Tage Kene-Okafor

Tage Kene-Okafor covers startups and investment activities in Nigeria and Africa for TechCrunch. Before this, Tage reported on the same beat for Techpoint Africa.

You can hit him up at tage.techcrunch@gmail.com

The Latest from Tage Kene-Okafor

African B2B e-commerce giant Wasoko marked down to $260M after VC halves stake

VNV Global, a Swedish investment firm that backs startups in mobility, health and marketplaces, slashed the value of its holding in Wasoko, an African B2B e-commerce startup, by 48%, according to its

Uber leads $100M investment in African mobility fintech Moove as valuation hits $750M

Moove, an African mobility fintech that offers vehicle financing to ride-hailing and delivery app drivers, has raised $100 million in a funding round as it plots expansion into new markets. Moove did

Nigerian fintech Zone raises $8.5M seed to scale its decentralized payment infrastructure

African financial institutions typically scale their solutions using a mix of local and foreign tech. Appzone is one of the standout local fintech software providers for banks and fintechs, providing

What African B2B e-commerce startups can learn from OmniRetail’s profitable run

Save for fintech and clean tech, B2B e-commerce and retail was the leading destination for venture capital dollars over the last five years. The premise of digitizing the continent’s mom-and-pop con

Nigeria’s Youverify raises $2.5M to enhance anti-money laundering compliance

Youverify, a Nigerian provider of identity verification and anti-money laundering (AML) solutions for banks and startups, secured a $2.5 million investment from Elm, which specializes in offering read

Nigeria demands Binance disclose top users, executives remain detained

Nigeria is actively seeking information from Binance regarding its top 100 users in the country and all transaction history spanning the past six months, according to a Financial Times report. This ne

MDaaS raises $3M to improve healthcare access and expand network across Nigeria

MDaaS Global, a Nigerian health tech company that operates a network of tech-enabled diagnostic centers across the country, has secured $3 million in pre-Series A funding. The round was led by Aruwa C

Binance to halt naira services amid ongoing regulatory probe in Nigeria

Binance will discontinue its naira (NGN) services in response to heightened regulatory scrutiny in Nigeria, it said in a blog post today. The cryptocurrency exchange will begin delisting any existing

RemotePass, which helps companies onboard, manage, pay and retain remote workers, raises $5.5M

As remote work becomes increasingly prevalent, organizations globally are adapting, especially regarding onboarding procedures for new employees and navigating cross-border payment complexities. This

Deel acquires Africa’s PaySpace, says it’s crossed $500M in ARR

HR startup Deel said it is acquiring Africa's PaySpace in a deal that marks its largest acquisition to date.

Qatar reportedly has a $100M fund for startups

Qatar unveiled its startup investment program at the recent Web Summit through its development bank. The program aims to attract seed and growth-stage tech companies seeking to establish or expand ope

MoneyHash raises $4.5M for its payment orchestration platform serving merchants in MENA

The payment landscape in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region is marked by significant fragmentation, with numerous payment providers and methods in each country, evolving regulations and diverse c

COTU Ventures launches $54M fund for pre-seed and seed startups in MENA

Dubai-based early-stage venture capital firm COTU Ventures is announcing that it has raised $54 million for its inaugural fund to support startups in the Middle East from pre-seed to seed stages. With

Qatar plots a $1B pipeline to VCs

The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) is launching a $1 billion venture capital fund of funds for international and regional venture capital funds, the sovereign wealth fund announced on Monday at the

Crypto users in Nigeria briefly lose access to Binance, Kraken and Coinbase

Some cryptocurrency exchanges in Nigeria faced accessibility issues for users, prompting speculation of imposed restrictions on crypto sites, the Financial Times reported. On Wednesday, local media re

Hohm Energy to scale adoption of rooftop solar across South Africa, backed by $8M seed

In the face of South Africa’s worsening energy crisis, marked by increasingly severe power shortages, implementing daily electricity rationing has become imperative to avert the risk of a nationwide

Nigerian digital bank FairMoney in talks to buy Umba in $20M all-stock deal, sources say

FairMoney, a digital bank based in Lagos and headquartered in Paris, is in discussions to acquire Umba, a credit-led digital bank providing payroll and financial services to customers in Nigeria and K

Partech closes its second Africa fund at $300M+ to invest from seed to Series C

Jumia reduces losses by over 90% in Q4 amid focus on restoring order and GMV growth

In 2023, Jumia revised its adjusted EBITDA loss guidance thrice: $100 million to $120 million in Q1; $90 million to $100 million in Q2; and $80 million to $90 million in Q3, aiming for a 57% to 61% ye

Arnergy, which provides solar power systems to homes and businesses in Nigeria, raises $3M

Arnergy, a Nigerian clean tech startup that deals in distributed renewable energy products and solutions, has raised $3 million in new financing. The bridge round was financed by All On, a Shell-backe
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