Intel Corporation’s global investment and M&A arm, Intel Capital is collaborating with Adlevo Capital Managers, a private equity fund manager focused on investments into technology-enabled businesses in sub-Saharan Africa, to expand investment into Rancard Solutions Limited.

Rancard is a leading provider of cloud based software for mobile content discovery and delivery with focus in Africa.

President of Intel Capital and Intel Executive Vice President, Arvind Sodhani,  who announced the collaboration to journalists, said that “Africa is a market with attractive macro-economic trends which we believe will unearth great business opportunities for us.

With technological developments playing a key role in the region’s economic growth, we are seeking out Africa’s leading technology companies and great entrepreneurs as part of our mission to foster technology innovation globally.”

Also elated by the development, Intel GM Europe, Middle East and Africa, Mr Christian Morales, also said that “as a business Rancard provides a wide range of services that are well placed to meet consumers’ rapidly shifting demands, particularly as the market for cloud based mobile content grows.

It’s 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.”  The deal marks Intel Capital’s first investment in West Africa. Intel Capital is represented in the region by Sam Mensah, who is Investment Director for sub-Saharan Africa. This latest investment builds upon Intel Capital’s long track record of supporting the growth of companies which deliver innovative technology solutions.

Meanwhile, CEO of Rancard, Kofi Dadzie, commenting on the investment, said that “it will play a vital role in enabling us to expand our footprint across Africa on both a reputational and operational level. We’re 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.”

Since launching in 2001, Rancard has been recognised as a trusted provider of cloud-based mobile software and services which Africa’s mobile operators are increasingly turning to. As voice-based average revenue per user declines, mobile operators are increasingly using Rancard’s content discovery platform to profitably increase data revenues by delivering targeted content to their subscribers.

The company has developed a cloud-based social recommendations engine called ‘Rendezvous’, which maps connections among mobile users and then uses this mapping of shared interests as a basis for recommending content to consumers.

Perhaps that is why Managing Partner of Adlevo Capital, Yemi Lalude, described Rancard as a perfect example of African entrepreneurs bringing world-class technology solutions to market.