ImpactAlpha, April 5 – Ethiopia-based Renew Capital has invested in two companies in Uganda, underscoring the investment firm’s growing pan-African investment strategy.
The firm backed Kampala-based Xente, which enables businesses to make payments online using credit and debit cards, mobile money and bank transfers. Users can also pay bills and send airtime and data through the platform.
Uganda’s population of 45.9 million, roughly half of whom are under 18 years of age, is driving the adoption of digital solutions in the country. Renew’s investment “serves as a validation of our commitment to transforming Africa from underdeveloped to developed through our digital finance solution for businesses,” said Xente’s Allan Rwakatungu.
Renew also invested in Kampala-based Wazi Vision, a women-led eyewear company that plans to open a new store for low-cost, customizable eyewear. Wazi’s Brenda Katwesigye Baganzi said glasses are “often prohibitively expensive and unattainable for the majority of the population.”
Renew Capital is growing its footprint in Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia and Uganda. Last month, it backed Kenyan mass transit tech venture BuuPass and Badili, which is improving affordable online and mobile access through its used-phone marketplace.
