- Rology, the leading teleradiology company in the Middle East & Africa has acquired Arkan United, a teleradiology provider, headquartered in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, that provides teleradiology. Founded by Amr AboDraiaa, Moaaz Hossam, Mahmoud Eldefrawy and Bassam Khallaf in October 2017, Rology has…
- Fifteen startups from South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe have been announced as winners of this year’s Southern Africa Startup Awards, one of five regional competitions within the Global Startup Awards (GSA) Africa. The announcement took place at the launch edition of GITEX Africa 2023…
- Every time a card transaction is made on a POS terminal, merchants lose a chance to identify and retain their customers. POS terminals were built to process payments, not to identify, or retain customers. But Egyptian startup Zeal has come up with a fix. Founded in 2020, Zeal has developed…
- TechCircle Limited, in collaboration with SGgrow and SGverse, has launched Pitch2Win, an opportunity for innovative startups in the Web2 and Web3 space to showcase their groundbreaking ideas and vie for a chance to win a US$10,000 cash prize. Pitch2Win serves as a platform for exceptional…
- Fewer than 10 per cent of African tech startups are led by a female CEO, while less than 15 per cent even have a female co-founder, according to a groundbreaking study on gender diversity released by Disrupt Africa. Since launching its research arm in 2016, Disrupt Africa has built up a significant…
- Nigerian e-health startup Helium Health has raised US$30 million in Series B funding to help it expand the reach of its fintech product HeliumCredit. Founded in 2016, Helium Health takes hospitals and clinics instantly digital with its flagship Electronic Medical Records/Hospital Management…
- Nairobi-based incubator iHub has announced the 12 startups selected for the Kenyan leg of the first Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship Programme, which offers selected companies access to funding and other types of support. Disrupt Africa reported in February Co-Creation Hub (CcHub) – which…
- Nigerian cloud kitchen startup FoodCourt is focused on making good food more accessible, through the curation of localised virtual restaurant brands. Launched in September 2021, the Lagos-based FoodCourt aims to give users the best possible user journey from their ordering experience to the moment…
- Disrupt Africa has released the first ever publication focused on gender equality in the African tech startup landscape, in partnership with Africa-focused pre-seed investment programmes Madica, with the results demonstrating the lack of gender diversity both within startup teams and funding rounds…
- South African digital healthcare startup EMGuidance has launched a new digital prescription tool that promises to transform the way prescriptions are managed and shared. EMGuidance is a digital platform for clinical decision-making support in South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. The platform’s…
- The new Deraya entrepreneurship initiative for young entrepreneurs seeks to build a dynamic ecosystem of innovative entrepreneurs and startups in Libya. Jointly developed by the Ministry of Local Government (MoLG), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in collaboration with the…
- Afrorama, a new African encyclopaedia and information platform has been launched, providing a curated collection of articles, videos, and other multimedia content. The packaged, dynamic content presented by Afrorama includes information on arts and literature, business and politics, entertainment…
- Twenty-five African fintech startups have been selected for the inaugural Amazon Web Services (AWS) FinTech Africa Accelerator cohort. Disrupt Africa reported in March AWS, the cloud computing division for the world’s largest e-commerce retailer Amazon, had strengthened its footprint in Africa…
- Nigerian startup Grey is allowing users to easily exchange to local currency and access foreign currencies in their accounts. Launched in 2021 by Idorenyin Obong and Femi Aghedo, Grey offers an international money transfer service that enables its users to send and receive international payments…
- The Moroccan startup PrestaFreedom, a home services platform specialising in household subscriptions and other services for individuals, has raised MDH11 million (US$1.1 million) from the Azur Innovation Fund to accelerate its growth at the national and regional level. Founded in 2020,…
- The GIZ Digital Transformation Centre (DTC) Kenya, in collaboration with the GFA Group, has announced a call for proposals to establish and operate a Green Digital Innovation Hub (gDIH) in Kenya. The gDIH aims to support the country’s digital transformation while promoting sustainable development…
- Kenya’s Patamali has developed a groundbreaking decentralised finance (DeFi) platform operating on the Celo blockchain that aims to revolutionise the real estate financing space. Founded by Laura Omanga and Allan Musomba Mulei in November 2021, Patamali was born out of a passion to provide…
