Senegal’s Teranga Capital goes regional with recent $3.4M within the bag

Victoria from Techpoint right here,

Right here’s what I’ve bought for you right this moment:

• Senegal’s Teranga goes regional with recent $3.4M within the bag
• Full Farmer exports Africa’s harvest
• African startups bounce again in April with $343M

Senegal’s Teranga goes regional with recent $3.4M within the bag

Senegal’s Teranga Capital simply bagged about $3.4 million (CFA 2 billion) to increase past its dwelling turf. The personal fairness agency needs to unfold its wings into Mauritania, Guinea-Bissau, and Cape Verde because it eyes neglected markets in Francophone West Africa. That is the primary shut of a much bigger CFA 5–6 billion fundraising spherical, and more cash could possibly be on the best way.

Main the funding spherical had been a mixture of outdated and new faces: Senegal’s sovereign wealth fund FONSIS, I&P’s IPDEV2 fund, the agency’s co-founders Olivier Furdelle and Omar Cissé, and worldwide supporters just like the Dutch-funded CFYE and particular person investor Julie Dumortier.

The brand new funds come after a March shareholder assembly the place Teranga bought the inexperienced mild to scale up. It’s now allowed to jot down larger cheques, as much as CFA 1 billion (about $1.7 million), to assist the rising wants of small and medium companies. It’s additionally planning to again a few of its star portfolio corporations for a second time.

Since launching in 2016, Teranga Capital has made a reputation for itself as one of many few native buyers centered on early-stage companies in Senegal. Its portfolio spans agribusiness, well being, and logistics, with a mixture of fairness and hands-on assist. Now it needs to take that mannequin to neighbouring frontier markets.

Teranga’s enlargement technique is daring, particularly given how difficult these markets might be. Regulatory complications, poor infrastructure, and restricted exit choices are actual dangers in locations like Guinea-Bissau and Mauritania. However Teranga’s workforce believes its deep native roots and shut ties with founders will help it navigate the tough spots.

With recent money within the financial institution, the agency expects to start out in search of offers in new markets by the tip of 2025. No phrase but on when the second shut will occur, however they’re already speaking to extra buyers. In the event that they pull it off, Teranga might encourage extra small funds to discover Africa’s lesser-known enterprise hubs.

Full Farmer exports Africa’s harvest

I’ve been listening to since junior college that agriculture is the bedrock of African society, and truthfully, it by no means will get outdated. It’s nonetheless true. Agriculture is what retains many African economies operating, placing meals on tables and money in pockets. It employs over 60% of the continent’s workforce and contributes an enormous chunk to GDP in a number of nations. In Ghana, for example, agriculture makes up 54% of the nation’s GDP and employs greater than half the labour power.

However for a sector this necessary, it faces a tonne of points. Local weather change is messing with harvests, tech and infrastructure are lagging, and entry to worthwhile markets remains to be a significant headache for a lot of farmers. That’s the place Ghanaian startup Full Farmer is stepping in, making an attempt to bridge these gaps and assist farmers earn more money and develop their companies.

Full Farmer has been round for about eight years now, and the mission is evident: give African farmers higher entry to markets and the instruments they should farm smarter. It began with Desmond Koney, the founder and CEO, who had goals of turning into a mechanical engineer. However life had different plans. After his dad handed, he inherited the household farm, and that’s the place the seed for Full Farmer was planted.

Desmond’s preliminary plan was to digitise the farm, however like many startups, issues didn’t go precisely as deliberate. He instructed TechCrunch that the enterprise went by way of a number of variations earlier than selecting what it’s right this moment. And that meant determining all the things from the appropriate product to essentially the most viable enterprise mannequin. It wasn’t a straight highway, however the aim remained the identical: use tech to assist farmers win.

Now, Full Farmer operates as a worldwide platform connecting African farmers with worldwide consumers. In addition they ensure these farmers have entry to the appropriate seeds, instruments, and data to get most yield. It’s extra than simply rising crops; it’s about rising wealth and resilience for smallholder farmers throughout Africa.

Need to know how a Ghanaian farm boy ended up constructing a tech-driven market that’s altering African agriculture? Learn Chimgozirim’s full story for Techpoint Africa.

African startups bounce again in April with $343M

After a gradual March, Africa’s startup scene bounced again massive time in April 2025. Over 39 startups raised a mixed $343 million, means up from the $50 million pulled in only a month earlier. It’s the type of rebound that turns heads.

To provide some context, January noticed startups on the continent elevate $289 million, February introduced in $119 million, after which March dipped to $50 million. However April’s surge brings the year-to-date whole to $803 million throughout 163 offers, a stable 43% bounce from the $563 million raised throughout the identical interval final yr.

One of many headline offers got here from South Africa’s hearX, which merged with US-based Eargo in a transfer price $100 million. It’s one of many largest African startup offers to date this yr and exhibits how cross-border mergers are beginning to play a much bigger position within the funding story.

Egypt additionally made waves with Bokra, a younger Islamic fintech platform that raised $59 million by way of a sukuk issuance, fairly uncommon for a startup only a yr after its pre-seed. In the meantime, South Africa’s Sew pulled in $55 million from its current buyers, signalling robust perception in its cost infrastructure plans.

There have been additionally some noteworthy acquisitions: Egypt’s ADVA was scooped up by Maseera, Nigeria’s Bankly bought acquired by C-One, and South Africa’s Peach Funds was purchased by PayDunna as a part of its enlargement into Francophone West Africa.

Whereas South Africa and Egypt led the cost, Nigeria and Kenya had been unusually quiet in April. Kenya, which topped 2024’s charts with $638 million in funding, noticed a very low month. Nonetheless, the April uptick indicators that investor confidence in African startups is climbing once more, with native and diaspora-backed funds getting extra energetic.

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Have an exquisite Wednesday!
Victoria Fakiya for Techpoint Africa