From Lagos to Nairobi

Reservoir, a Boston-based climate technology startup, has raised $8 million in seed funding to develop smart heat-pump water heaters designed to make home electrification more attractive while also helping utilities manage electricity demand. The round was led by Asymmetric Capital Partners, with participation from Founder Collective and MCJ.  Founded by Luke Winston-Almanzar, Gabriel Parisi-Amon and…

African investment firm Silverbacks Holdings has increased its exposure to mobility fintech Moove to more than $37 million, highlighting growing investor confidence in the Africa-born company as its valuation reaches approximately $2.1 billion. The investment makes Moove one of the most valuable technology companies to emerge from Africa.  Silverbacks said its cumulative investment in Moove…

Kenyan used-car marketplace Peach Cars has secured ¥600 million, approximately $3.7 million, in new debt financing from Japan Finance Corporation (JFC) and Shoko Chukin Bank as it prepares to expand its operations across East Africa. The funding gives the mobility company additional capital to scale its technology-driven used-car marketplace and strengthen its vehicle financing infrastructure. …

Kenyan fintech startup Cloud9 has acquired social-commerce company Chpter in an all-stock transaction, bringing together two businesses with an unusual history. The deal comes less than a year after Chpter’s co-founders, Tesh Mbaabu and Mesongo Sibuti, left the company to launch Cloud9, turning former founders into the new owners of the startup they helped build. …

InterSpace Distribution is expanding its position in the global music-technology market with a more formal corporate structure and the launch of ToneGrid, a white-label platform designed to help music distributors, record labels and aggregators operate their own branded distribution businesses. ToneGrid is built as a business-to-business infrastructure product rather than a consumer-facing music distribution service.…

Saving money in Nigeria is often presented as a simple financial decision: find an account offering an attractive interest rate and start depositing regularly. But for many Nigerians, the bigger question comes before returns: Can I trust this platform with my money? That challenge creates an important opportunity for financial companies such as Northquest Finance,…