Africa

The latest startup and technology news coming out of Africa.

Worldcoin — the crypto “proof of personhood” startup co-founded by OpenAI’s Sam Altman — has been given the green light to resume iris-scanning and other operations in Kenya after a…

Kenya closes its probe of Worldcoin, opening the door to a relaunch of its orbs after a year-long suspension

The merger has yet to close due to extended due diligence amid ongoing restructuring and macroeconomic headwinds across multiple countries.

Sources: Wasoko-MaxAB e-commerce merger faces delays amid headwinds in Africa

Inflation and currency devaluation have always been a growing concern for Africans with bank accounts.

Starting in war-torn Sudan, YC-backed Elevate now provides fintech to freelancers globally

The global spend management sector is experiencing a tailwind of sorts. North America is arguably the biggest market in this space, but spend management companies have seen demand rise across…

Spend management startup SiFi raises $10M to grow further in Saudi Arabia

YoLa Fresh works with over a thousand retailers across Morocco and records up to $1 million in gross merchandise volume.

YoLa Fresh, a GrubMarket for Morocco, digs up $7M to connect farmers with food sellers

Founder-market fit is one of the most crucial factors in a startup’s success, and operators (someone involved in the day-to-day operations of a startup) turned founders have an almost unfair advantage…

OpenseedVC, which backs operators in Africa and Europe starting their companies, reaches first close of $10M fund

For over six decades, the nonprofit has been active in the financial services sector.

Accion’s new $152.5M fund will back financial institutions serving small businesses globally

Maad, a B2B e-commerce startup based in Senegal, has secured $3.2 million debt-equity funding to bolster its growth in the western Africa country and to explore fresh opportunities in the…

Maad raises $3.2M seed amid B2B e-commerce sector turbulence in Africa

The logistics industry in Nigeria, like any informal sector, struggles with poor infrastructure and other inefficiencies, making it difficult for businesses — both large and small — to move and…

Renda, which provides order fulfillment for businesses in Africa, takes in $1.9M

Productive Use of Renewable Energy (PURE) technologies, especially those in the solar irrigation and cold chain segment, saw increased investor interest last year, despite a 43% funding slump recorded in…

Productive solar technologies draw investors as global off-grid solar sector funding slumps

Kubik, a plastic upcycling startup, has raised a $1.9 million seed extension, months after announcing initial equity investment. The startup’s latest investment is from African Renaissance Partners, an East African…

Ethiopian plastic upcycling startup Kubik gets fresh funding, plans to license out its tech

Madica, an investment program launched by U.S.-based investor Flourish Ventures to back pre-seed startups in Africa, plans to invest in up to 10 ventures by the end of the year,…

Madica, a program by Flourish Ventures, steps up pre-seed investing in Africa

Kenyan B2B e-commerce company MarketForce is winding down its B2B e-commerce business that served informal merchants (mom-and-pop stores) after a turbulent two-year period that saw it scale down operations severely.…

MarketForce winds down its B2B e-commerce arm

Amira Rasool founded The Folklore in 2018 to help fashion brands from emerging markets like Africa, Asia and The Caribbean tap into the international market. In 2022, the startup introduced…

B2B marketplace The Folklore bags $3.4M seed to get brands into global stores

Since 2015, Pula, an insurtech based in Kenya, has been keen on enhancing the access to agricultural insurance by small-holder farmers across emerging markets, shielding them against losses from pests,…

Pula raises $20M Series B to provide agricultural insurance to farmers in Africa, Asia and LatAm

Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures (VKAV) plans to back up to 21 growth-stage companies across the continent after closing its first fund at $60 million. The pan-African VC hit the milestone following…

Pan-African VC Verod-Kepple closes its first fund at $60M

Climate tech VC Satgana has reached a final close of its first fund, which aims to back up to 30 early-stage startups in Africa and Europe. The VC firm reached…

Climate tech VC Satgana closes first fund that targets early-stage startups in Africa, Europe

Globally, a third of the food produced is lost or wasted, and in Kenya, that figure stands between 20% and 40%. For Kenya, unlike the developed world, food loss, not…

Farm to Feed is cutting food loss and creating data platform to improve farming outcomes

Featured Article

Nala set out to offer remittance services, it’s building a B2B payment platform too

Payments company Nala pivoted to offer remittance service in 2021, tapping the growing money transfer market in Africa, and demand for reliable and affordable services. Nala founder Benjamin Fernandes said they intended to build their products on this premise right from the outset. Over the last two years, the Tanzanian…

8:06 am PDT • March 19, 2024
Nala set out to offer remittance services, it’s building a B2B payment platform too

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.…

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

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.…

Nigeria demands Binance disclose top users, executives remain detained

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…

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

Saudi Arabia is poised to become one of the largest global construction hubs, owing to its trillion-dollar infrastructure and the real estate projects that are underway in the country. Yet…

BRKZ, a construction tech startup eyeing MENA, emerges from stealth with $8M

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…

Binance to halt naira services amid ongoing regulatory probe in Nigeria

As remote work becomes increasingly prevalent, organizations globally are adapting, especially regarding onboarding procedures for new employees and navigating cross-border payment complexities. This new age of work has led to a…

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

Bfree, a tech-enabled debt collection startup based in Nigeria, was founded to automate and introduce ethical debt recovery processes after its founders witnessed the use and adverse effects of aggressive…

Bfree, a Nigerian startup enabling lenders to recover debt ethically, gets $3M backing

Ethiopian startup eQub won the fintech pitching battle at 4YFN 2024, the startup event of Mobile World Congress.

MWC: Ethiopian fintech eQub digitizes peer-to-peer credit

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 customer…

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

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 reported that Nigeria’s telecom…

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

Honor of Kings, Tencent’s massively popular mobile game, has its eye set on the international market in 2024. Starting on February 21, the multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game will…

Tencent’s gaming cash cow Honor of Kings sets sights on MENA