- Lagos-based VC firm EchoVC, a technology-focused early-stage VC firm focused on investing in underrepresented founders and underserved markets, has launched EchoVC Chain, a US$8 million “pilot” blockchain-focused seed fund. EchoVC, which says its mission is to be “the Sequoia Capital for…
- Applications have opened for the third cohort of Google for Startups Black Founders Fund (BFF) for Africa, which will see selected startups receive equity-free cash awards of up to UD$150,000 and other benefits. Disrupt Africa reported in July 2021 on the US$3 million Google for Startups Black…
- Rwandan startup DoctorAI is using artificial intelligence (AI) to help healthcare providers reduce the mortality and morbidity associated with medical errors and inaccessibility to medical specialists. Founded in 2019 by medical doctors Kevin Muragijimana and David Ndayishimiye, DoctorAI was built…
- The Africa’s Business Heroes (ABH) Prize Competition, a philanthropic initiative sponsored by the Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Philanthropy, has launched its fifth annual edition and now calls for participation from Africa’s entrepreneurial talent. ABH is part of the Jack Ma Foundation’s long-…
- Disrupt Africa has partnered the Jack Ma Foundation’s Africa’s Business Heroes Programme to release a special four-part podcast series discussing the benefits of the initiative with previous winning founders. Applications have just opened for the fifth edition of the Africa’s Business Heroes…
- Rwandan startups have been invited to apply for the ZEP-RE InsurTech Programme, which will support scalable startups in creating new markets and optimising efficiency. The first insurtech incubator in Rwanda, organised by the PTA Reinsurance Company (ZEP-RE) in partnership with Westerwelle Startup…
- Nigerian startup Tabulio has developed a social network aimed at connecting African tech talent with global opportunities. Founded by Tosh Ajibade and Chris Steve in 2019 and released as an MVP in 2021, Tabulio is a social networking platform that allows users to share their works, connect with…
- Kenyan startup SafiriSalama has launched what it claims is Africa’s first end-of-life services platform, offering digital death notices, memorials, and a directory of funeral service providers. SafiriSalama rolled out its beta version in November 2021 and is currently undergoing a 12-month…
- IFC and Viva Technology have announced the second edition of the AfricaTech Awards, an initiative to spotlight Africa-focused companies with innovative solutions addressing key development challenges linked to climate change, healthcare, and financial inclusion. The 2023 AfricaTech Awards are part…
- Mali’s Sodishop, a B2C and B2B marketplace that sells and delivers almost all categories of products, has expanded across several markets in West Africa and shows no sign of slowing down. Sodishop allows customers to easily buy goods across numerous categories, including clothing, electronics and…
- More than half the 633 funded African tech ventures in 2022 had at some point in their lifespan taken part in an accelerator or incubator programme. This is according to the eighth edition of the annual African Tech Startups Funding Report released by startup news and research portal Disrupt Africa…
- Nigerian startup Wicrypt Network, the first standalone blockchain-based Wi-Fi sharing network from Africa, has won the Global Prize at the LEAP 2023 Rocket Fuel Pitch Startup Competition in Saudi Arabia, securing US$150,000 in prize money. Founded in 2018, Wicrypt is a decentralised mobile internet…
- The African tech space is bucking global investment trends due to a combination of the fact it is still relatively nascent, and the scale of the opportunity still in evidence on the continent. According to the eighth edition of the annual African Tech Startups Funding Report released by startup…
- Nigerian startup Payscribe has relaunched after three years as a side project with a renewed focus on digitising cash payments and providing daily essential financial services at a user’s fingertips. Originally launched in May 2019, Payscribe remained for some time a side project of founder Sokoya…
- Eleven startups have been selected for the next stage of the MultiChoice Africa Accelerator, gaining the chance to pitch to prospective investors in Dubai. The MultiChoice Africa Accelerator programme, the brainchild of the MultiChoice Group and part of the MultiChoice Innovation Fund, in…
- Nigerian startup Sidebrief, which helps African companies build across borders by streamlining legals, incorporation, company admin, banking and regulation through their APIs, has so far helped over 4,000 African entrepreneurs launch their businesses or manage compliance. Launched in late-2021,…