- Nigerian fintech startup Lemonade Finance has announced its rebranding to LemFi, saying the decision to change the name was driven by a desire to simplify and capture the essence of the company’s vision and to differentiate itself in the evolving financial services landscape. Lemonade Finance was…
- Applications have opened for the second edition of the ARM Labs Lagos Techstars accelerator, which provides access to up to US$120,000 in equity funding and other types of support. Launched by Techstars, a global investment business that provides access to capital, one-on-one mentorship, and…
- Ugandan fintech startup Zofi Cash has secured US$1 million in pre-seed funding to double down on its commitment to ensuring that every day is a payday for salaried workers. An instant salary advance platform, Zofi Cash offers employees early access to wages, ensuring that people have the financial…
- Tunisian B2B e-commerce startup Kamioun aims to become the leading mobile platform for corner shops, helping them simplify replenishment processes as a stepping stone into other aspects of business digitisation. Kamioun in its current form was formed as a pivot from a previous idea during the first…
- Egyptian Internet of Things (IoT) startup CardoO has launched its first IoT-enabled smartwatch, marking its debut in the device market with the intention of simplifying and enhancing the lifestyle of its users through advanced features and connectivity. CardoO facilitates access to the latest…
- Twelve African startups have been selected to pitch for investment opportunities at Africa Tech Summit London at the London Stock Exchange on June 23. Africa Tech Summit (ATS) is a leading African tech conference series providing insight and networking with the African tech ecosystem in Nairobi,…
- Kenyan startup GoBEBA says it is reimagining Africa’s utilities supply chain to help provide the infrastructure that can cope with the continent-wide explosion in urban growth. Formed in 2019 by Peter Ndiang’ui, a former OLX general manager, and Lesley Mbogo, a former head of product at Amazon,…
- Nigerian fintech startup Earnipay, which provides flexible and on-demand salary access to income-earners, is now quickly scaling after US$4 million funding round. Founded by Nonso Onwuzulike in 2019, Earnipay integrates employer payroll and HRM systems to enable on-demand financing for employees to…
- Nigerian startup CDcare, which is making it easy for Africans to own gadgets, appliances, cars and more at zero interest through smart installment plans, has passed the 500,000 download mark. Launched in 2019, CDcare combines savings and loans features in its marketplace, allowing users to automate…
- A total of 35 startups have been shortlisted across 11 categories for the third edition of the Egypt’s Entrepreneur Awards (EEA). Across all the categories, the third edition of the EEA competition received 286 applications, and after significant deliberations by a panel of distinguished jury…
- “Emancipated accountant” Brett Commaille has been around the South African – and African – venture space for longer than most, and through Hlayisani Capital he is now helping tech startups along their next stage of growth. Commaille spoke to Disrupt Podcast as part of episode three of “The month in…
- South Africa’s Play Sense, an independent pre-school that offers play-based learning through its online micro-schools platform plaDorm, has secured an undisclosed funding round from Grindstone Ventures as it prepares for expansion. Founded by early childhood experts Meg Faure and Lara Schoenfeld,…
- A new collaboration between VC4A and TrustLaw is offering social enterprises the opportunity to access pro bono legal counseling. TrustLaw is the programme of the Thomson Reuters Foundation through which it provides pro bono legal assistance to NGOs and social enterprises through its legal network…
- South Africa’s Tyme, one of the fastest growing digital banking groups in the world, has raised US$77.8m as part of its pre-Series C capital raise to further operations in South Africa and the Philippines, as well as for future expansion in Southeast Asia. The first bank in South Africa to be…
- Nigerian startup Korfaw Industries has created an emergency app called NauNau SOS, which allows users to send an SOS to five pre-selected contacts along with a 15-second video, GPS location and custom message during an emergency. NauNau SOS App is available in Nigeria and Ghana on Google PlayStore…
- Applications have opened for the ygap South Africa Accelerator programme, which helps ventures to refine and validate their business model, move towards financial sustainability, and grow the impact they are having in their community. The ygap South Africa Accelerator programme will expand a…
