Wuri Ventures
Dakar, Senegal
Overview
Wuri Ventures focuses on innovating the spectrum between market-based solutions and pure public goods. It realizes that much successful innovation in Africa has occurred in this space, where innovation around market failures such as information asymmetry (data), fragmentation (platforms) and public goods (electricity, mobility) can solve previously intractable problems. Its unique mathematical properties, from cellular automata and emergence to numerical methods, studied by researchers, links ancient African culture to modern technology. It supports world-class entrepreneurs in solving Africa’s biggest challenges using innovation.
- Total investments
- 2
- Lead investments
- 0
- Investments · 12mo
- 0
- Active investors
- 2
Sector focus
- Finance
- Impact Investing
- Venture Capital
Investment portfolio
- Jetstream Africa
Participated · Series A · Jan 2023
Jetstream Africa operates an e-logistics platform that vertically aggregates fragmented logistics and financing vendors to serve cargo owners in cross-border trade. The company underwrites short-term loans (15–90 days) backed by actual shipments, taking a security interest in cargo and disbursing funds directly to vendors across the supply chain. After pivoting to focus solely on import-export customers, Jetstream now functions as a freight forwarder offering end-to-end movement plus trade finance. The startup has disbursed about $9 million in total loans to date (up from a $1 million debt facility in 2021) and has scaled from one loan per month to up to 50 loans per month. It reports being EBITDA positive, with revenue growth of 48% and active customers up 102% year-over-year; shipments are 47% air, 44% ocean and 9% ground. The team of 44 plans to use the new capital to expand into additional countries (it currently operates in 29 markets, 12 in Africa) and continue developing its technology platform.
- Norebase
Participated · Seed · May 2022
Norebase provides a platform and plug‑and‑play Incorporation API that lets founders and businesses incorporate in multiple African countries and the U.S. within minutes or expand to new locations in about a week. Its services include incorporation, bank‑account openings, virtual mailing addresses, and trademark/IP registration, with upsells tied to regulatory and compliance needs. The company launched in September 2021 and says its incorporation service currently covers Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, Rwanda, Senegal, Togo, Tanzania, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Mauritius and Burkina Faso. Norebase reports nine partners for its API and claims 100% month‑on‑month growth in transaction volumes and 40% month‑on‑month revenue growth over the last six months. Clients named in the article include Brass, Nestcoin, Edenlife, Orda, Sudo Africa, GetEquity, Workpay, Kloudcommerce and Patricia. The startup competes with at least one Lagos‑based firm, Sidebrief, and plans to continue product development and hiring to scale.