s Akellobanker</a> platform will help the unbanked—especially those in rural areas—obtain access to credit, while the digital platform&nbsp;<a href="https://www.renewcapital.com/newsroom/Press%20Release%20Inputi%20Receives%20an%20Investment%20to%20Grow%20Smart%20Technology%20for%20Food%20Security">Inputi</a> will help farmers decide what inputs to buy for their crops and when and where to purchase them at agrishops in their area.&nbsp;Also contributing to more reliable and productive lives in Uganda is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.renewcapital.com/newsroom/Press%20Release%20Easy%20Matatu%20Expands%20its%20Ridesharing%20Minibus%20Services%20in%20Uganda">Easy Matatu</a>, a minibus ride sharing app that has been especially popular among women who often carry the double load of handling more familial responsibilities and chores at home while also working an outside job. Unlike regular public minibuses, Easy Matatu can digitally track passengers in the company’s updated vehicles, and drivers are trained in finding the fastest and safest routes throughout Kampala.&nbsp;The Renew Capital Brand Refresh&nbsp;Finally, Renew Capital spent much of 2022 working on a massive&nbsp;<a href="https://www.renewcapital.com/newsroom/RENEW%20LLC%20Becomes%20Renew%20Capital">brand refresh</a> to the overall look and feel of the website and related company resources. It culminated in September 2022 with the rebranding of RENEW to Renew Capital, as well as bolder, brighter aesthetics and a forward-facing arrow logo for its branded collateral, all reinforcing the firm’s increased momentum in expanding across Africa.&nbsp;&nbsp;Moving Forward 2023Throughout its 10 years invested in Africa, Renew Capital has remained committed to growing the SME ecosystem of Ethiopia, the country where it first began on-the-ground operations.&nbsp;Starting in January, Renew Capital will serve as the implementer of the Government of Japan’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.renewcapital.com/newsroom/JICA%20and%20MinT%20Invite%20Ethiopian%20Innovators%20to%20Apply%20for%20a%20Chance%20to%20Participate%20in%20an%20Acceleration%20Program%20and%20Pitch%20Competition">Next Innovation with Japan (NINJA) Acceleration Program in Ethiopia</a>. Run in collaboration with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Ethiopia’s Ministry of Technology (MinT), this program will offer pitch session advice to 30 small Ethiopian businesses and training to MinT, then, after a process of elimination, six startups will be chosen to participate in a four-month accelerator program which will be documented in text, photos and video to showcase some of the nation’s best and brightest entrepreneurial talent and serve as a blueprint for acceleration programs elsewhere.&nbsp;This past year was one of many exciting ones for Renew Capital. Learn more about our ten years invested in Africa in our&nbsp;<a href="https://latest-api.renewcapital.com/uploads/Renew_Capital_2021_22_Impact_Report_b027a62dd1.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2TzBuu2dnqMlqxBC4ge0gWXkNNe3Odz8x0BlAPbs1vlHlsL5QzMcF4W3U">2021-2022 Impact Report</a>.<a href="https://www.renewcapital.com/contact">Sign up for our newsletter by hitting the SUBSCRIBE button at the bottom of the page</a> to be sure you don’t miss any of Renew Capital’s exciting announcements in the year ahead. &nbsp;

Renew Capital celebrates its continued growth across Africa

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Reflecting on 2022 and Looking Forward to an Impactful 2023

