The Latest from Tage Kene-Okafor
Twitter to set up its first African presence in Ghana
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, via a tweet today, announced that the company would be setting up a presence in Africa. “Twitter is now present on the continent. Thank you, Ghana and Nana Akufo-Addo,” he
Nigerian fintech Appzone raises $10M for expansion and proprietary technology
Africa’s fintech space has gained proper attention over the past few years in investments but it is not news that startups still battle with offering high-quality products. However, they seem to
Nigeria’s SEC warns investment platforms to stop trading ‘unregistered’ foreign securities
In a circular released by Nigeria’s capital market regulator SEC today, investment platforms providing access to foreign securities might be treading on dangerous grounds. According to the SEC r
Egypt’s Paymob closes $18.5M Series A to expand payments services across MENA
While Nigeria and Kenya have been at the forefront of African fintech innovation, activities in Egypt are beginning to shape up nicely. Right now, Egypt is home to a burgeoning fintech startup ecosyst
After its first $54M fund, Algebra Ventures launches $90M fund for startups in Egypt
The venture capital scene in the North African tech ecosystem will be absolutely buzzing right now with the announcement of two large VC funds in the space of two days. Today, Algebra Ventures, an Egy
Egyptian VC firm Sawari Ventures finally closes $71M fund for North African startups
Egyptian-based VC firm Sawari Ventures has closed its $71 million fund for North Africa’s rapidly growing startup ecosystem. The firm first announced its fund in 2018, when it closed an initial
Airtel Africa receives $100M for its mobile money business from Mastercard
Two weeks ago, TPG’s Rise Fund invested $200 million in Airtel Mobile Commerce BV (AMC BV) — the mobile money business of telecom Airtel Africa. After closing the deal, the Bharti Airtel s
Accel-backed mobile money platform NALA to start offering remittance services to East Africa
According to a McKinsey report, the total number of mobile money services worldwide was 282 in 2017, with more than half of those operating in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2020, these numbers increased si
Uganda’s Tugende closes $3.6M Series A extension to meet the demand for its asset finance products
Ugandan technology-enabled asset finance company Tugende today announced that it has closed $3.6 million in a Series A extension round. The investment, which, according to the company, was agreed on a
African talent recruitment company TalentQL joins Techstars to further global ambition
African-focused talent recruitment and outsourcing company TalentQL today announced that it has been accepted into Techstars Toronto. The company will join nine other startups in the acceleratorR
DiDi Chuxing expands to South Africa, to take on Bolt and Uber
Chinese ride-hailing company DiDi Chuxing has started operations in South Africa today, according to Reuters. Founded in 2012, the Beijing based company operates in more than 400 cities in China. It c
Nigerian fintech of the unbanked Bankly raises $2M led by Vault
Nigeria remains a largely cash-dominated country. There are more than 100 million adult Nigerians, of which more than half have little or no access to financial services. Today, Bankly, a Nigerian f
Most African YC-backed startups in today’s batch are focused on fintech
In Africa, Y Combinator is known to be a major backer of most of the continent’s well-known startups. Two of the most talked-about in the last two quarters — Flutterwave and Paystack ̵
Ghana’s Redbird raises $1.5M seed to expand access to rapid medical testing in sub-Saharan Africa
For patients and healthcare professionals to properly track and manage illnesses, especially chronic ones, healthcare needs to be decentralized. It also needs to be more convenient, with a patient’s
Afriex raises $1.2M seed to scale its payments and remittances platform across Africa
Sending money from the U.S. to Nigeria can be a painstaking process. For remittance platforms like Western Union, it will cost a transfer fee and take between one to five business days for money sent
Binance-backed Xend Finance launches DeFi platform for credit unions in Africa
Nigerian startup Xend Finance uses decentralized finance (DeFi) to address currency devaluation. DeFi aims to bridge the gap between decentralized blockchains and financial services. Aronu Ugochukwu a
These undergraduates left university to build Flux, a payments startup now in YC
In the 170 years since Western Union was founded, no company has managed to solve two basic problems that continue to bedevil the remittance business — exorbitant fees and slow deposit times. Fo
Nigeria’s Termii raises $1.4M seed led by Future Africa and Kepple Africa Ventures
Ideally, it is expected of every business to reach its customers effectively. However, that’s not the case, as limiting factors that hinder proper digital communication come into play at differ
Backed by YC, Vendease is building Amazon Prime for restaurants in Africa
For small and mid-sized restaurants in Nigeria and most of Africa, food procurement can be a complex process to manage. The system is such that a business can easily run out of money or have considera
Airtel Africa sells $200M mobile money business stake to TPG’s Rise Fund
In February, London-listed telecom Airtel Africa said it was looking to sell a minority stake in its mobile money business in a bid to raise cash and sell off some assets. The firm seems to have found