Investor Updates: IFC invests $10m in SA-based Knife Capital Fund

IFC invests $10m in SA-based Knife Capital Fund

Highlights

• IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has invested $10 million in Knife Fund III, a new fund managed by Cape Town-based venture capital firm Knife Capital.
• Knife aims to raise $50 million for Fund III, which will primarily target investments at the Series B stage. Fund III follows Knife Fund II, launched in 2016, and Fund I (2010).
• IFC’s US$10 million investment will provide financial support to tech startups in high-growth sectors in South Africa with strong potential for expansion across Africa and internationally, including enterprise technology, software, health-tech, and fintech.

Source: Disrupt Africa

Our Takeaway

The $10 million investment in South Africa’s Knife Capital is a continuation of the IFC’s strategy to partner with fund managers in key regions to help spur innovation and growth in entrepreneurship ecosystems. The World Bank unit has an established position in promoting private sector investment in Africa. Over nearly six decades, it has invested more than $25 billion in African businesses, financial institutions, and startups.

---

Microsoft backs big data startup in South Africa

Highlights

• South African big data startup The Awareness Company has been selected for Microsoft South Africa’s AgriTech Programme, securing equity investment in the process.
• Founded in April 2018, the startup uses data-driven storytelling to help people, communities, and organizations to become more efficient and impactful. 
• HYDRA, its technology, combines AI, IoT, and data analytics to create solutions for agriculture and conservation, safety and security, and smart buildings and cities.

Source: Disrupt Africa

Our Takeaway

Microsoft’s investment in The Awareness Company’s agricultural solutions attests to the fact that having access to reliable data can help guide and support decisions in agriculture, including the way food is produced, how it moves along the food chain, and the way it’s stored to avoid food wastage and losses. Despite its potential, however, the agri-tech sector is one of the least funded in Africa. With support from Microsoft, the startup plans to develop high-impact solutions within the next year to enable smallholder farmers to improve efficiencies in farming operations through the use of operational insights.

---

Kenya mulls launching official digital currency

Highlights

• Kenya has become the latest African country to indicate interest in central bank digital currency (CBDC) after its central bank this week called for public opinion on the possibility of adopting one.
• In October last year, Nigeria became the first country in Africa to launch its CBDC, dubbed the eNaira, while Ghana is said to be at an advanced stage of launching its e-cedi. The Bank of Zambia is also carrying out research on digital currencies. 
• The CBDCs, unlike cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, are developed by central banks and pegged on countries’ fiat currencies.

Source: TechCrunch

Our Takeaway

With cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin becoming increasingly popular, central banks across the world have been working towards developing digital currencies of their own. At least 9 countries have launched official digital currencies while 87 others, representing over 90% of global GDP, are exploring a CBDC. In Africa, the growing allure of regulated digital currencies among central banks and a recent call for a continental cryptocurrency indicate the era of cash could be drawing to an end.