Insurtech infrastructure company Curacel — an AI-powered platform for claims processing and fraud management in Africa — has just announced a raise of a $450,000 pre-seed funding round to accelerate product development and expansion efforts for the startup across the African continent. According to a press release shared with AfroTech, the funding round was led by Atlantica Ventures and Consonance with participation from Kepple Ventures and other African angel investors. Curacel — which was originally founded in 2018 — reveals that the new funding will be used to help facilitate Curacel’s goal of becoming Africa’s premier provider of embedded finance technology for insurance and drive insurance inclusion across 10 new African countries by the end of 2021. “We are excited to have these investors on board and we are looking forward to partnering with them to drive our vision of improving insurance inclusion across Africa,” Curacel co-founder and CEO, Henry Mascot shares in a...

Funding isn’t a one-time deal for most startups. It’s common for startups to raise capital via multiple funding rounds, each being a step above the previous. Even when a startup achieves success in a lower round, they continue to raise capital via consecutive rounds in efforts to scale their business to new heights. So, what are funding rounds? How do they work? How do you determine how many funding rounds are appropriate for your startup? We’re glad you asked. Here’s all you need to know: What is a funding round? Essentially, a funding round is a period of time where a startup sets out to raise capital in order to achieve a goal or milestone. In between funding rounds, the startup will continue to improve via sales, digital impressions, or adding new team members to increase the overall valuation, which is evaluated and assessed by potential investors. There is no standard amount of time between funding rounds which is usually determined by founders who feel their valuation has...