- Kenyan startup Chumz has built a goal-based mobile app that helps users save and invest money from their mobile money accounts, with as little as US$0.05. Formed in late-2019, Chumz worked on a prototype in 2020, reaching out to the regulator for a license in late-2020 and receiving one a year…
- Brolly, a Ghanaian insurtech startup specialising in affordable car insurance, has been selected for the Summer 2023 cohort of the Techstars accelerator in Tulsa, Oklahoma, securing access to mentorship, US$120,000 in funding and the opportunity to secure further investment at demo day. Brolly is…
- Prosper Africa and Future Africa have announced the launch of the Accelerate Africa programme, which will provide intensive guidance, mentorship, and resources for early stage African founders. Accelerate Africa will support dynamic African entrepreneurs as they embark on a seven-week pre-…
- Ethiopia’s JEMLA is a B2B e-commerce wholesale platform that is helping informal retailers access a wide variety of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs) products. Founded in 2019, JEMLA connects dukas, kiosks or souqs with FMCGs, providing them with a dependable and cost-effective supply chain and…
- Catapult: Inclusion Africa en langue française pour sa 6ème édition S’appuyant sur le succès des programmes CATAPULT : Inclusion Africa depuis 2018, nous sommes ravis de lancer la sixième édition de ce programme unique de développement de startups Fintech du 16 au 20 Octobre prochain à Lomé – Togo…
- Catapult: Inclusion Africa in French for its 6th edition Building on the success of the CATAPULT: Inclusion Africa programmes since 2018, we are delighted to launch the sixth edition of this unique fintech startup development programme from 16 to 20 October 2023 in Lomé – Togo. Supported by the…
- Kenya’s iProcure, a leading data-driven agricultural input supply company, has announced its expansion into Tanzania through its partnership with the Farm to Market Alliance (FtMA). Launched in 2013, iProcure has developed its own distribution infrastructure, connecting major agricultural input…
- Youth-led African agri-food businesses have been invited to apply for the fifth annual US$100,000 GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Competition. The GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize Competition has established itself as the biggest, annual agripreneurship competition in Africa, identifying and supporting…
- Ivory Coast-based fintech Djamo’s first product was a Visa-powered card for digital payments, but it has gradually added other financial services to become the one-stop personal finance partner for consumers. Hassan Bourgi and Régis Bamba started thinking about Djamo in 2020, having experience and…
- Egyptian auto-tech startup Helpoo has secured an undisclosed amount of funding from Saudi firm Morni Holding to help it scale. Helpoo is an integrated tech-enabled service application that offers timely, high-quality motor vehicle insurance inspections, insurance claim management, and road assist…
- Disrupt Africa will in August release a three-part podcast series zeroing in on the state of Africa’s e-health space, looking at trends, opportunities and challenges within the vital sector. Disrupt Podcast has released a number of focused series in the last year, including ones on venture capital…
- Nigerian fintech startup Grey has picked Kenya as its East African hub as it expands operations in the region. Launched in 2021 by Idorenyin Obong and Femi Aghedo, who wanted to help Nigerians easily exchange to local currency and access the foreign currencies in their accounts, Grey offers an…
- Chari, a Morocco-based B2B e-commerce startup with embedded financing for the FMCG sector, has secured further funding from Plug and Play to help it continue on its growth trajectory. Founded in 2020 by husband and wife team Ismael and Sophia Belkhayat, Chari allows traditional proximity store…
- AfriLabs, the largest network of technology and innovation hubs in Africa, has announced the admission of 19 new members to its community, including hubs in two new cities – Sousse in Tunisia and Baidoa in Somalia. AfriLabs is a network organisation that is committed to driving innovation and…
- Nigerian startup Gricd, which develops Internet of Things-powered solutions to support the last-mile delivery of perishable goods, has secured US$1.5 million in seed funding and also rebranded as Figorr to signal its new focus on software solutions. Figorr develops IoT-powered solutions that…
- South African cybersecurity startup Port443 has secured an undisclosed amount of funding to help it expand its reach further into Africa and the Middle East. Named for the standard IP network port for HTTPS traffic, Port443 is a software development house that specialises in security automations…
- Applications are open for the US$100,000 Africa Food Prize, an award recognising an outstanding individual or institution that is leading the effort to change the reality of farming in Africa from a struggle to survive into a business that thrives. The US$100,000 prize celebrates Africans who are…