<h1>Renew Capital Invests in Ethiopian Audiobook and Podcast Company Teraki</h1>Bringing Ethiopians Together Through Localized Content<a href="https://latest-api.renewcapital.com/uploads/FINAL_Teraki_Press_Release_a2099fbd15.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Download the Full Press Release&nbsp;</a>ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, January 3, 2023&nbsp;— In Ethiopia, two tech innovators have created a diverse online audio platform for amplifying Ethiopia’s tradition of storytelling. The company’s name is Teraki, the Amharic word for storyteller, and its two founding entrepreneurs, Nahom Tsegaye and Abel Engida are developing audiobooks and podcasts in various Ethiopian languages. They’re hoping to expand their company’s global reach with a recent financial and technical investment by Renew Capital.<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/IMG_1460_7a201cd38c.png" alt="Two Founders of Teraki, an Ethiopian audiobook and podcast platform enhancing local storytelling, posing in front of Addis Ababa skyline, showcasing the vibrant cityscape of Ethiopia."></figure>The entrepreneurs began the project in 2019 with just $2,000, using those funds to recruit Ethiopian voiceover and acting talent to record narrations of some of their nation’s most popular books. As of November, the platform had an estimated 38,000 users listening to everything from novels, self-help books and children’s literature to podcasts on tech, entrepreneurship, interpersonal relationships, spirituality and current affairs.According to UN World Population Prospects 2022, 70% of Ethiopia’s population of 120 million is under the age of 30.&nbsp;“Our generation is highly and increasingly dependent on technology, and Ethiopian youth are increasingly using Teraki to understand different current affairs and define our place in this world,” said co-founder Nahom Tsegaye.&nbsp;“The youth really don't have that connection with their elders and those storytellers,” said co-founder Abel Engida.&nbsp;Teraki says over half of its more than 80 podcasts also create opportunities for Ethiopians to create a greater sense of community through online conversation.&nbsp;“We wanted to give a platform to everyone to discuss what it's like to experience feminism, sexism, relationships and other topics and what they mean in our own context,” said Engida.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/IMG_9045_d0123bfb52.jpg"></figure> According to 2021 data from the World Bank, &nbsp;Ethiopia is Africa's second largest country after Nigeria, and according to 2018 data from the Ethiopian government, there were three to five million Ethiopians living in the diaspora. This provides Teraki plenty of room for expansion. Teraki knows the diaspora is as Ethiopian as their compatriots living in the mother country, and they are confident their company can strengthen those connections, while reinforcing the linguistic and cultural identities of Ethiopian immigrants and expatriates, especially children enrolled in schools without their home languages.“It’s a really exciting project because we're planning not only to shine a light on these local talents, but also trying to reach out to this global community” said Engida.&nbsp;&nbsp;

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Teraki is an audio entertainment platform. Named after the Amharic word for “storyteller,” Teraki’s mission is to connect their customers through Ethiopian and Eritrean audiobooks and podcasts delivered in local languages.

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Renew Capital invests in Teraki, an Ethiopian audiobook and podcast platform, enhancing local storytelling and connecting Ethiopians worldwide through diverse and localized content.

Ethiopia

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Press Release: Renew Capital Invests in Ethiopian Audiobook and Podcast Company Teraki

