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Angolan startup Balus has developed cloud-based tournament software that helps with organising registrations, brackets, teams, matches, coaches and athletes, making the running of sports events more efficient.

Formed at the end of 2017 and made available to users last month, Balus is an online for platform for organising tournaments and leagues, removing the need for pen, paper and spreadsheets.

With Balus, tournament organisers can handle the registration process, as well as manage seasons and track statistics and results. Additionally, it handles all background screening, meaning everyone from the smallests sports clubs to governing bodies is able to use its platform.

“Balus was created out of the need to find reliable and trustworthy information about the history of athletes, academies and teams, and tournaments,” co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Avelino Kiala told Disrupt Africa.

Kiala and his team already had experience of arranging Brazilian Jiu Jitsu tournaments, and so launched Balus with an initial focus on that sport. Within a month of launching, the angel-backed startup already has 450 subscriptions, and is targeting 1,200 subscriptions by May 2019.

Balus, which makes money from these subscriptions and advertising, does have plans to expand beyond the relatively niche world of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, however, as well as into other markets.

“For the first stage we are going to start with combat sports. By 2020 we plan to explore the Portuguese and South African markets, and in 2022 we plan to include other sports such as football, basketball and handball,” Kiala said.

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The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a EUR7 million (US$8 million) equity investment in the Partech Africa Fund, which is designed to support innovative growth-stage tech startups with high growth potential.

Partech Ventures, which was founded in 1982 in Silicon Valley and now has a team spread across offices in Paris, Berlin, San Francisco and Dakar, announced the first close of the fund back in January, saying it had secured over EUR57 million (US$70 million) toward its target size of EUR100 million (US$122 million).

It is now closing in on that target. French cosmetics giant L’Oréal made an undisclosed investment in the fund last month, and now the AfDB has joined it in backing Partech, which will provide startups with EUR500,000 (US$612,000) to EUR5 million (US$6.12 million) initial tickets.

Under the framework of the Boost Africa programme, the AfDB will provide EUR7 million (US$8 million) equity investment in the second close. The bank is expected to have a seat in the Advisory Board of the fund, and said the fund’s focus aligns well with the Boost Africa objectives to invest in high growth innovative startups with strong social and economic impact.

“By participating in the fund, the bank will support the successful launch of the first large venture capital fund covering four key regions in Africa, supporting entrepreneurs to leverage additionality and technology to develop affordable, user-centered products and services and market driven complementarity,” Stefan Nalletamby, director of the AfDB’s private sector, infrastructure and industrialisation department, said.

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Cape Town-based agri-tech startup GreenFingers Mobile (GFM) is launching an enhanced version of its farmer management system this week.

GFM replaces traditional pen and paper systems with a digital tool, and brings large markets to smallholder and emerging farmers. Its new system is a full Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform with increased functionality and an improved user experience.

“We are thrilled to launch the new GFM system which incorporates an overhauled user interface which is simpler to navigate, includes increased functionality, is able to integrate with third party providers, and is more affordable. On-boarding new farmers is quick and easy and the GFM system still allows the customisations that customers require,” said chief executive officer (CEO) Natalie Miller.

GFM has over 8,700 farmers registered across three countries, has processed nearly 60,000 commercial transactions, and recorded over 12,500 farmer trainings. It allows organisations that work with small farmers to meet the criteria of large buyers and creates efficiencies to reduce costs.

The platform can be adapted for different crops, inputs and impact indicators, creating a powerful tool to create more sustainable and ethical agricultural value chains.

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FINCA International and USAID PACE have launched FINCA Forward, a fintech innovation platform aimed at bringing early-stage fintechs and microfinance institutions (MFIs) together to accelerate financial inclusion and market-based development.

The two-year pilot of FINCA Forward will be managed by microfinance organisation FINCA International and funded by USAID’s Partnering to Accelerate Entrepreneurship (PACE) initiative, which catalyses private sector investment into early-stage enterprises.

Its purpose is to test the hypothesis that bringing early-stage fintechs and financial institutions together in a proof-of-concept environment can help small and growing businesses overcome the pioneer gap and enable microfinance institutions to affordably and systematically onboard emerging fintech innovations to better reach underserved and underbanked populations.

FINCA Forward will provide a platform through which microfinance institutions can systematically evaluate new technologies, and fintech startups can test their value propositions with prospective clients, by way of a microfinance institution’s established customer base.

