About Renew Capital
Renew Capital is a venture capital firm founded in 2007. It is primarily based out of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. As of May 2025, Renew Capital is an active investor, having invested in 44 companies, with 5 new investments in the last 12 months. It primarily invests in Seed round in Kenya based startups. Its investments are spread across a wide range of sectors from Enterprise Applications to FinTech and Consumer. Most recently it participated in the $***** Seed round of Beemi A lot of funds co-invest with Renew Capital, with names like Change Com sharing a substantial percentage of its portfolio. Renew Capital has team of 37 people including 6 partners.Renew Capital's List of Top Investments
Renew Capital has a portfolio of 44 companies. Their most notable investments are in Teraki app and Agenz.Their portfolio spans across Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia and 12 more locations. They have invested in Enterprise Applications, FinTech, Consumer and 21 other sectors, across stages such as Seed, Series A and 2 more. Here is the list of top investments by Renew Capital:
1. Buupass
App-based platform that provides ticket booking services for travelers. The platform enables users with buses, flights, hotels, and more. Users can book tickets providing relevant information including destination, date of travel, and more. Their apps are available on Android devices.
Key facts about Buupass
- Founded Year: 2017
- Location: Nairobi (Kenya)
- Stage: Seed
- Total Funding till date: $2.94M
- Employee Count: 16 as on Jul 01, 2024
- Investors: Five Two Five, Artha India Ventures and 13 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Seed, Jul 10, 2025, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
2. Dabchy
Online marketplace offering multi-category second-hand fashion products. The product catalog includes apparel, footwear, jewelry, sunglasses, bags, and other fashion accessories. It also provides beauty products. The application is available on both iOS and Android platforms.
Key facts about Dabchy
- Founded Year: 2016
- Location: Tunis (Tunisia)
- Stage: Seed
- Total Funding till date: $1.34M
- Employee Count: 15 as on Jul 01, 2024
- Investors: Village Capital, Orange Ventures and 8 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Seed, Feb 19, 2025, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
Online marketplace platform offering preowned mobiles. The enables users to buy and sell mobile phones of multiple brands where based on AI it automatically calculates the price for old phones based on age, physical and functional conditions.
Key facts about Badili Africa
- Founded Year: 2021
- Location: Nairobi (Kenya)
- Stage: Seed
- Total Funding till date: $4.1M
- Employee Count: 14 as on Jul 01, 2024
- Investors: Venture Catalysts, CapFort Ventures and 13 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Conventional Debt, Mar 05, 2025, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
4. Tendo
Providing eCommerce solutions for resellers. The resellers can find multi-category products listed in wholesales prices on the platform. The customers can add the profits over the base price and share the product online/social media platform. The company manages warehousing/logistics, etc. The company offers mobile applications for Android and iOS platforms.
Key facts about Tendo
- Founded Year: 2019
- Location: Accra (Ghana)
- Stage: Seed
- Total Funding till date: $500K
- Employee Count: 20 as on Jul 01, 2024
- Investors: Y Combinator, Renew Capital and 1 Other
- Latest Funding Round: Seed, May 12, 2025, $*****
5. chpter
Cloud-based software solutions for e-commerce businesses. The platform provides solutions including sales management, checkout, order management, integration, marketing automation, and more.