<h1>Gender Lens Investing: Closing the $42B Funding Gap for Women Entrepreneurs in Africa&nbsp;</h1>USAID and Renew Capital’s SG2X Playbook for fund managers and entrepreneurs&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="/uploads/shutterstock_2156124527_41d41e0224.jpg"></figure>The funding gap for female entrepreneurs in sub-Saharan Africa is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/08/how-female-led-start-ups-can-transform-africa/#:~:text=In%20Sub%2DSaharan%20Africa%2C%20research%20shows%20that%20there%20is%20currently%20a%20%2442%20billion%20funding%20gap%20for%20women%20entrepreneurs.">$42B</a>. Evidently, the African continent is a long way from achieving gender equality in access to funding. This gap hinders women’s ability to take a greater lead in growing the economy and improving their roles as agents of social change. Thankfully, more investors are turning to gender lens investing, an investment approach that promotes women's empowerment alongside maximizing returns to investors.&nbsp;Empowerment of women, however, doesn’t stop at funding. It’s also crucial to ensure that the entire structure of a business initiative is gender-smart. This includes having gender-diverse teams, a characteristic that is consistent with high-performing companies. In fact, <a href="https://gap.hks.harvard.edu/impact-gender-diversity-performance-business-teams-evidence-field-experiment#:~:text=The%20study%20finds%20no%20evidence,gender%20composition%20of%20the%20group." target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">research shows </a>that teams with lower percentages of women have lower sales and lower profits than teams with a balanced gender mix.“Achieving gender diversity not only creates more inclusive organizations, but also more effective organizations,” says Mariah Grubb, a senior consultant at Renew Capital.&nbsp;“Addressing gender biases and opportunity gaps in education and professional development are among the most pressing issues that need to be tackled to fully unlock human potential and drive economic growth on the continent. At the end of the day, gender diversity positively impacts the bottom line. It just makes business sense,”&nbsp;The gender-smart agenda cuts across all of Renew Capital’s work and has been integrated into the capacity-building programs delivered through&nbsp;<a href="https://www.renewcapital.com/companies">the Renew Capital Exchange</a> —- the firm’s on-the-ground hub for pipeline development, ecosystem building and entrepreneur training programs. In 2021, Renew Capital partnered with USAID to create the SME Gender Growth Acceleration (SG2X) Playbook, hosted on the <a href="https://sg2x.squarespace.com/entrepreneurs">2X Collaborative</a> website, a global initiative to support gender-focused investors and drive gender-smart investing.&nbsp;As noted in our&nbsp;<a href="https://latest-api.renewcapital.com/uploads/Renew_Capital_2021_22_Impact_Report_b027a62dd1.pdf">2021-2022 Impact Report</a>, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.renewcapital.com/newsroom/One%20year%20strong%20Business%20after%20the%20SG2X%20GenderSmart%20Execs%20Program">Gender Smart Exec's Program</a>, and its corresponding playbook are two significant changes to Renew Capital’s last decade of investing in women’s entrepreneurship. The SG2X Playbook builds on the foundation of the Exchange management training programs and provides asset managers and entrepreneurs with a set of practical tools to aid them in building gender-smart, scalable SMEs in sub-Saharan Africa. The playbook has been made into an easy-to-navigate dedicated platform publicly accessible through the&nbsp;2X Collaborative.&nbsp;In&nbsp;<a href="https://www.renewcapital.com/newsroom/SG2X%20Playbook%20Advantage%20From%20the%20Entrepreneurs%20Perspective">a survey conducted after the initial launch of the playbook</a>, users highlighted the ease of using the platform. One playbook user told Renew Capital:“The tools are easy to talk about and drum into people’s minds. In fact, my eyes were opened to the potential of tools already at my disposal...like my calendar.”&nbsp;&nbsp;The playbook is divided into one portal for fund managers and one for entrepreneurs. For fund managers, the SG2X Playbook highlights gender-smart practices they need to integrate into their work to scale gender-smart SMEs. The playbook was created with the help of a gender lens investing consortium and inspired by our experience as fund managers investing in Africa over the past&nbsp;<a href="https://latest-api.renewcapital.com/uploads/Renew_Capital_2021_22_Impact_Report_b027a62dd1.pdf">10 years</a>. In the portal, fund managers will find helpful resources to better organize their teams and a guide to conduct the investment process, from building a pipeline to closing and managing an SME portfolio.&nbsp; For entrepreneurs, the playbook is a valuable management resource complete with policy templates, materials and standard operating procedures they can tailor to their business. Also included are instructional videos from the Gender Smart Exec’s Program, a comprehensive management course for founders and executives. The playbook includes a suite of more than 45 practical tools that will aid in the execution of the Gender-Smart Exec’s Program and implementation of the playbook’s guidance.Addressing the enormous funding gap for women entrepreneurs will continue to require&nbsp;concerted efforts from many stakeholders with an interest in making an impact in this area.&nbsp;“I am excited to learn more about the management practices of women-owned and led companies,” says Julie Baker, an investor with the Renew Capital Angels network. “By supporting the due diligence and evaluation of women-owned businesses, I hope to learn about the challenges women starting and running companies face.”Baker adds that investors can contribute to Africa’s economic potential by funding high-growth businesses that maximize impact by empowering women entrepreneurs.&nbsp;“We have the privilege of helping them be more successful financially, socially and institutionally. And when these women succeed in business, my hope is that they will attract others who might imitate this model, leading to more opportunities for other women.”&nbsp; Are you a fund manager or a woman entrepreneur? Check out the&nbsp;<a href="https://sg2x.squarespace.com/entrepreneurs">SME Gender Growth Acceleration (SG2X) Playbook</a> to access gender-smart business resources.&nbsp;

USAID and Renew Capital’s SG2X Playbook for fund managers and entrepreneurs 


Investing in Africa