The Latest from Tage Kene-Okafor
Flat6Labs closes $10M seed fund for Tunisian startups
Regional seed and early-stage venture capital firm, Flat6Labs, has finished raising $10 million for its seed fund targeted at Tunisian startups, according to a statement released by the company. The s
Zola Electric closes $90M funding round to scale technology and enter new markets
Millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa and emerging markets continue to live without access to electricity. Some reports peg these numbers between 500 million and 2 billion people despite the preval
Nigerian businesses can now accept Apple Pay on Paystack
Paystack, the African fintech company that powers and processes payments for businesses, today announced that it is launching Pay with Apple Pay on its platform. The company, in a statement, called th
Koa is helping African consumers make better money moves
While Delila Kidanu grew up in Nairobi, Kenya, mobile money platform M-Pesa was the go-to fintech platform for her and most Kenyans. The Safaricom-owned product provides basic access to financial serv
Cartona gets $4.5M pre-Series A to connect retailers with suppliers in Egypt
Today, Cartona is announcing that it has raised a $4.5 million pre-Series A funding round to connect retailers and manufacturers via an application. It’s looking to take a large piece in the bud
African genomics startup 54gene raises $25M to expand precision medicine capabilities
Less than 3% of genetic material used in global pharmaceutical research is from Africa. The staggering gap is quite surprising because Africans and people of African descent are reported to be more ge
Nigerian agritech startup Releaf secures $4.2M to scale its food processing technology
The distance between their farms and the nearest processor is key for smallholder farmers who need to process their crops. And though Nigeria’s food processing systems have a keen resemblance to
Egyptian startup Capiter raises $33M to expand B2B e-commerce platform across MENA
Funding startups that help manufacturers and sellers distribute products and merchants access them on a single platform keeps increasing across Africa. Today, Cairo-based B2B e-commerce startup Capite
Nigerian one-click checkout platform OurPass raises $1M pre-seed, wants to build ‘Fast for Africa’
We like to buy things online ranging from e-commerce stores to subscription-based sites. However, no one enjoys the hassle when you have to always re-log into different sites and stores. I mean, shopp
Egyptian fintech MNT-Halan lands $120M from Apis Partners, DisrupTech and others
More than 70% of Egypt’s young and fast-growing population of over 100 million is financially underserved, despite mobile penetration exceeding 90%. Traditional banks often overlook this segment
Nigeria’s Prospa gets $3.8M pre-seed to offer small businesses banking and software services
In Nigeria, there are more than 40 million micro-businesses underserved in some form or another regarding banking services. Although some of these businesses have registered bank accounts, gaps exist
Glovo to double down African investment in the next 12 months — but will it stay put?
Spanish on-demand delivery platform Glovo today announced plans to double its investment in Africa and expand its operations on the continent. The Barcelona-based company has invested up to €25 mill
Sequoia Heritage, Stripe and others invest $200M in African fintech Wave at $1.7B valuation
Francophone Africa has its first unicorn, and if you’ve been following tech on the continent, you will be very unsurprised to hear that it’s coming from the world of fintech. Wave, a U.S.
Nigeria’s Autochek acquires Cheki Kenya and Uganda from ROAM Africa
Nigerian automotive tech company Autochek announced today the acquisition of Cheki Kenya and Uganda from Ringier One Africa Media (ROAM) for an undisclosed amount. Per a statement, Autochek will final
Zip acquisition of Payflex means Africa is ripe for BNPL disruption
Australian buy now, pay later (BNPL) company Zip this week acquired South Africa-based BNPL player Payflex for an undisclosed amount. It’s a piece of news that once again highlights the hype aro
This YC Summer batch features the largest group of African startups yet
African startups also increased from 10 in the winter batch to 15 this time around, a record for African startups in a single YC cohort.
LoftyInc Capital launches third fund at $10M for a more diverse portfolio of African startups
LoftyInc Capital, a pan-African VC firm, announced today that it is launching its third fund — LoftyInc Afropreneurs Fund 3 — at $10 million for tech startups in Africa. The firm has reach
PawaPay raises $9M seed backed by MSA, 88mph and Mr Eazi’s Zagadat Capital
When companies create digital payments-facing solutions for African countries outside Nigeria and South Africa, building around mobile money is key. It’s literally a no-brainer. The concept is u
MaxAB gets an extra $15M, acquires YC-backed Moroccan startup WaystoCap
Last month, MaxAB, the Egyptian B2B e-commerce platform that serves food and grocery retailers, raised one of the largest Series A on the continent, to the tune of $40 million. Today, it has raised a
African fintech OPay valued at $2B in SoftBank Vision Fund 2-led $400M funding
Chinese-backed and Africa-focused fintech company OPay raised $400 million in new financing led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Bloomberg reported Monday, valuing the company at $2 billion. The round, whic