# The Epic Groundwater Challenge

> The Epic Groundwater Challenge is a VC fund in Cape Town backing Financial Services and FinTech. See 5 investments, round sizes, portfolio. Updated Oct 2026.

- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Cape Town, South Africa
- Total investments: 5
- Last investment: Dec 2019
- Lead investor: 100%
- Last updated: Oct 2026
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/startupbootcamp
- Website: https://www.startupbootcamp.org/events/global-water-challenge/

The Epic Groundwater Challenge is a VC fund in Cape Town focused on Financial Services and FinTech. SAP Next-Gen and Startupbootcamp AfriTech have partnered to host The Epic Groundwater Challenge linked to Sustainable Development Goals 6: Clean Water and Sanitation. Water is the ultimate systems challenge.  It is a unique resource that underpins all drivers of growth – be it agricultural production, energy generation, industry or manufacturing.To accelerate solutions aligned with The Global Water Initiative, Startupbootcamp AfriTech and SAP Next-Gen are collaborating on the Global Water Challenge where from October 2018 to January 2019 disruptive startups will work with innovative corporates to rapidly scale solutions to water resource management challenges with potential for global impact. Startups will address challenges in several areas: Devices, techniques and/or services to detect and monitor new and existing groundwater sources and measure consumption Novel approaches to improve efficiencies for formal and informal irrigation Services to predict and detect weather-related shocks (e.g. droughts, floods, etc) and notify areas of potential impact Techniques to address water scarcity and reduce over-drafting of groundwater, stream depletion, land subsidence and salinity Devices to monitor groundwater levels to estimate the recharge rate, determine direction and gradient of flow and understand and manage aquifer systems Groundwater-availability modelling and decision-support system for better water resources management and allocation Predictive modelling for future groundwater usage “Water resource management is a critical challenge of our time, and we believe startups can play a key role in developing disruptive solutions,” said Philip Kiracofe, CEO and Co-Founder at Startupbootcamp AfriTech. “Through the Global Water Challenge, we will accelerate startups from around the world that are focusing on Water Management, Waste Water Treatment, Water Conservation, Water Quality, Water Supply, Smart Water Use, and Sustainable Development, developing bold new solutions aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goal 6.”

## Round sizes

| Stage | Round size |
| --- | --- |
| Seed | $17k–$17k |

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Financial Services | 3 | 60% |
| FinTech | 2 | 40% |
| Finance | 1 | 20% |
| Payments | 1 | 20% |
| E-Commerce | 1 | 20% |

10 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Seed | 4 | 80% |
| Pre-Seed | 1 | 20% |

### Country

| Country | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Nigeria | 2 | 40% |
| South Africa | 2 | 40% |
| Kenya | 1 | 20% |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Round size | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Brandbook | Harvest vast amounts of consumer data which allows for quantitative sale-driven modelling | $16.6K | Seed | Dec 02, 2019 | https://www.brandbook.co.za/ |
| Taz Technologies | Taz technologies is a steadily growing and innovative ICT company serving clients in all countries and aiming to have a share on the African market.At Taz technologies we are committed at providing dedicated professional services aimed at yielding solutions that suits your business.This includes incorporating comprehensive research and analytic sto identify what you require and using our skills to aid in accelerating growth based on your business models. | $16.9K | Pre-Seed | Aug 03, 2018 | http://www.taztechnologies.com/ |
| Prospa | Prospa is a mobile enabled savings solution for low income earners which allows them to save small amounts through a voucher-based USSD solution. It combines the powers of group saving, flexibility, and discipline to maximize your savings. | $16.9K | Seed | Aug 03, 2018 | https://www.prospa.co.za/ |
| Credpal | Credpal is an innovative solution that allows businesses and individuals to buy anything and pay for it in installments across online and offline merchants by providing them with access to credit at the point of checkout. It provides a platform that offers transparency in services facilitating users to set up their accounts and choose their paymentplan to minimize risk and connect to multiple financial institutions that provide credit for customers.Credpal was launched in 2018 by Fehintolu Olaogun and Olorunfemi Jegede and is headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. | $16.9K | Seed | Aug 03, 2018 | https://www.credpal.com/ |
| Bankly | Bankly is a digital savings and peer to peer transfer product where users fund their wallet using tokens available on Bankly vouchers nationwide in a “Recharge to save” model. This cash digitisation system is similar to the telco mobile airtime top up and is currently available on MTN and 9mobile networks in Nigeria.Financial services has to beseen through the lenses of a fast moving consumer product in order to reach the last mile and the use of vouchers has been proven to be a successful cash digitisation system by the telecoms industry. Leveraging this existing consumer behaviour to drive financial inclusion, reduce cost of financial services and create a foundation to provide other financial services is where Bankly identifies huge potential and is poised to make an impact. | $16.9K | Seed | Aug 03, 2018 | https://bankly.ng |

5 of 5 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Startupbootcamp](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/startupbootcamp) — VC Fund, 1 deal together

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## FAQ

### What does The Epic Groundwater Challenge invest in?

The Epic Groundwater Challenge invests primarily in Financial Services, FinTech and Finance startups, most often at Seed and Pre-Seed stage. Most of the 5 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in Nigeria. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### What round sizes does The Epic Groundwater Challenge invest in?

The Epic Groundwater Challenge typically joins rounds of $17k–$17k at Seed. These are whole funding-round sizes, not The Epic Groundwater Challenge's own check, which is rarely disclosed: the 10th–90th percentile of the confirmed public funding rounds The Epic Groundwater Challenge took part in.

### When did The Epic Groundwater Challenge last invest?

The most recent investment recorded for The Epic Groundwater Challenge closed in Dec 2019. Shizune tracks 5 investments in total for this profile, including round sizes, stages and portfolio companies, all sourced from confirmed public funding rounds and refreshed monthly.

### Is Shizune's investor data accurate?

Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Oct 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

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