Startup News Roundup – Healthcare Startup Quro Secures Funding & More (19 – 23 April)

Updated on 19 April 2021

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Local Cyber-security Tech Startup Secures Funding

Healthcare Startup Quro Secures Raises Seed Funding

Nairobi-based seed-stage investor Enza Capital and South Africa-based Mohau Equity Partners have invested $1.1 million in seed funding in healthcare startup, Quro, to expand services.

Johannesburg-based Quro Medical is working to make affordable care at home an alternative to hospital stays for public insurance holders.

Quro Medical partners with healthcare funders and providers to deliver all essential elements of inpatient care in the comfort and convenience of a patient’s home.

SEE ALSO: SA Company Partners With Dutch Startup To Change The Future Of Healthcare

Local Cyber-security Tech Startup Secures Funding

Johannesburg-based tech startup Sendmarc has secured an undisclosed amount of funding from Kalon Venture Partners, a South African venture capital fund.

The tech startup provides the setup, implementation, and reporting functionality for a global email protection standard known as Domain Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance (DMARC).

DMARC has been designed to provide email domain owners the ability to protect their domains from unauthorised use such as email spoofing or impersonation attacks. Implementing the standard helps protect one’s domain name from scamsters stealing the domain name to send hoax emails to companies’ clients, suppliers or network.

Sendmarc’s service enables businesses to protect their customers, suppliers, and themselves from email cyber-attacks.

Crossfin Ventures Invests in Fintech Troygold

Local fintech Troygold has secured an investment from Crossfin Ventures, the angel investment arm of Crossfin Technology Holdings.

Troygold offers South Africa’s first gold-backed savings account, debit card. Troygold digitises gold bullion and Krugerrands and then allows customers to buy, sell, spend and borrow against their gold.

Vaulted gold bars or coins with serial numbers are digitised via Troygold’s system, offering whole or fractional ownership.

Gold is directly allocated, and customers receive an ownership certificate showing which bar or coin and what serial number they own, as well as where it is stored.

The company currently has storage facilities in Johannesburg and Singapore.

Applications Open for Grindstone Accelerator Programme

Grindstone accelerator is looking for 20 high growth SMEs for its next cohorts. Grindstone is an equity-free structured entrepreneurship development programme that assists high-growth innovation-driven SMEs to become sustainable and fundable. It backs South African scale-up businesses in a year-long engagement with knowledge, networks, market access opportunities and funding readiness through growth measurement, gap analysis and value-adding interventions.

The qualifying conditions for applying to Grindstone are:

  1. A South African registered company;
  2. Post-revenue with customer traction and at least R500k revenue per annum;
  3. A dynamic team of awesome people;
  4. Innovative business with a clear competitive differentiator and
  5. A scalable business model.

Successful businesses that are Grindstone Alumni include the likes of: iKubu, Payfast, Sea Monster, Electrum Payments, Iono.fm, MPULL, Nona Creative, Quicket, PICSA, WhereIsMyTransport, Locstat, Granite, OneCart, Farosian, Marc1 and WizzPass, to name just a few.

For more information or to apply visit: www.grindstonexl.com/apply

Applications will close at the end of April 2021.

SEE ALSO: Startup Get Health is Turning the Healthcare Sector on its Head

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