Ghana
Sokowatch rebrands to Wasoko as it raises $125M Series B from Tiger Global and Avenir
Informal retail is king in Africa, with hundreds of billions of dollars of consumer goods sold through its channels yearly. Yet its industry remains highly fragmented as shop owners and…
Ghanaian fintech Dash raises $32.8M seed to build connected wallets for Africans
Global financial transactions are facilitated mainly by payment processors such as Visa or Mastercard. They are responsible for communication between banks and fintechs to settle transactions for consumers and businesses…
Stax gets $2.2M for its app that lets Africans make transactions via automated USSD codes
Stax, a startup that allows Africans to buy airtime, send and request money, and transfer funds between accounts via automated USSD codes, has raised a $2.2 million seed extension round.…
M-KOPA raises $75M as it clocks 2 million customers across four African markets
A 2019 World Bank report says 85% of Africans live on less than $5.50 per day. A large percentage of these adults are unbanked and underbanked; thus, they don’t have…
B2B marketplace TradeDepot acquires Green Lion to accelerate its growth in Ghana
TradeDepot, a B2B marketplace that connects micro-retailers with distributors and manufacturers of fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs), has acquired Green Lion, its competitor in Ghana, for an undisclosed amount, paving…
Ten game development studios in Africa have come together under one umbrella, the Pan Africa Gaming Group (PAGG), in an effort to unify the continent’s gaming sector, which is currently…
Earnipay raises $4M to help employees in Nigeria get faster access to their salaries
Earnipay, a fintech that provides flexible and on-demand salary access to income-earners, has raised $4 million in seed financing led by early-stage venture capital firm Canaan. Participating investors include XYZ…
Sorry, Jack, you can send ETH tips via Twitter now
Twitter founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey might be a devout Bitcoin bro, but since he’s abdicated his throne as head tweeter… why not send an ETH tip? Today, Twitter…
Mdundo eyes more telco partnerships after music streaming revenue growth from Tanzania, Nigeria deals
Mdundo, an Africa-focused music streaming service, is banking on more partnerships with telcos across the continent to grow its earnings and user base. Last year, the company signed deals with…
After Zambia, Kenya explores possibility of a digital currency
Kenya’s central bank has called on the public to share their views, before May 20th, on the possibility of adopting a digital currency, just one day after it emerged that…
Reports say African startups raised record-smashing $4.3B to $5B in 2021
Last year was record-breaking for African startups. I know I’m probably starting to sound like a broken record, but the astronomical growth is worth highlighting again and again. In this…
PalmPay raised $100M Series A last August, claims to have 5 million users
Africa-focused payments startup PalmPay raised a $100 million Series A round last year. TechCrunch spotted this news in Partech Africa’s latest end-of-year report on venture capital investments in Africa. Further…
Nestcoin raises $6.45M pre-seed to accelerate crypto and web3 adoption in Africa and frontier markets
Africans and people in emerging markets missed out on the first set of opportunities that technological advancements brought to the world. Computers, the internet, fintech, artificial intelligence, any tech you…
Nigeria’s AltSchool raises $1M pre-seed to build an alternative school for Africans
The demand for software engineers is expected to grow by 22% between 2020 and 2030, according to a report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This figure is larger than…
Tiger Global and Greycroft back Nigerian investment app Bamboo in $15M round
To buy a share in Amazon, you’d have to fork out almost $3,000. It’s a luxury very few can afford and despite the prospects of the trillion-dollar company or returns…
Asset financiers to the rescue as Bolt plans to sign-up 200,000 new drivers in Africa to meet growing demand for ride-hailing services
Bolt, the Estonian mobility tech company that recently closed a huge round, is planning to onboard an additional 200,000 drivers in Africa this year, as it kicks-off expansion to more…
Clean energy firm Husk signs UN energy compact as it begins solar mini-grid expansion in Nigeria, rest of Africa
Husk Power Systems, a clean energy company that has been at the forefront of fueling rural electrification since 2008, is planning to launch 500 solar mini-grids in Nigeria over the…
Ghana’s OZÉ gets $3M to scale its digital recordkeeping and embedded finance products
OZÉ, a Ghanaian fintech startup that provides digital recordkeeping tools with embedded finance products to medium and small businesses, has raised a $3 million pre-Series A round. The startup’s new…
Kenyan fintech Zanifu nabs $1M to bridge MSME financing gap, eyes Ghana, Uganda expansion
Kenyan fintech Zanifu is set to upgrade its platform and grow the number of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) it extends stock financing to after securing $1 million in…
Shell-founded startup fund receives $13 million from Canadian DFI to accelerate clean energy access in Africa
FinDev Canada has injected $13 million into Energy Entrepreneurs Growth Fund (EEGF), which invests in early and growth-stage energy startups in sub-Saharan Africa. Part of the funding will go toward…
Kenyan BNPL startup Lipa Later eyes more African markets after raising $12 million
Lipa Later, a Kenyan tech-led consumer credit platform, is planning to expand to new markets in Africa after raising $12 million in pre-Series A funding. The equity and debt funding…
MTN Uganda introduces overdraft facility as it steps up competition in digital lending space
Africa’s mobile-money sector remains the most active of any region in the world, according to GSM Association (GSMA), an umbrella body representing the interests of players in the telecommunications industry.…
Nigerian ethical credit-recovery fintech Bfree secures $1.7M, expands to Asia, Europe, South America and across Africa
Bfree, a Nigerian credit management fintech, has embarked on global expansion after raising $1.7 million in a pre-Series A round, to tap the opportunities in emerging markets, where digital lending…
mPharma raises $35 million in round joined by Tinder co-founder’s JAM fund, Bharti executive
Ghanaian health tech startup mPharma is building a network of community pharmacies across Africa as it plans to be the go-to primary healthcare service provider for millions of people residing…
Featured Article
African tech took center stage in 2021
Two years ago, the African tech ecosystem saw newfound attention from global players that translated to the continent’s best year of receiving venture capital. From varying sources, it is estimated up to $2 billion went into African tech startups in 2019. With high-profile visits from the most famous Jacks (Ma and Dorsey), a long-awaited first…
Taptap Send raises $65M to build cross-border remittances focused on the most underserved markets
Cross-border remittances — when people living and working abroad send money back home to friends and family — continues to be a huge part of how those living in developing…
Nigerian mobility-tech startup MAX bags $31 million in Series B round, set to expand across Africa, build EV infrastructure
Nigerian mobility tech startup Metro Africa Xpress Inc. (MAX) is planning to enter more markets across Africa as it races toward formalizing the continent’s transportation sector after securing $31 million…
Women-focused PE fund Alitheia IDF raises $100 million to invest in gender-diverse businesses across Africa
Alitheia IDF (AIF), a women-focused private equity fund in Africa has raised $100 million to invest in gender-diverse businesses across the continent. The fund is looking to bridge the financing…
African edtech startup uLesson raises $15M, backed by Nielsen Ventures and Tencent
As many edtech companies benefited from the disruption of the pandemic, attracting wads of cash from investors globally, it did feel like African startups were left out. Well, not anymore:…
Nigeria’s digital payroll platform Bento expands to Kenya, Rwanda and Ghana, to enter six other African markets in 2022
Bento, Nigeria’s digital payroll and human resource management platform, is expanding to Ghana, Kenya and Rwanda, with plans to set up operations in six other markets in Africa over the…
