Funding
Jumia, an African e-commerce company, has raised €120 million ($150 million) in funding from existing shareholders. The company, which was founded in 2012 in Lagos, Nigeria, is part of African Internet Group, which has nine companies in 26 countries. Rocket Internet-backed Jumia previously raised $26 million in March and this latest round values it at more than $550 million. Jeremy Hodara, co-CEO of Africa Internet Group said: “We are very pleased to have been given this show of confidence, which acknowledges JUMIA’s success. We consider this a recognition of the huge potential of e-commerce in Africa and the strong momentum of JUMIA across the continent.”
Series A
Appear Here, a U.K.-based marketplace for pop-up shops, has announced $7.5 million in Series A funding led by Balderton Capital. The company, founded in 2012, helps small pop up stores find space in major U.K. cities. “We’re delighted that Balderton have come on board with this major round of funding. The investment enables international expansion in 2015, and also further investment in our customer service: we have already developed five-star service for customers – including a concierge service, and online contracts and payments, which make it even easier for people to turn their ideas into reality,” said Founder Ross Bailey.
Series B
Mobile social recommendations company YPlan has secured $24 million in Series B financing, in a round led by Octopus Investments, Wellington Partners and General Catalyst Partners. The U.K.-based company’s app helps people make last minute plans and has been downloaded more than 1.5 million times. YPLan launched last year and will alter the company’s sales strategy with the new funding, according to TechCrunch.
Content writing marketplace Scripted has raised $9 million in Series B funding led by Storm Ventures. Scripted allows businesses to commission content writers to work on white papers, blog posts, tweets and other marketing content. Justin Moore, Auren Hoffman, Gil Penchina and current investors Crosslink Capital and Redpoint Ventures also participated in the round. “This round of financing will give us the resources to reach several accomplishments. First and foremost, our priority is to help as many businesses as possible with the painful process of content creation while giving freelance writers the opportunity to do what they love: write,” Scripted Co-Founder and Chief Executive Sunil Rajaraman wrote in a blog post.