DFS Lab

.@Terrahaptix's seed marks the beginning of a new narrative for African tech. We're exiting an ecosystem driven solely by the promise of population growth and externally-defined social impact into one where the continent must justify its competitiveness in the AI era. We believe that @_KingNath @Max_Sengu and team have operationalized a compelling vision to harden Africa's most important infrastructure around energy, critical minerals, and food production. Excited to have supported this team as one of its earliest investors and to have doubled down this round. Welcome @8vc @Lux_Capital @novaholdings Valor Equity Partners and others plus a special shoutout to @ulonnaya who's joining the team.

.@PartechPartners Africa's 2025 report is also out - one of the best! Equity: $2.4b (+8%) Debt: $1.6b (+63%) Total: $4.1b (+25%) > 39% of overall funding is debt; growing at almost 8x the rate of equity. > Fintech down 12%, Cleantech up 99% > Renewed concentration into Top4 (+14% of all funding) > Seed most constrained (-4%), Series A (+21%) & Growth (+29%) are recovering. > Conversion from early to A has fallen: 2019 vintage (24%; ZIRP), 2020 onward (6.5%), a 73% decline. My extrapolation is a hollowing out of the early-stage equity pipeline as funds move to bigger fund sizes and tickets. Lower conversion from that pipeline to Series A+ means we will run into more of a bottleneck this year where it'll be the pressure for funds to deploy vs. the level of de-risking they expect. The dominance of debt places further signal to de-risk, as our startups will mold their businesses to the shape of available capital. What I see is an ecosystem that's systematically cutting risk out of its identity. This is a bet against power law distribution and must be discussed hand-in-hand with the exits question.

See @JakeKendall5 talk about digital trends, cybernetic commerce, and AI in Africa with @julienfanciulli on @France24_fr! Test your french... or read a summary in english of some of his ideas on the Linkedin post.

The team will be in Nairobi in the coming days leading up to #ATS! Join us on Tuesday, Feb. 11th by 5pm for a night of networking with founders, investors and ecosystem players! RSVP here: lu.ma/504vb52p

... particularly those targeting underserved micro and small enterprises (MSEs). Curious about what we uncovered? Access the publication below ⬇️ cgap.org/research/publi…

We’re pleased to have contributed to the CGAP, "Innovative Financing for Inclusive Credit Fintechs in Africa" publication. By interviewing debt investors and fintech stakeholders, we helped uncover valuable insights to provide strategies for reaching inclusive credit in Africa..

A huge thanks to the entire team DFS Lab, our clients, collaborators, investors and partners for an incredible year! Catch a glimpse of what we were up to in 2024 ⬇️ medium.com/dfs-lab/dfs-la…

@koxy_Dev @fastbuka @StellarOrg @NJinCalifornia @DenelleDixon @kalepail @gwd2000 @anke_g_liu @anuxhya @ElCanale @jricetweets Amazing!! Kudus to @fastbuka on of the teams from #StellarSurgeinLagos by @TheDFSLab! #proudmoment and love to see the integration with @Link_IO

It was such a great time last week at the @StellarOrg #Meridian2024 speaking about #StellarSurge

These meetups are a part of our wider #StellarSurge program aimed at building an engaged community of African builders. @lumenloop

With over 15 projects pitching for grants and support we had top 5 teams pitching ideas to @BuildOnStellar across Insurance, Finance, E-Commerce, Agriculture etc. These teams will go ahead to exploring further support programs and getting their ideas to user-validated products.

#Thursdaythrowback to #StellarSurge Blockchain Builders Meetup in Nairobi powered by @StellarOrg It was so much fun meeting builders, founders and blockchain enthusiasts in real time while exploring ways of solving some of the problems faced on the continent through blockchain.

Karibu Nairobi!!! Faces from our ongoing Stellar Blockchain Builders Meetup. We're super excited and pumped to be connecting with builders in the ecosystem. Watch out for the project pitches. @lumenloop @BuildOnStellar @StellarOrg

RSVP to join the meetup here- lu.ma/8qifyeld Venue: Workstyle Africa, 1 Park Avenue, 1st Parklands, Nairobi You can also join our Xspace here: x.com/i/spaces/1dRKZ… with @Web3Clubs to learn everything you need to know about the meetup on Saturday. @lumenloop

3 days to go until our @StellarOrg Blockchain Builder Meetup in Nairobi happening on Saturday, September 7th 2024. We have an exciting line up of speakers from @fonbnk1 @kotanipay @honeycoinapp cc @BuildOnStellar

The meetup will feature pitching competitions with prizes from a prize pool of $3500, roundtable conversations on blockchain for good, founder stories and free merches to be won. RSVP here: lu.ma/8qifyeld @lumenloop @BuildOnStellar

Are you a developer, a designer, data scientist, or blockchain enthusiast based in Nairobi? Then come join us on Saturday, 7th of September by 10am EAT at Workstyle Africa, 1 Park Avenue, 1st Parklands, Nairobi

Countdown to the Blockchain Builders Meetup in Nairobi! powered by @StellarOrg .This Saturday, the 7th of September, we'll be hosting builders in the blockchain and financial service sectors to network, learn, connect and win prizes. lu.ma/8qifyeld