Jake BrightContributorJake Bright is a writer and author in New York City.

He is co-author of The Next Africa. More posts by this contributorHarley-Davidson to expand EV lineup, may include scooters, bicyclesSokowatch closes $2 million seed round to modernize Africa B2B retailB2B e-commerce companySokowatchclosed a $2 million seed investment led by4DX Ventures.

Others to join the round were Village Global, Lynett Capital, Golden Palm Investments and OutlierzVentures.The Kenya-basedcompany aims to shake up the supply chain market for Africa informal retailers.Sokowatch platform connects Africa informal retail stores directly to local and multi-national suppliers — such as Unilever and Proctor and Gamble — by digitizing orders, delivery and payments with the aim of reducing costs and increasing profit margins.&With both manufacturers and the small shops, we&re becoming the connective layer between them, where previously you had multiple layers of middle-men from distributors, sub-distributors, to wholesalers,& Sokowatch founder and CEO Daniel Yu toldTechCrunch.&The cost of sourcing goods right now…we estimate we&re cutting that cost by about 20 percent [for] these shopkeepers,& he said.&There are millions of informal stores across Africa cities selling hundreds of billions worth of consumer goods every year,&said Yu.These stores can use Sokowatch app on mobile phones to buy wares directly from large suppliers, arrange for transport and make payments online.

&Ordering on SMS or Android gets you free delivery of products to your store, on average, in about two hours,& said Yu.Sokowatch generates revenues by earning &a margin on the goods that we&re selling to shopkeepers,& said Yu.

On the supplier side, they also benefit from &aggregating demand…and getting bulk deals on the products that we distribute.&The company recently launched a line of credit product to extend working capital loans to platform clients.

With the $2 million round, Sokowatch — which currently operates in Kenya and Tanzania — plans to &expand to new markets in East Africa, as well as pilot additional value add services to the shops,& said Yu.MallforAfricaand DHL launchedMarketPlaceAfrica.com: a global e-commerce site for select African artisans to sell wares to buyers in any of DHL 220 delivery countries.The site will prioritize fashion items — clothing, bags, jewelry, footwear and personal care — and crafts, such as pictures and carvings.

MallforAfrica is vetting sellers for MarketPlace Africaonlineand through theAfrica Made Product Standardsassociation (AMPS), to verify made-in-Africa status and merchandise quality.&We&re starting off in Nigeria and then we&ll open in Kenya, Rwanda and the rest of Africa, utilizing DHL massive network,& MallforAfrica CEO Chris Folayan told TechCrunch about where the goods will be sourced.

&People all around the world can buy from African artisans online, that the goal,& Folayan toldTechCrunch.Current listed designer products include handbags fromChinwe Ezenwaand Tash women outfits by Tasha Goodwin.In addition to DHL for shipping, MarketPlace Africa will utilize MallforAfrica e-commerce infrastructure.The startup was founded in 2011 to solve challenges global consumer goods companies face when entering Africa.French President Emmanuel Macronunveiled a $76 million African startup fundat VivaTech 2018 and TechCrunch paid a visit to theFrench Development Agency(AFD) — which will administer the new fund — to get details on how it will work.The $76 million (or€65 million) will divvy up into three parts, AFD Digital Task Team LeaderChristine Hatold TechCrunch.&There are €10 million [$11.7 million] for technical assistance to support the African ecosystem… €5 million will be available as interest-free loans to high-potential, pre-seed startups…and…€50 million [$58 million] will be for equity-based investments in series A to C startups,& explained Ha during a meeting in Paris.The technical assistance will distribute in the form of grants to accelerators, hubs, incubators and coding programs.

The pre-seed startup loans will issue in amounts up to $100,000 &as early, early funding to allow entrepreneurs to prototype, launch and experiment,& said Ha.The $58 million in VC startup funding will be administered throughProparco, a development finance institution — orDFI— partially owned by the AFD.

&Proparco will take equity stakes, and will be a limited partner when investing in VC funds,& said Ha.Startups from all African countries can apply for a piece of the $58 million by contacting any ofProparco Africa offices.The $11.7 million technical assistance and $5.8 million loan portions of France new fund will be available starting in 2019.

On implementation, AFD is still &reviewing several options…such as relying on local actors through [France&s] Digital Africa platform,& said Ha.

President Macron followed up the Africa fund announcement with atrip to Nigerialast month.Nigerian logistics startupKobo360was accepted into Y Combinator 2018 class and gained some working capital in the form of $1.2 million in pre-seed funding led byWestern Technology Investment.The startup — with anUber -like app that connects Nigerian truckers to companies with freight needs — will use the funds to pay drivers online immediately after successful hauls.Kobo360 is also launching the Kobo Wealth Investment Network, or KoboWIN — a crowd-invest, vehicle financing program.

Through it, Kobo drivers can finance new trucks through citizen investors and pay them back directly (with interest) over a 60-month period.On Kobo360 utility, &We give drivers the demand and technology to power their businesses,& CEO Obi Ozortold TechCrunch.

&An average trucker will make $3,500 a month with our app.

That middle class territory in Nigeria.&Kobo360 has served 324 businesses, aggregated a fleet of 5,480 drivers and moved 37.6 million kilograms of cargo since 2017, per company stats.

Top clients include Honeywell,Olam, Unilever and DHL.Ozor thinks the startup asset-free, digital platform and business model can outpace traditional long-haul 3PL providers in Nigeria by handling more volume at cheaper prices.&Logistics in Nigeria have been priced based on the assumption drivers are going to run empty on the way back…When we now match freight with return trips, prices crash.&Kobo360 will expand in Togo, Ghana, Cote D&Ivoire and Senegal.[PHOTO: BFX.LAGOS]And finally, applications are open for TechCrunch Startup Battlefield Africa, to be held in Lagos, Nigeria, December 11.

Early-stage African startups have untilSeptember 3to apply here.More Africa Related Stories @TechCrunch·CowryWise micro-savings service opens high-yield government bonds to everyday Nigerians

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