Appletree to Raise $5 Billion to Fund One Million African E-commerce SMEs
To help African youths with fewer opportunities, Appletree Digital Commerce, an e-commerce startup, has launched the Taking One Million African Traders Online Movement (TOMATO).
Appletree Digital Commerce's Managing Director, Nigel Daura, stated that the company had noticed certain "alarming" statistics that "motivated us to think differently about how we could deliver practical solutions to help young Africans fulfil their entrepreneurial potential."
According to the African Development Bank, the continent's youth population will likely double and be more than 850 million by 2050. It is in addition to the 10 million to 12 million young people who enter the labour field each year.
According to the statement, business paradigms cannot handle the predicted growth of Africa's youth. However, the internet provides a plethora of opportunities for the model to be utilised, with over 3 million formal employment establishments each year.
According to the release, there is a need to train younger African audiences to "think entrepreneurially and make bold and deliberate efforts to promote small enterprises."
Launch Africa Ventures, a pan-African venture capital fund, has closed a $36.3 million fund to invest in B2B and other consumer firms, according to PYMNTS.
According to the research, the Mauritius company has assisted 108 startups in 21 African nations, including Nigerian neobank Kuda and Kenyan B2B eCommerce firm MarketForce.
According to managing partner Zachariah George, Launch Africa has plans to roll out its company in more countries.
“I can’t think of a single fund that covers as many markets as we do,” he said. “We’re doing deals in the DRC, Madagascar, Sudan, Botswana, Benin, Togo. People use the word pan-African loosely, but when we say pan-African, we truly mean what we do.”
Source: PYMNTS
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