Happy to see that Aifluence raised a $1M seed round led by EQ2 Ventures, and followed by their first investor Antler East Africa, the US VC firm Oui Capital and the ecommerce marketing company ArabyAds. This round is coming after a $100k pre-seed round last year.

Aifluence is a two-year-old Kenyan startup matching influencer and brands and running the marketing campaigns form end to end. With this new round, the company plans to expand in Africa, MENA and Asia, and develop its product.

Congrats also to Antler East Africa, which now has its first african cohort company raising +1M$ in funding! 👏

👉 To learn more about Aifluence, click here to see its profile.

👉 Do get back to us if you'd like an introduction to either Aifluence or Antler.

Source: Kenya’s AIfluence closes $1M for its AI-powered influencer marketing platform - TechCrunch

📣 Super excited to welcome Falak Startups, Kalon Venture Partners, Middle East Venture Partners, Vested World as new first circle investor members into the community!

• Falak Startups: a startup accelerator that supports and empowers entrepreneurs in the Egypt's startup ecosystem.
• Kalon Venture Partners:  a South-Africa based fund that invests in and builds a portfolio of high growth technology companies.
• Middle East Venture Partners: a Middle East-focused venture capital firm that invests in the early and growth stages of innovative companies run by talented entrepreneurs in the Middle East Region with a focus on the GCC and Levant countries.
• VestedWorld: a Chicago based early-stage investor that focuses on businesses based in Africa and emerging markets.

🚀They’ll introduce themselves at the next e-pitch session on July 7 and will showcase some of the best startups in their portfolio. >> To register to the session, click here. 

📣 We are thrilled to welcome Energy Access Ventures, Imperial Venture Fund, Mobility 54 and Novastar Ventures as new first circle investor members into the community! 

• Energy Access Ventures : a Paris based VC fund investing in businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa addressing the lack of electrification in the region with new technology and innovative business models. 
• Imperial Venture Fund: a CVC fund launched by major logistics player Imperial and Newtown Partners, investing in disruptive startups in logistics. 
• Mobility 54: a Paris based CVC owned by Toyota Tsusho and CFAO investing in African startups in mobility to solve social challenges and create synergies with the group. 
• Novastar Ventures: a Nairobi based VC investing in innovative businesses serving the East Africa’s aspiring mass market.  

🚀They’ll introduce themselves at the next e-pitch session on April 14 and will showcase some of the best startups in their portfolio. >> To register to the session, click here. 

📣 We are thrilled to welcome E4E Africa, Growth Capital Fund and Investisseurs & Partenaires as new first cercle investor members into the community!

🗒️ Feel free to register to the E-Pitch Session on January 12 to e-meet them !

🤝 You can also connect with them on EuroQuity.

🎄 Happy holidays !

The Africa Next Community is committed to driving co-investment with African investors in fast-growing innovative businesses.

We are thrilled to welcome the Africa Next founding members!

Khaled Ben Jilani, AfricInvest - Olutosin Oni, EchoVC - Maxime Bayen, Greentec Capital - Andrea Bohmert, Knife Capital - Kyane Kassiri, Lateral Capital - Cyril Collon, Partech - Wael Amin, Sawari Ventures - Kizito Okechukwu, 22 On Sloane - Yehia Houry, Flat6Labs - Maxime Bouan, Seedstars.