Consumer startups and companies led this issue of the weekly deals digest, with players like Nigeria’s Autochek raking in $3.4 million in funding in Africa while India’s CARS24 led emerging markets after raising $200 million.
Tugende’s $6.3 million Series A round was the biggest deal in Africa this week.’s digest. BYJU’s tied with CARS24 at $200 million while Vantage Data Centres led the global front at $1.25 billion.
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Top 3 Venture Deals in Africa
Tugende, Uganda’s provider of motorcycle leasing services fraised $6.3 million from Toyota Tshusho Mobility 54 in a recent Series A investment round. The 8-year-old startup will use the capital to advance its financial product for drivers and hasten the verification of MSM business asset finance products.
Nigeria’s Autochek raised $3.4 million seed funding from TLcom Capital Partners, 4DX Ventures, Lateral Capital Management, and three other investors. The app-based platform for car inspection and repair services which acquired Cheki Nigeria and Cheki Ghana will use the investment to grow its presence in Ghana and Nigeria.
Lastly, South Africa’s Student hub, an online platform for college courses raised seed funding from Naspers. The edtech will use the investment from Naspers’ Foundry for expansion.
Top 3 Venture Deals in Emerging Markets
In emerging Markets, BYJU’s, a provider of online courses for test preparation and supplementary courses for students, raised $200 million from T.Rowe Price and BlackRock. The investment pushes its valuation to $12 billion, with over 70 million users in 1,700 in India.
Online Consumer to the Business marketplace for second-hand cars CARS24 also raised $200 million from DST Global, Exor, and Unbound in its latest Series E funding round. The new funds will help in product innovation, giving users a wider assortment of automobiles.
Olist, Brazil’s multichannel platform for small businesses raised $58.2 million from SoftBank Group Corp, Valor, FJ Labs, VELT Partners, and Kevin Efrusy. Softbank already invested $35.5 million last year. Olist will use the funding to further its acquisition strategy in logistics and financial services.
Top 3 Venture Deals Globally
Globally, Vantage Data Centers led this week’s deals digest with a $1.25 billion funding from Digital Colony. The provider of data centre design and management services will use the latest investment to fuel expansion and development in North America and Europe. This year alone, Vantage data Centers has had two investments of over $1 billion; a $1.2 billion investment in July where Digital Colony invested $200 million and another $1.3 debt offering in October.
Hippo, an American online insurance platform for homeowners, raised $350 million from MS & AD Ventures and Mitsui Sumitomo. The Insurtech will use the investment to establish its presence in states in the US, eyeing the 95% goal.
Quid, a provider of smart loans for Pre-Ipo equity, raised $320 million from Oaktree Capital Management, Davidson Kempner Capital Management. The startup which deploys funds to employs who hold equity in startups, using the equity as collateral will use the fresh funds to continue providing liquidity and option exercise loans for employees in private companies.
Read more on this week’s deals digest here.
