• Sprints

  Led · Equity · Apr 2024

  Sprints is an AI-powered educational technology company that delivers personalized learning journeys and a job guarantee aimed at closing the tech talent gap. The company was founded in 2019 by Ayman Bazaraa and Bassam Sharkawy and is based in Maadi al Khahiri, Cairo, Egypt. Sprints reports 51–200 employees and a stated goal to educate one billion students in ten years. The startup says it will expand into new markets across the MEA region to establish the area as a tech talent hub. Financially, the company has reported $3.0 million in total funding to date, raised as bridge financing. Sprints is a Cairo-based EdTech startup that provides an end-to-end solution to bridge the tech talent gap. Founded in 2019 by Ayman Bazaraa and Bassam Sharkawy, it identifies talent pools and offers tailored learning paths plus job-placement support. Its programs use a comprehensive learning method in which students meet role-played customers, gather design requirements, and build software products on a weekly basis. Sprints runs guaranteed-to-hire programs across MEA and assists alumni with ongoing professional development. Graduates who secure employment pay via 0% interest payments over three years. The company recently raised $1.2 million in a seed round.

• Mamamoni

  Led · Equity · Feb 2024

  Mamamoni operates a female agent network that distributes PoS devices and digital financial services to underserved communities. The company focuses on training and equipping young women with digital jobs and skills to reduce financial exclusion. Mamamoni’s recent initiative targets unemployed women aged 18–35, aiming to create over 2,000 agent jobs. The business collaborates with partners such as VFD Microfinance Bank to supply resources that help agents sustain their businesses and power transactions. Mamamoni is actively expanding the Mamamoni Female Agent Network and is promoting applications for aspiring agents to join its waitlist. Contact and more information are available on the company website and via the team email provided in the announcement.

• Releaf

  Participated · Grant · Sep 2021

  Releaf combines proprietary hardware and software — including the Kraken palm-nut de-sheller, the SALT sourcing and logistics application, and the Site geospatial mapping tool — to localize processing and connect smallholder farmers to FMCG manufacturers. The company is focused initially on Nigeria's oil palm industry, placing processing capacity closer to farms to increase quality and reduce logistics costs. Kraken delivers 27–30% higher extraction yields and enables production of palm oil with about 95% purity versus an industry standard of 88%. Since launching its first Kraken prototype in January 2021, Releaf has processed more than 10,000 tons of palm nuts, grown monthly revenue at an average rate of 25%, and secured over $75 million in bookings. Releaf works with leading FMCG manufacturers including Presco and PZ Cussons and provides farmers with training and support on sustainable land management via SALT. The company aims to scale operations and expand into other crops to support climate-adaptive supply chains across Africa. Releaf builds proprietary hardware and software to decentralize food processing for smallholder palm-oil farmers, including Kraken, a patent-pending nut-cracking machine. The company buys palm kernel nuts from farmers, uses Kraken to crack and crush kernels into vegetable oil, and sells finished oil to FMCG processors and local manufacturers in Nigeria’s South South region. Releaf’s software platform connects to over 2,000 smallholder farmers who have supplied more than 10 million kilograms of palm kernel nuts, and Kraken has processed roughly 500 tonnes of palm nuts to date. The startup says its oil yields a lower free fatty acid (FFA) level—about 3.5% versus an industry standard near 5%—which it expects to monetize over time to improve margins. Releaf plans geographic expansion across West Africa rather than broad crop diversification, though it may consider intercropping or adjacent oilseed crops like soybeans or groundnuts. The company will use the seed capital to develop and deploy technology to farmers, while grant funding will provide working capital financing; internal trials reportedly increased smallholder incomes three- to fivefold.

No current team members are available.