Gender eOne of the things we’re most passionate about here at Enygma Ventures is start-up funding for female founders or women-led businesses. That’s why we found this Ventureburn article so fascinating: they look at what percentage of VC and angel investing goes to SA startups with women founders. Read more…
We invested R8.25m in Play Sense, an edutech company that shifted its focus to offer an online learning platform for preschoolers during the Covid-19 pandemic. Their imagination-based play curriculum helps young children develop crucial skills, and our investment will enable them to scale and expand their tech offering.
Lupiya is a Zambian micro-loan business that provides personal loans and working capital loans to individuals and businesses through its digital platform. They prioritize financial inclusion for women and offer partnership opportunities to help them achieve financial freedom. We invested $2.2 million ($0.25m in equity, $1.98m in loans) to expand Lupiya’s reach into rural areas with limited financial services.
Job Crystal is a recruitment agency using a revolutionary recruitment AI ‘machine’, a powerful recruitment solution for every business. We invested R4.7 million (R4.2m in equity and R0.5m in revenue share agreement) in the company, which has offices in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban, and Eswatini.
The Good Mineral is a clean-beauty makeup brand launched in June 2021, providing pure mineral makeup suitable for acne-prone and sensitive skin. The range is free from skin irritants like fragrance, preservatives, synthetic dyes, or oils, and is vegan and cruelty-free. The founder-formulated makeup comes in modern, high-end packaging and offers a fresh, diverse feel. Our investment in the brand is $583,000 ($333,000 in equity and $250,000 in revenue share agreement).
Premier Credit provides affordable micro-loans using AI technology in Zambia and Zimbabwe. The platform supports local entrepreneurs, particularly women, to access capital and grow their businesses. PremierCredit also offers affordable bicycles, smartphones, and solar equipment on a PAYG basis to underserved communities in Zimbabwe. We invested $2.7m ($0.65m in equity and $2.07m in debt) to support the growth of this innovative platform and further our portfolio of women-owned African businesses.
Black Mamba is an ethical Eswatini-based business that produces specialty foods using organically grown ingredients. Their range includes chilli sauces, pestos, chutneys and jams. They train smallholders in permaculture and regenerative farming and buy their fresh produce to make their goods, benefiting over 1000 individuals. They export to several countries, and our investment of R9.2 million (R5.4m in equity and R3.8m in revenue share agreement) will support their growth.
Koa provides online schooling that is highly engaging, individualised and learner focused thanks to its small classes called ‘Pods’ which host no more than 8 children to a teacher. Koa provides an IEB education for children in grades 4-12 through an online learning environment that is both structured and individualised. The business was launched from the Pranary accelerator program where Koa received pre-seed funding of $25 000 as well as access to mentorship and strategic training. Having shown exponential growth of 224% since 2020 Koa received further seed funding from Enygma Ventures of R9 million (R4 million in equity, R5 million in revenue share agreement).
Pranary is a practical business school for entrepreneurs. Pranary enables entrepreneurs to launch, scale and fundraise. Pranary is one of Enygma Ventures’ team-managed businesses. Enygma has invested R2.5 million.
Adbot is an AI tool designed to be a Google Ads campaign manager.
South African startup Adbot provides automated campaign management, powered by cutting-edge machine learning technologies. Their robots do the heavy lifting on advertising campaigns, while companies are able focus on their business.
Adbot received a US$500,000 capital raise from Enygma Ventures.
Feel Good Health offers hand-picked, plant-based health and beauty products that are good for users and the earth. It is based in South Africa.
Feel Good Health distributes its own range of herbal and homeopathic and herbal products as well as a range of healthcare products from trusted brands for adults, children, babies and pets directly through their own online store and through retail partners.
The business graduated from the Pranary ‘investor readiness’ program where they were handpicked by Enygma Ventures for this seed investment, which will see them grow their product offering and expand their reach. Enygma has invested R4.0m.
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