Africa

Worldcoin ignored initial order to stop iris scans in Kenya, records show

Months before Kenya finally banned iris scans by Sam Altman’s crypto startup Worldcoin, the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) had ordered its parent company, Tools for Humanity, to s

Kenyan logistics startup Sendy shuts down, embarks on asset sale

Sendy, a Kenyan logistics startup that enabled retailers to purchase FMCGs directly from manufacturers, among other services, is shutting down its operations and exploring a sale of its assets, TechCr

Worldcoin hopes to resume iris scans in Kenya

Sam Altman’s crypto startup Worldcoin yesterday faced its first major hurdle in Africa when authorities in Kenya suspended its iris-scanning activities (“proof of personhood verification”) over

Emtech to advance its regtech and CBDC stack solutions with $4M led by Matrix Partners India

Emtech, an African provider of central banking infrastructure, introduced its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Innovation kit last month. The kit caters to fintechs and financial service providers

Kenya suspends Worldcoin scans over security, privacy and financial concerns

Kenya was one of the first countries where Worldcoin — the controversial startup that aims to create a new “human identity and financial network” through eye scans and its own crypto

Nigeria’s Remedial Health gets QED backing in $12M round

Remedial Health, a Nigerian startup digitizing pharmacies and bringing efficiency to the pharmaceutical value chain, has raised $12 million Series A equity-debt funding to scale operations in the West

Kenya’s FarmWorks raises $4M pre-Series A funding

FarmWorks, a Kenyan agtech that provides farmers with access to farm inputs, and market for their produce, has raised $4.1 million in a pre-Series A round led by Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund, an

African governments are collaborating with innovators to strengthen local health supply chains

Last year, global healthcare consulting firm Salient Advisory surveyed more than 80 companies across four African countries for a report emphasizing the growth of startups digitizing the continent’s

Blow for Flutterwave as Kenyan court declines request to withdraw case

Plans by Kenya’s Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) to withdraw its second case against African fintech giant Flutterwave have been shot down by the High Court, Kenya’s third highest court. In Augus

Public transit is driving EV sector growth in Kenya

The public transit sector in Kenya is driving the country’s electric vehicle adoption as global calls for a switch to sustainable transport continue. For the first time last year, commercial electri

Nigeria’s MyCover.ai to scale its open insurance API platform with new funding

Africa’s insurance market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7% between 2022 and 2028, reaching $120 billion. Though seemingly impressive, the insurance industry in Afric

Thunes pockets $72M at a $900M+ valuation to expand its cross-border, B2B payment platform

Thunes, a Singapore and London-based fintech that has built a payments platform for businesses to send money to each other internationally by tapping into the growing network of mobile wallets and oth

Workers that made ChatGPT less harmful ask lawmakers to stem alleged exploitation by Big Tech

Kenyan workers who helped remove harmful content on ChatGPT, OpenAI’s smart search engine that generates content based on user prompts, have filed a petition before the country’s lawmakers calling

Kenya’s Lawyers Hub gains traction helping startups meet regulatory compliance

African startups clashing with regulators due to non-compliance are often faced with far-reaching consequences, including some that render their businesses defunct or inoperable in some markets &#8212

Kenya’s MyDawa aims to be an all-in-one health platform backed by $20 million funding

Kenyan e-health startup MyDawa has raised $20 million from private equity investor Alta Semper Capital to expand its regional reach and product offerings with the aim of becoming an all-in-one health

Techstars raising $150 million for new accelerator fund

The accelerator is seeking new capital ahead of the end of the deployment period of its third institutionally-backed fund, Techstars Accelerator 2021, late this year.

ShopZetu raises pre-seed funding to fuel growth of its fashion marketplace beyond Kenya

Kenyan fashion e-commerce startup ShopZetu is set to add beauty and home décor categories to its portfolio, in response to the growing needs of the young and style-conscious women in Africa. This is

Plastic upcycling startup Kubik closes $3.34M seed to scale production in Ethiopia

The amount of plastic waste produced globally is on track to triple to over 1,000 million tons by 2060. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report predicts that developed

PayGo solar startup Yellow raises $14 million to scale in Africa

Yellow, an asset financier for solar energy and digital devices in Africa, has raised $14 million series B funding in a round led by Convergence Partners with participation from the Energy Entrepreneu

Seedstars, Fondation Botnar partner to back African startups focused on youth wellbeing

Seedstars Capital and Swiss philanthropic foundation Fondation Botnar have launched Seedstars Youth Wellbeing Ventures, a $20 million investment vehicle targeting early-stage startups in Africa that a
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