The Latest from Tage Kene-Okafor
Bosta raises $6.7M to expand e-commerce delivery business across Africa and MENA
Per a recent report by Bain & Co., e-commerce is expected to grow to $28.5 billion in MENA by 2022 from a 2019 value of $8.3 billion. Egypt, one of the most active e-commerce countries in the regi
Sequoia leads $5M pre-seed in Egypt’s 1-month-old digital bank Telda
Egypt has a population of over 100 million people. The country has a high mobile and internet penetration necessary for a young and tech-savvy population with 61% below 30. But despite its youthful po
Why SPACs aren’t targeting African startups
One. That’s the number of African tech companies that have gone public on the NYSE in the last 10 years. Two, if you’re counting local exchanges. The former is African-focused e-commerce c
Jumia’s Q1 earnings report continues to show falling losses, slow growth
African e-commerce giant Jumia today shared its earnings for the first quarter of 2021 that ended in March. While its customer count grew, a drop in the company’s revenues spoke to the fact that
The motorcycle ride-hailing wars in Nigeria and Uganda are SafeBoda’s to lose
On April 16, Uganda-based, two-wheel ride-hailing platform SafeBoda announced that it had completed 1 million rides in Ibadan, a southwestern city in Nigeria. This might not seem spectacular from a gl
Payments, lending and neobanks rule fintechs in emerging markets, report says
Tech investments in emerging markets have been in full swing over the past couple of years and their ecosystems have thrived as a result. Some of these markets like Africa, Latin America and India, ha
Paystack expands to South Africa seven months after Stripe acquisition
Nigerian fintech startup Paystack has been relatively quiet since it was bought by fintech giant Stripe last October. The deal, worth more than $200 million, caused shockwaves to the African tech ecos
Egypt’s Flextock closes $3.25M in the largest pre-seed yet in MENA
Flextock, one of the 10 African startups from the recent Y Combinator winter batch, has bagged an impressive pre-seed round just two months after graduation. The five-month-old company, which helps
Kenya’s Lami raises $1.8M to scale API insurance platform across Africa
Africa’s insurance market stands at a 3% penetration rate, per a McKinsey study in 2018 comparing six insurance regions on the continent. If the South African market is excluded, this number dro
Riot Games and Konvoy Ventures back games publisher Carry1st in $6M Series A
Africa is the last frontier for basically anything. Mobile gaming is no exception. For a continent that is home to more than 1 billion millennials and Gen Zers, mobile gaming has never really picked u
How UK-based Lendable is powering fintechs across emerging markets
What moves the needle for digital lenders is serving loans to their respective customers. But where does this money come from? The pool is usually equity or debt. While some lenders use the former, it
Google to offer 40,000 developer scholarships in Africa; continues accelerator program
Google today announced the launch of 40,000 new developer scholarships in Africa. Google will offer the scholarships — created in partnership with tech talent companies Pluralsight and Andela &#
Ivorian startup Afrikrea partners with DHL and Visa to launch SaaS e-commerce platform ANKA
In 2016, Ivorian e-commerce startup Afrikrea started as a marketplace for African-based and inspired clothing, accessories, arts, and crafts. Over the past five years, Afrikrea has served more than 7,
Kenya’s Ajua acquires WayaWaya to consolidate consumer experience play in African SMEs
Kenyan consumer experience platform for businesses in Africa, Ajua today announced that it has acquired WayaWaya, a Kenya-based AI and ML messaging and payments company. WayaWaya’s customers and
YC-backed Kidato raises $1.4M seed to scale its online school for K-12 students in Africa
In public schools across Africa, classrooms are often overcrowded and this affects how teachers and students interact. The large classroom creates too much work for teachers leaving students’ in
Founders Factory Africa partners with Small Foundation to invest in 18 agritech startups
Johannesburg-based investment company Founders Factory Africa (FFA) today announced a partnership with Small Foundation that will see it select 18 agritech startups for an acceleration and incubation
Nigerian fintech Okra raises $3.5M backed by Accenture Ventures and Susa Ventures
The last five years have seen a plethora of fintech applications in Nigeria (and Africa, in general) grow at an astonishing rate. But most of these companies and developers find it difficult to access
Andela begins global expansion in 37 countries months after going remote across Africa
More than a year after the pandemic began, remote work shows no signs of going away. While it has its cons, it remains top of mind for potential employees around the world before joining a new company
Japanese VC Samurai Incubate closes $18.6M fund for African startups
Samurai Incubate, a Tokyo-based venture capital firm, announced today it has closed its “Samurai Africa 2nd General Partnership” fund, totalling 2.026 billion yen (~$18.6 million). Accordi
South Africa’s Quro Medical comes out of stealth with $1.1M to expand its hospital-at-home service
For a continent with such stark inequality, Africa has seen limited innovation to increase access to healthcare and reduce healthcare delivery costs. Over the years, there has been continued investmen