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Enterprise, Venture

Wasoko, Africa’s Leading B2B E-commerce Company, Sees Valuation Cut to $260M as VC Reduces Share

VNV Global attributes its fair value estimate to a valuation model based on trading multiples of public peers rather than historical funding rounds. Funding and interest in B2B startups took off in the last decade and saw a bump in the wake of COVID-19. African startups, including B2B e-commerce platforms like Wasoko, have followed the same playbook as their counterparts further afield: layoffs; cost cuts; and closures are not uncommon. In the lead-up to its merger with MaxAB, Wasoko shuttered hubs in Senegal and Ivory Coast and laid off staff in Kenya. It operates a food and grocery B2B e-commerce platform in Egypt and Morocco, expanding to the latter following its acquisition of YC-backed WaystoCap in 2021.

Ava Patel
March 27, 2024

Gadgets, Venture

Europe’s Tech Investment Slump: A Report of Renewed Hope

New report confirms Europe’s tech investment doldrums, but there are signs of lifeEurope is suffering from a big hangover after the tech investment party of the 2020-2021 period. That said, compared to pre-pandemic levels, VC investment in European startups is up, historically speaking, and reached $60 billion, according to a new report. 2023 marked a reset and major correction in investment levels globally. According to the report, Europe is sitting on “record levels of dry powder” and “producing more new founders than the U.S.”, funding remains slow. Climate Tech overtook FinTech as Europe’s most popular sectorAI’s share of total investment in Europe soared to a record high of 17%5.