Rupert Scofield, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of FINCA International, said the organisation had long been dedicated to serving unbanked and underbanked populations.

“FINCA Forward represents the next step in this service, drawing on our experience as the founder of a global microfinance network while embracing digital innovations,” he said. “By catalysing support and investment for early-stage fintech enterprises, we aim to help small and growing businesses overcome the pioneer gap and to enable microfinance institutions to bring much-needed financial services to at-risk populations of women, youth and the rural poor.”

The post New initiative to encourage fintech, MFI cooperation appeared first on Disrupt Africa.

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AI-based video interviewing startup Dropque has been named the winner of the Nigerian leg of the Seedstars competition, booking a place in the global final for the chance to pitch for up to US$1 million in equity investment.

Global early-stage startups competition Seedstars has already picked African winners in Egypt, Tunisia, Zimbabwe, Morocco, Ghana, Rwanda, Libya, Uganda, Senegal, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kenya, Mozambique, Guinea Bissau, Angola and Cape Town, and held its event in Lagos on Friday, October 19.

The winner was Dropque, which uses a combination of one-way unassisted video interviews and a powerful AI assessment assistant to get companies the best candidate.The startup will now participate in the Seedstars Summit in Switzerland in April, where it will stand the chance of winning US$1 million in equity investment and other prizes.

MyMedicines, with its curated medication ordering platform, was second, with Natterbase, which is increasing the speed and quality of software development, grabbing the last spot in the top three. The other startups invited to pitch were Aspire Power Solutions, Biyabot, BeatDrone, Bridgebooks, Chekkit Technologies, Insight Africa, NextCounsel and Termii.

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South African real estate startup Instant Property has secured an undisclosed amount of funding from Cape Town-based venture capital firm HAVAÍC to continue to scale both locally and internationally.

The Johannesburg-based Instant Property has developed a highly customised technology solution for leading commercial and residential property organisations in South Africa, which includes specialised mobile apps, websites and integrated CRM platforms, alongside big data and analytics reporting tools.

HAVAÍC, which advises and invests in early-stage, high-growth businesses, has acquired a 10 per cent equity stake in the commercial property platform, and also has the option of an allocation for follow-on funding which would take its stake up to 17 per cent.

“We are fortunate to already service a wide variety of clients including Nasdaq and JSE-listed real estate entities, to commercial and residential brokerages wanting to enhance their businesses bottom line through technology without the heavy cost and complications of having an in-house technology team,” said Instant Property founder and executive chairman Wayne Berger.

“We searched long and hard for a partner in South Africa who understands the venture capital sector as well as shared our ambitious vision for Instant Property and the investment has come at the perfect time as we continue to scale up the business both locally and internationally.”

HAVAÍC’s executive director Grant Rock, formerly at Zenprop and Bowmans, has joined the Instant Property board.

“We are very excited to be partnering with Instant Property who are pioneers in the online commercial real estate sales, rentals and auctioning space,” said Rock.

“In recent years we have seen significant investment in this space both from existing players as well as international investors and believe that the Instant Property marketplace is the missing link in a sector that is ripe for disruption.”

The post SA’s Instant Property raises funding from HAVAÍC appeared first on Disrupt Africa.

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Real estate startup HouseME, fintech app Slide and B2B commerce platform Kuba have secured places in the South African final of global seed-stage startup competition Seedstars.

Seedstars has already picked African winners in Egypt, Tunisia, Zimbabwe, Morocco, Ghana, Rwanda, Libya, Uganda, Senegal, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kenya, Mozambique, Guinea Bissau and Angola, and held its Cape Town event on Friday, October 19.

The winner was HouseME, which connects tenants to residential landlords, providing letting services for a fraction of agency fees. Slide Financial, which offers white-label digital wallets and easy-to-use payment APIs for businesses, came second and Kuba, which partners with small business owners to bring them digital tools that help them access new markets, was third.

All three startups will now pitch at the national final, where the winning startup will secure a place at the Seedstars Summit in Switzerland in April next year and the chance of winning US$1 million in equity investment and other prizes. A second South African semi-final event will take place in Johannesburg on November 2.

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Global early-stage startups competition Seedstars has opened applications for its first event in The Gambia, where one startup will be chosen to take part in the global final.

Seedstars, which has already picked African winners in Egypt, Tunisia, Zimbabwe, Morocco, Ghana, Rwanda, Libya, Uganda, Senegal, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kenya, Mozambique and Guinea Bissau, will hold its Gambian event in Banjul on November 17.

