Uncovered Fund Co., Ltd.
Uncovered Fund, which operates venture capital specializing in Africa, has invested in 26 African startups
Exceeded 60 billion yen in cumulative procurement from investees, expanded business to 17 countries in Africa/MENA region, and contributed to the creation of jobs for 3,300 people
Uncovered Fund Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo,
Representative Director Takuma Terakubo) is pleased to announce that it has invested in 26 African startup companies through Uncovered Fund Investment Partnership No. 1 operated by our company. Our fund invests in start-up companies and supports business growth with the following five business areas as important themes, with the aim of digitally creating social infrastructure that supports the economic activities of 1.7 billion people toward 2030. I’m here.
▪︎Investment theme of our first fund
1. [Finance] Financial services essential for daily life and economic activities 2. [Retail] Sales promotion of retail stores where 90% of the total are operated as private stores
3. [Distribution/Logistics] Distribution DX and supply chain efficiency improvement
4. [Mobility] Urban transportation infrastructure to support future megacities 5. [Climate change] Energy that supports cities and a sustainable recycling-oriented society
We mainly support startups in Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, and South Africa, four countries with large economies, and currently, the invested business has grown and expanded to 17 countries in Africa and the MENA region. The 26 companies we support have raised a cumulative total of 60 billion yen, mainly from investors in Europe, the United States, and Asia, contributing to the creation of jobs for about 3,300 people in the African market.
▪︎Examples of investee startups in Africa
MarketForce Technologies (Kenya: Distribution)
Overview: FMCG specialized B2B commerce that supports distribution to 260,000 stores
[Image 1
Approximately 90% of purchases are made at small, privately-owned stores, but because the majority of stores are privately owned, the purchase cost per store is high, making it difficult for consumer goods manufacturers to develop wholesalers. And there are many problems such as not being able to track how much products are sold when selling through wholesalers. The company operates a marketplace that connects retail stores that handle such daily consumer goods and manufacturers, and currently has about 25 billion yen in distribution for 260,000 customers.
Trella Holding (Egypt: Logistics)
Overview: A large logistics platform specializing in the first mile [Image 2
Trella operates a B2B platform that connects shippers and freight forwarders in the African First Mile industry. Trella’s strength is its ability to seamlessly transcend national logistics, such as transporting cargo from a port in Egypt to a factory in Saudi Arabia. In addition, we sell bulk and inexpensive vehicle parts to partner transportation companies and independently provide loans for drivers. Yoko Holdings (South Africa: Finance)
Overview: Payment system specialized for small and medium-sized stores used by 200,000 stores
[Image 3
About 90% of retailers (5.5 million stores) in South Africa only accept cash payments. Yoko provides a tool that enables payments such as digital money for such small and medium-sized retail stores, and has been introduced to about 200,000 stores in South Africa. In addition to payments, we support retailers and restaurants with complex services such as store BI tools and loans.
VEE8 INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS (Nigeria: Mobility)
Overview: Operation of “Autochek”, a used car sales platform in Africa [Image 4
Autochek operates Africa’s largest used car marketplace in seven countries representing 70% of the continent’s GDP. We have partnered with about 1,000 used car dealers, and we support customer acquisition through online and provide auto loans at the time of sale. In the future, we will digitally transform the automotive industry by seamlessly connecting consumers, dealers and workshops across the African continent.
PIGGYTECH GLOBAL HOLDINGS (Nigeria: Finance)
Overview: Nigeria’s No. 1 digital bank with 6.5 million users [Image 5
Piggyvest is Nigeria’s largest savings service with 6.5 million people. As a savings, investment, and remittance platform, we operate a digital-based bank in Nigeria, where the bank account holding rate is 40%. Piggyvst is supported by many users because it offers higher interest rates than existing banks in Nigeria. It has surpassed AUM $230 and is growing rapidly to become a platform that manages people’s assets.
▪︎About Uncovered Fund Co., Ltd.
Uncovered Fund is a venture capital that leads the creation of industries in emerging countries, including the African continent. Population and economic growth in emerging countries will accelerate rapidly toward 2050, and there is no doubt that they will play an important role in the global economy. Among them, the African continent, which is called the last frontier, will become a huge market of 2.5 billion people, accounting for 25% of the world’s population in 2050. There are many innovative ideas that Japan should learn from emerging countries that are building industrial and social infrastructure from scratch without being bound by existing frameworks by utilizing cutting-edge digital technologies that drive their growth. .
“un covered = open up untapped possibilities”
As a first mover, we will explore the “uncovered” world where sufficient entrepreneurial support is not yet available, discover untapped talent, create businesses, and look towards the future in emerging markets such as Africa. We aim to create great value through The goal is to support 1,000 start-up companies by 2050, create corporate value of 10 trillion yen, and create 1 million jobs. Operating company: Uncovered Fund Co., Ltd.
Representative Director: Takuma Terakubo
Established: September 26, 2019
Location: 2-7-13 Kita-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo
URL: https://uncoveredfund.com/
Management fund: Uncovered Fund Investment Partnership No. 1 Managing Partner: UNCOVERED FUND INC.
Established: July 10, 2020
Details about this release:
https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000005.000074482.html