Rwanda

Zipline got its start six years ago using its autonomous electric drones to deliver blood in Rwanda. Now, the logistics and drone delivery startup is expanding its Rwandan government partnership…

Access to finance remains a key growth constraint for small businesses, with data showing a $330 billion financing deficit for the small enterprises that make up 90% of Africa’s businesses.…

Microtraction, an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in African startups at the pre-seed stage, is announcing that it has reached the first close of its second fund, Microtraction Community…

Kenyan retail B2B and end-to-end distribution platform Marketforce laid off a chunk of its workforce in July, according to sources familiar with the matter.  In an email sent from Marketforce…

It’s not often you hear about African tech companies expanding into Europe. Some examples include fintechs Lidya and Korapay in Eastern Europe and the U.K., respectively. In the latest development,…

Startup pitches with promises to provide various services to Africans — across different sectors — are commonplace now. And in trying to sweet-talk investors, what’s not taken into context or…

There’s no shortage of digital banks in Nigeria and, in general, in Africa. As the region continues to experience rapid growth in mobile usage and the corresponding growing young population,…

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Hence Technologies, a Kigali- and London-based startup that uses data and AI to match companies with external legal service providers is set to scale its precision-matching engine after raising $1.8…

Informal retail is king in Africa, with hundreds of billions of dollars of consumer goods sold through its channels yearly. Yet its industry remains highly fragmented as shop owners and…

Anglophone East Africa is home to over 400 million people, with half under 25. The region happens to be one of the fastest-growing globally; nevertheless, over 200 million people in…

Ten game development studios in Africa have come together under one umbrella, the Pan Africa Gaming Group (PAGG), in an effort to unify the continent’s gaming sector, which is currently…

MarketForce, the retail B2B and end-to-end distribution platform founded in Kenya, has raised $40 million in Series A funding for its merchant inventory financing and expansion across Africa. MarketForce, which…

Niklas Adalberth’s Norrsken Foundation is in the news again barely two months after opening its Norrsken House in Kigali, Rwanda, which plans to accommodate thousands of entrepreneurs by next year.…

NALA, a Tanzanian cross-border payments company that recently pivoted from local to international money transfers, said Thursday it has raised $10 million in a new fundraising round. The seed round…

Lipa Later, a Kenyan tech-led consumer credit platform, is planning to expand to new markets in Africa after raising $12 million in pre-Series A funding. The equity and debt funding…

Africa’s mobile-money sector remains the most active of any region in the world, according to GSM Association (GSMA), an umbrella body representing the interests of players in the telecommunications industry.…

MarketForce, a Kenyan B2B retail and financial services distribution startup, has expanded into five additional markets across Africa to grow RejaReja — its retailer “super app” that makes it possible…

In 2019, Swedish coworking space and investment fund Norrsken Foundation announced the launch of its first entrepreneurship hub outside the Scandinavian nation in Rwanda. The center, located in Kigali, has…

Apple has launched a lawsuit against NSO Group, the maker of the nation-state spyware Pegasus, seeking a permanent injunction to prevent the spyware maker from using any Apple product or…

The U.S. Department of Commerce has announced that it will ban the export of hacking tools to authoritarian governments in an effort to curb violations of human rights and other…

Google plans to invest up to $50 million in African early- and growth-stage startups via its Africa Investment Fund, ramping up efforts to support more businesses on the continent. Google…

Dutch social enterprise Fairphone has announced its first 5G smartphone, the Fairphone 4. The “greentech” mobile maker differentiates from almost the entire smartphone industry through a promise of sustainability via…

mPharma, a Ghanaian health tech startup that manages prescription drug inventory for pharmacies and their suppliers, today announced its expansion to Ethiopia. The company was founded by Daniel Shoukimas, Gregory…

African cross-border fintech startup Chipper Cash has raised a $30 million Series B funding round led by Ribbit Capital with participation of Bezos Expeditions — the personal VC fund of Amazon…

When you look at maps of micromobility across the world, it appears there’s not a ton of activity throughout Africa. Well, that’s because there’s not, Gura Ride founder and CEO…

While electric scooters first launched at scale in the U.S., they quickly made their way overseas. Now, there’s a bustling electric scooter market in Europe, China, Latin America and one…

African cross-border fintech startup Chipper Cash has closed a $13.8 million Series A funding round led by Deciens Capital and plans to hire 30 new staff globally. The raise caps an…

Uber is launching its Uber Cash digital wallet feature in Sub-Saharan Africa through a partnership with San Francisco-based — Nigerian-founded — fintech firm Flutterwave. The arrangement will allow riders to…

Events in May offered support to the thesis that Africa can incubate tech with global application. Two startups that developed their business models on the continent — MallforAfrica and Zipline…