Key facts about chpter
- Founded Year: 2021
- Location: Nairobi (Kenya)
- Stage: Seed
- Total Funding till date: $1.22M
- Employee Count: 3 as on Jul 01, 2024
- Investors: Renew Capital, Plesion Capital and 7 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Seed, Sep 02, 2024, $*****
Renew Capital's Year-on-Year Investment Trends
Renew Capital has invested in 44 companies over the last 13 years, with an average of 4 new investments annually in the last 10 years. In 2025, it made 6 investments. Its most recent first time investment was in Beemi and most recent follow-on round was in Konnect.Year | No. of Investments | ||
|---|---|---|---|
1st Round | Follow-on | Total | |
2026 (YTD) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2025 | 5 | 1 | 6 |
2024 | 23 | 1 | 24 |
2023 | 9 | 0 | 9 |
2022 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
Renew Capital's Investments by Stage
Renew Capital has made 36 investments in Seed stage with an average round size of $819K, 3 investments in Series A stage with an average round size of $24M, 1 investment in Conventional Debt stage and 1 investment in Unattributed stage.Stage of entry | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Seed | 36 |
Series A | 3 |
Conventional Debt | 1 |
Unattributed | 1 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Renew Capital's Investments by Sector
Renew Capital has a diverse portfolio, with companies operating in the Consumer, FinTech, Enterprise Applications, Retail and Auto Tech. Notably, it has invested in 33 Tech companies, 24 Enterprise (B2B) companies, 18 Consumer (B2C) companies and at least 16 companies focusing on Software.Sector | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Consumer | 16 |
FinTech | 14 |
Enterprise Applications | 13 |
Retail | 8 |
Auto Tech | 4 |
Others | 47 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Renew Capital's Investments by Geography
Renew Capital has made most investments in Kenya (14), followed by Uganda where it has made 7 investments.Country | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Kenya | 14 |
Uganda | 7 |
Ethiopia | 3 |
France | 2 |
Ghana | 2 |
Others | 13 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Renew Capital's recent investments
Renew Capital has not made any investment in 2026 so far.Here are the most recent investments by Renew Capital:
Filter this listDate | Company | Location | Round Details | Round Amount | Co-Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
May 29, 2025 | Ethiopia | Seed | 4717 | - | |
May 12, 2025 | Ghana | Seed | 5332 | - | |
May 05, 2025 | Tunisia | Seed | 3286 | ||
Mar 25, 2025 | South Africa | Seed | 8935 | - | |
Feb 19, 2025 | Tunisia | Seed | 5660 | [+2] |
Team profile of Renew Capital
Renew Capital has a team of 37 members including 6 Partners and 16 Principals located in Ethiopia, United States and 10 more locations. Renew Capital's team does not sit on the board of any company as of now.Here is a list of top team members in Renew Capital:
Name | Designation | Location | Board Memberships | Contact Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Partner | Washington, DC | - | ||
Partner | - | - | ||
Partner | - | - | ||
Partner | Kigali | - | - | |
Partner | Ethiopia | - | - | |
Partner | Charlottesville | - | - | |
Principal | Casablanca | - | ||
Principal | Ethiopia | - | ||
Principal | Lusaka | - | ||
Principal | Ghana | - | - | |
Principal | - | - | - |
Co-investors of Renew Capital
Over the past 13 years, 116 investors have co-invested in Renew Capital's portfolio companies. This includes funds and angels.
- Invested before Renew Capital: Black Founders Fund, Techstars and 58 others have invested in rounds before Renew Capital. There are 4 companies where Black Founders Fund has invested before Renew Capital and 3 companies where Techstars has invested before Renew Capital.
- Top Co-investors of Renew Capital: 31 investors entered a company along with Renew Capital. These include investors like Change Com (2 companies).
- Invested after Renew Capital: A total of 25 investors have invested in Renew Capital's portfolio after their investments. Top Investors include Tim Draper (1 company), Yango (1 company) and Proparco (1 company).
Recent News related to Renew Capital
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Renew Capital launches Renew Venture Lab to support African finance founders.Disruptafrica•Apr 13, 2026•Renew Capital
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Enakl Secures $1.4 Million to Revolutionize Urban Mobility in Africa with Sustainable, Tech-Driven Transport SolutionsTech In Africa•Sep 23, 2025•Digital Africa, Enakl, Catalyst Fund, Renew Capital and 1 other
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Hypeo AI Secures Strategic Investment to Transform Influencer Marketing in Africa and the Middle EastTechgist Africa•Sep 01, 2025•Renew Capital
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Tech Funding Contracted In Africa Despite Early Stage GrowthNewtelegraphng•Aug 19, 2025•Flat6Labs, Y Combinator, Plug and Play Tech Center, Techstars and 2 others
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Renew Capital Invests in Hypeo Ai to Revolutionize Influencer Marketing in MENAInnovation-village•Aug 17, 2025•Renew Capital, hype
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Tech Funding in Africa Contracts in H1 2025 Despite Early-Stage Growth
TechTrends Media•Jul 10, 2025•Flat6Labs, Y Combinator, Techstars, Renew Capital and 7 others
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Tendo Raises Funding to Turn Social Media Accounts into Online StoresTechMoran•May 12, 2025•Tendo, Renew Capital
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Tunisian Fintech Konnect Closes New Investment Roundentarabi.com•May 05, 2025•Konnect, Utopia Capital Management, 54 Collective, Plug and Play Tech Center and 4 others
