Intel Capital, Intel\u2019s global investment and M&A organisation, has announced its first venture in West Africa through a tech co-investment initiative with\u00a0Adlevo Capital Managers.<\/p>\n
The two private equity fund managers have completed an expansion investment into Ghana-based Rancard\u00a0Solutions, a provider of \u00a0cloud -d software for mobile content discovery and delivery, focused on Africa.<\/p>\n
Rancard aims to\u00a0expand its footprint further into the African market.<\/p>\n
Christian Morales, Intel’s general manager for Europe, Middle East, and Africa said that, as a business, Rancard “provides a wide range of services that are well placed to meet consumers\u2019 rapidly shifting demands, particularly as the market for cloud based mobile content grows.”<\/p>\n
“It\u2019s a company that has a promising future and one we feel could benefit not just from access to our capital, but also from our global network and technological expertise,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n
Rancard has developed a cloud-based social recommendations engine called \u2018Rendezvous\u2019, which maps connections among mobile users and then uses this mapping of shared interests as a basis for recommending content to consumers.<\/p>\n
It says that as voice-based average revenue per user declines, mobile operators are increasingly using its content discovery platform to profitably increase data revenues by delivering targeted content to their subscribers.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday\u2019s investment will play a vital role in enabling us to expand our footprint across Africa on both a reputational and operational level,” said\u00a0Kofi Dadzie, CEO of Rancard.<\/p>\n
“We\u2019re delighted that both Adlevo Capital and Intel Capital have agreed to come onboard at a time of such opportunity and are excited about working with such experienced and globally recognized partners.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yemi Lalude, managing partner of Adlevo Capital also added his voice, saying \u201cRancard is a perfect example of African entrepreneurs bringing world-class technology solutions to market.”<\/p>\n
“The company is uniquely positioned to bridge the gap between content owners and mobile operators and is poised to benefit from the growth in mobile data services. Our lead investment in Rancard will leverage Adlevo Capital\u2019s industry expertise gained from backing successful mobile value-added service companies in other geographies,\u201d finished Lalude.<\/p>\n
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