Around 10 startups will be chosen to pitch at the event, with the winner taking part in the Seedstars Summit in Switzerland in April of next year and standing the chance of winning up to US$1 million in equity investment and other prizes.

Applications are open until November 6, with startups applying needing to be less than two years old, have raised less than US$500,000 in funding, and have built a minimum viable product. Seedstars will also look for potential regional and global scalability.

“At Seedstars, we believe talent and good ideas are everywhere. We see ourselves as a platform connecting investors to the next generation of startup entrepreneurs in places where normally people wouldn’t think startup ecosystems have such traction, growth and buzz. We are very excited to be in The Gambia, highlighting such a bustling entrepreneurship ecosystem and we are here to witness the reality,” said Claudia Makadristo, regional manager for Africa at Seedstars.

“We are also experts in identifying which are the ones to pull through and how. We’re impressed by what we have seen in the region so far and cannot wait to add startups from The Gambia onto our map.”

The post Applications open for first Seedstars event in The Gambia appeared first on Disrupt Africa.

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Global early-stage startups competition Seedstars has opened applications for its first event in The Gambia, where one startup will be chosen to take part in the global final.

Seedstars, which has already picked African winners in Egypt, Tunisia, Zimbabwe, Morocco, Ghana, Rwanda, Libya, Uganda, Senegal, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kenya, Mozambique and Guinea Bissau, will hold its Gambian event in Banjul on November 17.

Around 10 startups will be chosen to pitch at the event, with the winner taking part in the Seedstars Summit in Switzerland in April of next year and standing the chance of winning up to US$1 million in equity investment and other prizes.

Applications are open until November 6, with startups applying needing to be less than two years old, have raised less than US$500,000 in funding, and have built a minimum viable product. Seedstars will also look for potential regional and global scalability.

“At Seedstars, we believe talent and good ideas are everywhere. We see ourselves as a platform connecting investors to the next generation of startup entrepreneurs in places where normally people wouldn’t think startup ecosystems have such traction, growth and buzz. We are very excited to be in The Gambia, highlighting such a bustling entrepreneurship ecosystem and we are here to witness the reality,” said Claudia Makadristo, regional manager for Africa at Seedstars.

“We are also experts in identifying which are the ones to pull through and how. We’re impressed by what we have seen in the region so far and cannot wait to add startups from The Gambia onto our map.”

The post Applications open for first Seedstars event in The Gambia appeared first on Disrupt Africa.

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Nigerian startup ColdHubs is helping farmers and market vendors become more profitable by eliminating food waste via 100 per cent solar-powered walk-in cold rooms.

Founded in July 2015 by young farmer and social entrepreneur Nnaemeka Ikegwuonu, ColdHubs is producing cold rooms and selling them to smallholder farmers, retailers and wholesalers to store and preserve fresh fruits, vegetables and other perishable foods, extending their shelf life from two days to 21.

The startup has had a good 2018 so far, winning funding from the MIT Solve initiative and the Microsoft Airband Grant Fund, yet its concept is relatively simple. Its “ColdHubs” are made of 120mm thick insulating cold room panels to retain cold, with energy provided by solar panels mounted on the roof.

The energy efficient monoblock refrigeration unit is connected to an inverter that enables the solar-powered batteries to supply energy for night cooling. Each ColdHub can fit approximately three tonnes of perishable food, arranged in at least 150 units of 20kg plastic crates stacked on the floor.

“Each ColdHub is guaranteed to provide autonomous refrigeration 24 hours a day without grid connection. The cooling temperature is adjustable from five to 15 degrees celsius, and the cold room’s unique safety door efficiently keeps cold air inside,” Ikegwuonu told Disrupt Africa.

Prior to ColdHubs, farms and markets lacked cold storage solutions, meaning sellable food was often wasted. The solution has been eagerly accepted by farmers and merchants, with the five ColdHubs currently in use having reached 100 per cent capacity utilisation in August of last year.

“We have six more ColdHubs coming online before the end of the year and up to 20 more next year. We are operating in Nigeria and plan expansion across the country, and into East and Southern Africa,” Ikegwuonu said.

ColdHubs operates a simple pay-as-you-store model, with farmers and retailers paying NGN100 (US$0.50) to store one crate for one day. Each hub is operated by a manager, who monitors the loading and unloading of crates, collects the fees, and builds relationships in farm clusters and markets.

The startup has been funded by a combination of equity and debt investments, and grant funding.

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