africa
Nigeria’s Termii to launch mobile app and scale customer engagement business with new funding
Nigerian communications platform-as-a-service startup Termii has raised $3.65 million in new financing, bringing its total funding to date to slightly more than $5 million. According to CEO Gbolade Emmanuel, in…
Meta to appeal court ruling declaring content moderators as its employees
Meta is set to appeal Kenya’s court decision declaring it as the primary employer of the moderators that review content on its platforms in sub-Saharan Africa. Meta has filed a…
Nigeria’s Haul247 raises funding to scale its logistics platform
Haul247, a Nigerian end-to-end logistics platform connecting businesses to haulage and warehousing assets, has raised a $3 million seed round. Investing fund Alitheia Capital, through its Umunthu Fund in partnership…
Helium Health gets $30M, backed by AXA IM Alts and 23andMe’s Anne Wojcicki
Helium Health, the African startup that provides software-as-a-service tools, financing and insights for healthcare providers and public health organizations, has raised $30 million in Series B funding. The news is…
A Kenyan court has ruled that Meta is the primary employer of content moderators suing the social media giant and its content review partner in Africa, Sama, for unlawful dismissal.…
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MarketForce tightens its belt as tough times hit B2B commerce
MarketForce, a Kenyan B2B e-commerce platform to help independent corner shops source goods, once had an ambitious plan to grow the number of users on its platform to a million by the end of 2022, with a network effect bringing millions more in the years to come. Tesh Mbaabu, MarketForce’s CEO and co-founder, laid these…
Q1 2023 marks the first quarter Jumia’s new management implemented its strategy after riding out the blueprint of previous management in Q4 2022. The result? Jumia saw its losses decrease…
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EBANX: We will be operating in 11 African countries by the end of the year
For all the talk about emerging markets and their similarities, moves involving African startups expanding to Latin America are rare. Only two significant activities come to mind recently: Migo’s expansion to Brazil and Paga’s planned move to Mexico, their respective second markets outside Africa. What’s rarer, however, is the reverse — Latin American tech startups…
E3 Capital and Lion’s Head climate fund hits first close at $48M to back African startups
The E3 Low Carbon Economy Fund for Africa (E3LCEF), a fund by early-stage VC E3 Capital (formerly Energy Access Ventures), and emerging markets-focused investment bank Lion’s Head Global Partners, has…
South African challenger bank TymeBank raises $77.8M from Norrsken22 and Blue Earth Capital
South African digital banking platform TymeBank has raised $77.8 million in a pre-Series C round led by African-focused growth-stage fund Norrsken22 and Swiss global impact investment firm Blue Earth Capital.…
African B2B e-commerce startup Sabi tops $300M valuation in new funding
Sabi, a Lagos-based B2B e-commerce startup providing digital commerce infrastructure to Africa’s informal economy, has raised $38 million in Series B funding at a valuation of $300 million, according to…
Pale Blue Dot backs Amini, an African climate tech startup solving environmental data scarcity
Amini, a Nairobi-based climate tech startup focused on solving Africa’s environmental data gap through artificial intelligence and satellite technology, has raised $2 million in a pre-seed funding round. Pale Blue…
Tiger Global-backed Axis launches digital payments platform for Egyptian SMEs months after its $8.25M seed
Egyptian fintech Axis has launched its digital payments platform to the North African market after securing a license from the apex bank, Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), for its open-loop…
Jia, a blockchain-based lender of small businesses in emerging markets, raises $4.3 million seed
Jia, a blockchain-based fintech providing loans to micro and small businesses in emerging markets, has raised $4.3 million seed funding, and an additional $1 million commitment for on-chain liquidity, in…
M-KOPA snaps up $250M+ debt, equity for its asset financing platform
M-KOPA, the asset financing platform that offers underbanked African customers access to “productive assets” and the ability to pay for them via digital micropayments, has secured more than $250 million…
Cold-chain startup Figorr raises $1.5M, backs the rollout of data-driven perishables insurance
Oghenetega Iortim built Nigerian-based cold-chain startup Figorr after imagining better means of storage and transportation of temperature-sensitive products, following the post-harvest losses from his fresh agro-produce venture. Figorr (previously Gricd)…
Meta’s content moderation partner in Africa, Sama, was earlier today compelled by a Kenyan court to pay April salaries to a section of moderators it had left out. The direction…
Kenya plans to delay ESOP taxes to incentivize startups
Kenya is proposing a special tax regime on startups’ Employee Share Ownership Plans (ESOPs), as it aligns to its plan to spur innovation. The finance bill 2023 proposes the deferment…
Content moderators under Sama, Meta’s content review sub-contractor in Africa, earlier today picketed at the company’s headquarters in Kenya demanding April salary, while urging it to observe the court orders…
Kenya is proposing new taxes targeting the digital economy in a bid to grow domestic revenues and narrow its fiscal deficit in response to the ongoing cash crunch. The East…
Kenya’s Fingo partners with Ecobank, launches neobank on the back of $4M investment
Yesterday, Fingo, a YC-backed Kenyan fintech, launched its neobank, which it developed in collaboration with Pan-African financial institution Ecobank Kenya. The Ecobank subsidiary unveiled the neobank, the first of its…
African payment service provider Nomba raises $30M, backed by Base10 Partners and Shopify
Nigerian payment service provider Nomba has raised $30 million in a pre-Series B investment to support the delivery of bespoke payment solutions for African businesses. The round, which values the…
Kenyan court paves way for lawsuit alleging Facebook played role in fueling Ethiopia’s Tigray conflict
Petitioners seek to compel Meta to stop viral hate on Facebook, ramp up content review, and to create a $1.6 billion compensation fund.
Smile Identity expands African footprint with acquisition of Appruve to strengthen ID verification services
Smile Identity, a KYC compliance and ID verification partner for many African fintechs and businesses, has acquired Inclusive Innovations, the parent company of Appruve, a Ghanaian developer of identity verification…
Meta can be sued in Kenya over alleged unlawful layoffs and blacklisting of moderators, court rules
A Kenyan court has ruled that Meta can be sued in the East African country over alleged unlawful sacking and blacklisting of content moderators, and dismissed the social media giant’s…
Senegal’s logistics tech startup Chargel raises $2.5M seed funding
After selling their hospitality tech startup, Teranga, in 2018, Senegalese brothers Moustapha and Alioune Ndoye ventured into the trucking business as they pondered their next move. However, it soon became…
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Capital crunch shines a light on the importance of founders’ mental health, investors say
In recent years, calling oneself a startup founder was certainly seen as a flex. For those who wielded that role or the coveted CEO position, you were likely to be placed on a pedestal or be viewed as a visionary, aided by a venture capital market that experienced an overextended bull run in the background. …
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African climate startups set to gain ground as VC funding shifts their way
There are signs that funding for climate tech startups will persist in the near term as new funds emerge in Africa.
Meta’s content review in Africa in limbo as moderation partners decry court restrictions
Meta’s main content review partners in Africa have been restrained from offering moderation services to the social media giant, and it is unclear who is currently reviewing its platforms in…
Backed by Japanese investors, Verod-Kepple’s fund will invest in Series A and B startups across Africa
Last month, pan-African venture capital firm Verod-Kepple Africa Partners reached the second close of its first fund (Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures), targeting African startups at $43 million. Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures (VKAV)…
