Yellow has reached the first close of its series B equity round after securing funds from the Energy Entrepreneurs Growth Fund (EEGF). The startup will use the funds to continue growing as, over the past five years, it has achieved a CAGR of over 250% and served over 360,000 customers in Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia and Madagascar. Through its solar products, it has enabled the reduction of over 500,000 metric tonnes of Co2 emissions and is experiencing strong interest in its smartphone finance offering.
Meanwhile, market intelligence platform Rwazi has raised USD 4mn for its seed round led by Bonfire Ventures, Newfund Capital and Alumni Ventures. The company provides multinationals with actionable data and says it has a network of 20,000 data collectors (mappers) spread across rural areas in Africa, Asia and South America.