The Latest from Tage Kene-Okafor
Morocco’s Chari valued at $100M in bridge round as it looks to pilot BNPL services
Moroccan B2B e-commerce and retail startup Chari confirmed to TechCrunch that it has secured a bridge round at a $100 million valuation. The bridge round welcomed new investors Khwarizmi Ventures, Air
a16z, Avenir and Google back South African mobile games publisher Carry1st in $20M round
Carry1st, a South African publisher of social games and interactive content across Africa, has raised a $20 million Series A extension led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). This is a16z’s first investm
Senegalese logistics and delivery company PAPS raises $4.5M led by 4DX Ventures and Orange
Multinationals like Amazon and Alibaba have leveraged logistics infrastructure such as UPS and FedEx to create large businesses. It’s not the same in Africa, where few third-party infrastructure pla
QED Investors hires Gbenga Ajayi as partner to focus on investments in Africa
In a move rarely made by Western venture capitalists, QED Investors announced today that it has hired an African partner, Gbenga Ajayi. He will focus on Africa investments as part of QED’s internati
Kenyan e-commerce company Copia Global raises $50M to ramp up African expansion
Kenyan B2C e-commerce company Copia Global has raised $50 million in a Series C equity round led by Goodwell Investments. The new financing round welcomed new investors such as Zebu Investment Partner
Finclusion raises $20M to build out credit-led neobank offering across Africa
The digital banking space in Africa is taking shape as neobanks on the continent grow in numbers like their global counterparts. Venture capital bets from institutional investors in this class of fint
Nigerian restaurant management platform Orda gets $1.1M, wants to be the Toast of Africa
Cloud-based point of sales for small, medium and large-sized restaurants has increased tremendously in both size and popularity. The market, dominated by incumbents like Toast and upcoming players suc
Ghanaian fintech Float raises $17M seed to power cash flow for commerce in Africa
Cash flow is a major pain point for small businesses in Africa. Long payment cycles, which can take 30-90 days after services or products have been rendered, and little or no capital, of which researc
Fintech Farm nabs $7.4M to launch neobanks in Nigeria and other emerging markets
Fintech Farm, a newly launched fintech startup based in the U.K. that creates digital banks in emerging markets, confirmed to TechCrunch today that it has raised $7.4 million in seed funding. The comp
Nigeria lifts ban on Twitter, says the social media giant has met conditions
The Nigerian government has lifted the suspension of Twitter operations more than six months after it first declared a crackdown on the social media giant in the country. Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, the
Nigeria’s SeamlessHR raises $10M to expand HR and payroll solutions across Africa
Africa’s appetite for cloud computing software continues to increase as connectivity and bandwidth opportunities push boundaries. Per reports, the continent’s cloud computing industry coupled with
Ivorian e-commerce startup ANKA, formerly Afrikrea, raises $6.2M pre-Series A
A study by McKinsey & Company on general e-commerce activities in Africa says consumer spending will reach over $2 trillion in the next three years. Much of this spending falls under the importati
Nigeria’s ThankUCash secures $5.3M to build infrastructure for cash back, deals and BNPL services
Loyalty, deals and rewards services are a rarity in most African markets. The unit economics and other factors such as currency instability make such businesses hard to pull off in the region. Yet Tha
HealthLeap raises $1.1M pre-seed to reduce malnutrition in hospitals with clinical AI assistant
Malnutrition is very common among hospitalized patients in the U.S., and its coded prevalence is increasing. Amid this problem lies an opportunity to optimize the overall quality of patient care, impr
YC-backed Namibian startup JABU gets $3.2M for its B2B e-commerce and retail play
Namibian business-to-business e-commerce startup JABU confirmed to TechCrunch that it has raised a $3.2 million financing round. The seed round, which was closed last year, welcomed investors such as
African tech took center stage in 2021
Two years ago, the African tech ecosystem saw newfound attention from global players that translated to the continent’s best year of receiving venture capital. From varying sources, it is estimated
South Africa’s Planet42 gets $30M for its car subscription service, Mexico expansion
Planet42, a South Africa-based car subscription company that buys used cars from dealerships and rents to customers via a subscription model, has raised $30 million in equity and debt. The investment
Ventures Platform announces first close of its $40M pan-African fund
Activity around African venture capital firms raising funds continues to increase as we head towards the end of the year. In the latest development, Abuja- and Lagos-based Ventures Platform is today a
Google’s Africa Investment Fund makes first investment in Uganda’s SafeBoda
Internet giant Google announced today that it has made the first investment from its Africa Investment Fund in Ugandan super app SafeBoda. The undisclosed investment comes two months after Alphabet CE
Target Global leads $3.5M pre-seed in Nigerian online learning platform Edukoya
For years, offline test preparation centers in Nigeria have provided after-school guidance and tutoring to students who seek to pass entrance examinations. Edtech platforms such as Edukoya have sprung