DFS Lab, an early-stage investor focused on Africa, has made 19 investments in African digital startups so far in 2021, making it one of the continent’s most active businesses and bringing its overall portfolio size to 22.
DFS Lab, which was founded in 2017, assists creators of next-generation digital commerce enterprises in Africa in establishing solid foundations and matching them with financing.
Tiger Global, Balderton, DST Global, QED, Accel, Anthemis, 500 Global, Y Combinator, Flourish Ventures, NYCA, and Accion Venture Lab, among others, have invested in its portfolio companies, which have gone on to raise capital from firms like Tiger Global, Balderton, DST Global, QED, Accel, Anthemis, 500 Global, Y Combinator, Flourish Ventures, NYCA, and Accion Venture Lab.
DFS Lab has done 19 African deals so far in 2021, a combination of investments in firms that have gone through its programme, for which applications are open on a rolling basis and participants get US $25,000 in funding, and independent participation in other agreements, with investment levels varying.
Ando Foods, a cloud kitchen startup building high-quality food brands for the digital age; GoBeba, a multi-faceted on-demand delivery and errands service; PesaKit, a free business app that allows mobile money agents to become the go-to shop for affordable financial and digital services; and TuShop, a community group buying platform where members can sell groceries to those in their social networks and communities, are among the eight Kenyan companies that have received funding.
Other Kenyan startups backed by DFS Lab include Koa, which facilitates high volume savings and democratises access to financial products; Tanda, a banking startup that caters to MSMEs by offering inventory credit and assisting them in selling digital products; Kibanda Topup, which develops tools that enable restaurants to access affordable fresh and dry products; and Logistify, which develops last-mile distribution infrastructure for food suppliers.
Suplias, a B2B marketplace where mom and pop retailers in Africa buy merchandise directly from manufacturers using a mobile app, is one of the other six Nigerian startups. Payhippo, a business lending startup; Star Kitchens Group, a restaurant management platform; Bumpa, an app that empowers sellers with the tools they need for digital commerce; and SendChamp, a messaging platform for businesses and developers to power customer verification and personalise communications across multiple channels.
Egypt’s Appetito, a grocery delivery platform; South Africa’s Akiba Digital, which uses alternative data to unlock financial opportunities for consumers and businesses; Pan-African Boost, which is building a “B2B Shopify” for informal retailers; Zambia’s Union54, which provides card-issuing APIs for corporates who want virtual or physical multi-currency debit cards; and an unnamed stealth startup round out the list.
“We believe that the next generation of companies that will provide a great deal of value on the African continent will be in the digital commerce space. We’re passionate about working closely with founders in this space from the very early stages. The founders we back get to take advantage of our extensive knowledge in the space, our expansive network of mentors who are seasoned operators ready to guide our founders as they execute on their vision, and our relationships with bigger investors who can back them as they scale,” Joseph Benson-Aruna, partner at DFS Lab, told Disrupt Africa.
