The Latest from Tage Kene-Okafor
Jumia co-CEO Jeremy Hodara talks African e-commerce and his company’s path to profitability
This month, African e-commerce giant Jumia released its second full-year financials for Q4 and its fiscal year 2020. The results were mixed — active customers and gross profit increased, while o
Stitch emerges from stealth with $4M for its API fintech play in Africa
Over the years, there has been a growing trend of fintech infrastructure players around the world. In Africa, a handful of startups have launched in the past three years to provide such services. Stit
Jumia narrows losses, as its payment service grows in financial results
After years of losses, African e-commerce giant Jumia claimed significant progress towards profitability in its Q4 2020. Backing that claim, Jumia reported record gross profit and some improvements to
Area 120 is beginning to use Google’s massive reach to scale HTML5 GameSnacks platform
Hundreds of millions of users, especially in developing markets, don’t own high-end smartphones and can’t afford fast data plans to enjoy much of anything on the web. Google has been exploring mul
South African digital bank TymeBank lands $109M from UK and Philippines investors
The onset of the pandemic has led to increased demand for digital banking options across customer income groups around the world. We’ve seen how digital banks like Zolve and Nubank have raised m
Spotify to expand international footprint across 85 new markets
Over the next few days, Spotify will be launching its service in 85 new markets, and will also roll out 36 new languages on the platform. The news was announced at its online event, “Stream On” to
How Antler East Africa is building early-stage startups with experienced professionals
Unlike incubators and accelerators, company builders are organizations that tend to develop startups from scratch mainly based on their own ideas and resources. In the process, they bring together tec
With over 1.3 million users, Nigerian-based fintech FairMoney wants to replicate growth in India
There are more than 1.7 billion underbanked people globally, the majority of which are from emerging markets. For them, accessing loans can be difficult, which is a problem fintechs try to solve. One
Japan’s Uncovered Fund launches $15M fund to back early-stage startups in Africa
Uncovered Fund, a VC firm targeting early-stage startups in Africa, announced today that it has launched its $15 million fund, which is expected to close at the end of June this year. The Tokyo-based
Jack Dorsey and Jay Z invest 500 BTC to make Bitcoin ‘internet’s currency’
Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey and rapper Jay Z have created an endowment to fund bitcoin development initially in Africa and India, Dorsey said on Friday. The duo is putting 500 bitcoin, which is
South African VC firm Knife Capital gets first commitment for its $50M fund, to invest in 10-12 Series B rounds
Knife Capital, a South African venture capital firm, is raising a $50 million fund for startups looking to raise Series B financing. With Knife Fund III called the African Series B Expansion Fund, the
How African startups raised investments in 2020
The venture capital scene in Africa has consistently grown, with an influx of capital from local and international investors reaching unprecedented heights in recent years. To understand how much grow
Pngme, a financial data platform, closes $3M seed to accelerate growth in Sub-Saharan Africa
Since M-Pesa’s mobile money infrastructure came into play in 2007, there has been a proliferation of fintech services ranging from wallets to savings and loans. With this mobile money ecosystem
Nigeria’s IROKO plans to go public on the London Stock Exchange AIM in 2022
IROKO, a Nigerian-based media company, could file to go public in the next 12 months on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) Alternative Investment Market. Founded by Jason Njoku and Bastian Gotter in 2011
YC-backed Djamo is building a financial super app for consumers in Francophone Africa
Djamo, a financial super app for consumers in Francophone Africa, is the first startup from Ivory Coast to get backing from Y Combinator. While there has been a huge profusion of financial services th
Will Carbon and Shahry usher in a wave of buy now, pay later services in Africa?
Affirm, Afterpay, Klarna, Quadpay. These are some of the big global players in the buy now, pay later (BNPL) movement. They allow shoppers to purchase products online and pay in installments with nomi
Mono, a startup that wants to build Plaid for Africa, gets backing from Y Combinator
Prakhar Singh and ex-Paystack employee Abdul Hassan have known each other for seven years, building different tech products individually and collectively along the way. Before joining Paystack in 2018
Nigerian digital bank Carbon hit $240M in payments processed last year, up 89% from 2019
In 2018, Carbon, a Nigerian fintech startup, made its financials public for the first time. Although typical for foreign private startups, it’s almost an anomaly in Africa. There have been rare
Female-led startups dominate Catalyst Fund’s inclusive fintech 2021 cohort
Catalyst Fund, a global accelerator managed by BFA Global, announced the 8th cohort for its Inclusive Fintech Program today. The accelerator runs the flagship program annually and with a focus on Keny
Nigeria’s Cowrywise raises $3M pre-Series A to scale its wealth management platform
Cowrywise, a Nigerian fintech startup that offers digital wealth management and financial planning solutions, has raised $3 million in pre-Series A funding. Quona Capital led the round as Tsadik Found