Africa
The latest startup and technology news coming out of Africa.
Crypto users in Nigeria briefly lose access to Binance, Kraken and Coinbase
Some cryptocurrency exchanges in Nigeria faced accessibility issues for users, prompting speculation of imposed restrictions on crypto sites, the Financial Times reported. On Wednesday, local media reported that Nigeria’s telecom…
Honor of Kings, Tencent’s massively popular mobile game, has its eye set on the international market in 2024. Starting on February 21, the multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game will…
Nigerian digital bank FairMoney in talks to buy Umba in $20M all-stock deal, sources say
FairMoney, a digital bank based in Lagos and headquartered in Paris, is in discussions to acquire Umba, a credit-led digital bank providing payroll and financial services to customers in Nigeria…
Roam raises $24M to scale electric vehicle production in Kenya
Roam, an EV startup based in Kenya, has raised $24 million in a Series A round, including up to $10 million debt commitment from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation…
Kenya’s Ilara Health gets $4.2M backing to expand clinic-support services
Ilara Health, a Kenya-based health tech enabling private clinics to access diagnostic devices and pharmaceutical products, has secured $4.2 million debt-equity in a pre-Series A round. The funds will be…
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Africa-focused funds find their feet amid a downturn
In the midst of a funding downtime last year, and with conditions getting tougher for fund managers raising capital as backers (limited partners) enhanced their focus on strategy and track record, some new African and Africa-focused funds still emerged, with several of the existing ones receiving fresh backing. Among the…
Google has today said its cloud region in South Africa is operational, coming a year after the tech giant picked Johannesburg as its first site in Africa. Cloud regions allow…
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Despite glimmers of profit, most African neobanks remain in the red
It was only just over a year ago that McKinsey described Africa’s financial technology landscape as a “hotbed for investment.” Fast-forward to today and startups on the continent are facing many of the same problems plaguing fintechs in more mature markets like the U.K. and the U.S.: Valuations are tanking,…
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How African startups raised funding in 2023
After defying the global funding slowdown of 2022, VC investments in African startups dropped considerably last year, mirroring the situation in other regions where capital taps were significantly turned off. The drop, however, was not unexpected as months preceding the year, deals had become infrequent as investors began to pull…
Kenyan agtech Shamba Pride raises $3.7M to grow its merchant network
Shamba Pride has since 2016 worked to enhance last-mile distribution for farm inputs and tackle price exploitation and quality issues for farmers through its merchant network dubbed digishops. The agtech…
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Homegrown African VCs emerge to fill in the gaps foreign investors cannot
The African startup scene is expanding beyond the traditional markets of Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa, with accelerated activity now reported in other regions across the continent. As the market grows, there are calls for more local fund managers to unlock additional capital and support founders. This push arises…
African neobank Kuda tried to raise $20M at flat valuation in 2023, missed user milestone projection by 3M
Updated to note that Kuda has now responded to say that it didn’t close a bridge round last year. The story below is modified to reflect that. Earlier this month,…
Seedstars Africa Ventures gets $30M backing from EIB Global to invest in early-stage startups
Seedstars Africa Ventures has received a $30 million capital commitment from EIB Global, an arm of the European Investment Bank, which becomes the first major institutional investment for its first…
YC-backed African fintech Cleva, founded by Stripe and AWS alums, raises $1.5M pre-seed
Nigerian fintech Cleva, focused on creating a banking platform for African individuals and businesses to receive international payments by opening USD accounts, has raised $1.5 million in pre-seed funding. The…
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Last year was a tough period for African growth-stage startups and 2024 presents a mixed bag
Last year presented a tough period for African tech startups. Venture capital was hard to bag (as predicted earlier), bridge and down rounds became the norm, and news of fire sales, layoffs and startup closures reverberated across the continent. With the overall amount of VC funding raised in Africa dipping…
Two of Africa’s largest B2B e-commerce platforms, MaxAB and Wasoko, in merger talks
Egyptian B2B e-commerce startup MaxAB and Wasoko, a Kenya-based e-commerce player with operations in Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia, are in talks to merge operations, TechCrunch has exclusively learned from…
Backed by Schmidt Futures, Cloudline raises $6M to take aerial autonomy green and mainstream
South African aerospace startup Cloudline has secured $6 million in funding as it aims to lead the global frontier of carbon emissions-free autonomous flight. Schmidt Futures, the philanthropic venture founded…
Re-commerce marketplace Soum gets $18M backing to scale in MENA
The global re-commerce market is poised for growth as consumers increasingly settle for pre-owned goods to save on cost, and as some observe conscious consumption. With the global re-commerce market…
Jumia quit food delivery because of deep-pocketed ‘aggressive’ rivals, CEO says
Last week, pan-African e-commerce platform Jumia said it was discontinuing its food delivery service, Jumia Food. According to the company, its food delivery business didn’t align with the current operational…
Jumia discontinues food delivery across seven markets, shifts focus to expanding physical goods business
Pan-African e-commerce platform Jumia has disclosed its intention to discontinue its food delivery service, Jumia Food. The company said its food delivery business is not aligned with the current operational…
Kenyan insurtech Lami Technologies in February last year announced its acquisition of Bluewave, another startup within the insurance space, to expand its product offerings and enable it to scale into…
YC-backed fintech Bujeti raises $2M for its corporate cards and spend management platform
African corporate cards and spend management platform Bujeti has raised $2 million in seed funding. The startup, involved with how African businesses, including SMBs, startups and enterprises, manage and handle…
Omniful, a supply chain and e-commerce enablement startup, emerges from stealth with $5.85M
Supply chain and e-commerce enablement startup Omniful has today emerged from stealth with $5.85 million seed funding led by VentureSouq, with participation from 500 Global, DASH Ventures, Jahez Group, SEEDRA…
Egypt’s Mtor nabs $2.8M pre-seed for its online auto parts marketplace
Egyptian online auto parts marketplace Mtor has raised $2.8 million in pre-seed investment led by Egypt-focused venture capital firm Algebra Ventures. Other investors that participated in the round include Dutch…
Salesforce Ventures and Female Founders Fund back Kenyan climate-tech Amini in $4M seed round
Amini, a Kenya-based climate-tech startup bridging the environmental data gap in Africa, has raised $4 million in a seed funding round led by Salesforce Ventures and the Female Founders Fund.…
Saviu Ventures’ second fund reaches €12 million first close to back Francophone Africa startups
Saviu Ventures, a VC firm targeting startups in Francophone Africa, has made an initial close of €12 million for its second fund with the backing of private investors, including French…
FrontEdge raises $10M in debt, equity from TLG, Flexport to facilitate trade for African exporters
In the dynamic landscape of African international trade, a prevalent challenge looms large: A mere 30% of trade volumes find financial intermediaries in banks. This glaring gap in financing disproportionately…
Cameroonian healthtech Waspito gets $2.5M seed extension to scale, tap offline patients
Cameroonian health startup Waspito has secured a $2.5 million seed extension from DP World through Newtown Partners, Saviu Ventures, AAIC Investment, Axian Ventures and CFAO’s Health54 to spur its growth…
Online grocery startup Pricepally to expand in Nigeria backed by $1.3M funding
Pricepally, a Nigerian online grocery store for fresh produce and packaged food, has raised $1.3 million seed funding, backed by Samurai Incubate (a Japanese VC that also participated in the…
Paystack reduces operations outside of Africa, affecting 33 employees in Europe and Dubai
African payments company Paystack has reduced its operations outside of Africa, trimming its workforce in Europe and Dubai. This decision comes as part of a streamlining effort, particularly in markets…
