First Circle Capital

Over the last 9 months, we have invested in 14 Fintech, and a few Health-tech companies in Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, Uganda, and Ghana. Collectively they are addressing a fast growing trillion dollar market opportunity.

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#ATSLDN23 @AfricaTechSMT We have Selma from @firstcirclecap First Circle Capital "We back exceptional founders who hold the potential to become Africa's next generation of fintech unicorns" Portofolio buff.ly/3Mr1kci Your ticket: africatechsummit.com/london/

We have created a short overview on data room basics that will help early stage founders raise faster. When you reach the due diligence stage with an investor having a top data room prepared will come in handy, it will save both of you time and is a good basis to build on:

The key missteps that cost them time and potential investors are: - No clear proposition - Unclear which type of funder to approach - (eg fish farmer looking for funds from VC - clear mismatch) - Misunderstanding on what materials need to be ready when going into a fundraise

We had the pleasure of chairing a panel discussion at the Alternative Investments Conference by @CFASocietyEA discussing the topic what pitfalls to avoid when fundraising. #AIC2023 #CFASocietyEastAfrica #investment

#PanelInSession Day 2 - Panel Discussion The topic of discussion is fundraising as a Ugandan Company: Pitfalls to avoid and hacks for a successful close. #AIC2023 #CFASocietyEastAfrica

@firstcirclecap co-founder @SelmaRibica will participate in the upcoming @AfricaTechSMT in Nairobi, Kenya. She will give a speech about "Credit in a downturn" - What does 2023 hold for African lending businesses? #venturecapital #africa #kenya #business #speech #credit #lending

Remittances have become a major driver of growth and consumption smoothing in Nigeria. They exceeded $25bn in 2018, representing 6.1% of GDP and 83% of the federal government’s revenues. (Afriexim, 2022) #venturecapital #africa #growth #investment #remittance #trade #consumption

Remittance stabilizes balances of payments, keeping current account deficits under control even with negative trade balances and reduces the risk of major current account reversals coming with a sharp decrease in the stock of international reserves. (IMF, 2005; World Bank, 2021b)

Remittance continues to outpace FDI in Africa, stabilizing its economies as more money flows into the continent. The continued strong economic growth and the slowdown of other previously hot emerging markets make Africa a key region for investments.

We hope this dialogue between regulators, banks and startups will result in a robust regulatory framework for startups to use for launching their products and services in the Moroccan market. #venturecapital #africa #banking #digitalisation #credit #regulations #transformation

What does it mean for the VC ecosystem? These are the first baby steps in Morocco towards opening up a closed and bank-dominated Fintech sector. The portal will allow for more transparency regarding product and license requirements in the country.

These are the regulatory happenings in other emerging tech markets in Africa, such as Morocco - Part 2:

What does it mean for the VC ecosystem? This is great as we welcome introducing standards for digital lenders, which will likely result in shutting down shark lenders. #venturecapital #africa #banking #digitalisation #credit #regulations #transformation

The Central Bank of Kenya also introduced a cap on interest rates and enforceable measures to maintain data privacy.

Here are the key fintech-regulatory events in Africa in 2022 that you need to know about - Part 1: Nigeria Startup Act and Open Banking draft: The Nigeria Startup Bill 2021 was signed into law to regulate startups and help the growth of the country's startup ecosystem.