- South African e-health startup Envisionit Deep AI has raised US$1.65 million in funding to unlock its next phase of growth, as it aims to address critical shortages in the African and emerging market healthcare sector and democratise access to diagnostic imaging using artificial intelligence (AI).…
- South African cell captive insurance provider Guardrisk is looking for innovative insurtech startups to back via its ZAR50 million (US$2.8 million) LAUNCHPAD initiative. Guardrisk, a subsidiary of Momentum Metropolitan, said the initiative aims to harness the power of its tech-enabled ecosystem to…
- Senegalese e-commerce startup Yoonema is an SEO-ready platform that gives sellers access to a secure webstore, easy payment options, marketing tools, and an established database of more than 1,000 customers. Founded in 2019 and recently selected to take part in the ASIP accelerator run by…
- Egyptian fintech startup Hollydesk has raised US$1 million in venture debt financing from unnamed investors to expand its offering and client base. Founded in 2020 by Mahmoud Moussa, Hollydesk is an expense management platform that allows companies to automate approval workflows and generate…
- Egyptian fintech startup Copal has partnered Mastercard to launch a family payments mobile app that brings all family members onto a unified payment platform that is fully managed by parents. Copal, which recently graduated from the Flat6Labs Cairo accelerator programme, claims to be Egypt’s first…
- Startup-focused news, research and podcasting company Disrupt Africa has released the first episode of “The month in VC”, a new monthly podcast series focused on all things venture capital and launched in partnership with leading investors. Co-hosted by Gabriella Mulligan and Tom Jackson, Disrupt…
- The number of jobs created by funded African tech startups almost doubled in 2022, when the 633 funded ventures employed between them over 34,000 people. This is according to the eighth edition of the annual African Tech Startups Funding Report released by startup news and research portal Disrupt…
- The French-African Foundation has launched a call for applications for its 2023 Young Leaders programme around the theme “Unleash the energy”. Created in 2019, the French-African Foundation works to create generations of committed leaders in France and in Africa. Each year, it launches a call for…
- Kenyan HR and payroll startup Workpay has raised US$2.7 million in pre-Series A funding to expand its HR, payroll, compliance, and benefits tools across Africa. Originally called TozzaPlus until it rebranded in 2019, Workpay is a cloud-based human resources management and payroll solution for…
- Co-Creation Hub has announced a new partnership with the Mastercard Foundation under the Mastercard Foundation Ed-Tech Fellowship Programme to launch a US$15 million ed-tech accelerator initiative in Kenya and Nigeria. Co-creation Hub (CcHub) launched Nigeria’s first open living lab for…
- Accelerator and VC firm Flat6Labs has hosted its 18th and 19th cycle startups at a demo day in Cairo. Launched and headquartered in Cairo since 2011, Flat6Labs is the MENA region’s leading seed and early-stage venture capital firm, which invests in more than 100 innovative and technology-driven…
- Launched in Silicon Valley in 2010, and investing in Africa since 2012, 500 Global is perhaps best known for its renowned accelerator programme. Yet it is quietly scaling up its investments on the continent, with those operations led by Africa lead Mareme Dieng. Since it was founded, 500 Global has…
- South African startup Planet42, a car subscription platform addressing transport inequality by putting cars in the hands of people who cannot access traditional bank credit, has raised US$100 million in combined equity and debt funding to help it accelerate its expansion. Launched as CarGet in 2017…
- South African hotel management system (HMS) RoomRaccoon has announced its expansion to Zanzibar, offering independent hoteliers the opportunity to accelerate their operations, increase profitability and reduce costs with its all-in-one system. Founded in 2017 and based in Cape Town, RoomRaccoon is…
- Mastercard has launched its Start Path Small Business programme to give startups the chance to collaborate with the company to scale solutions that drive simple, secure digital experiences for SMEs. During the four-month programme, selected startups will have the opportunity to leverage Mastercard…
- South Africa’s Apollo Studios is helping primarily insurance companies leverage technology to build more efficient organisations and automate decision making and workflow management. Launched in 2020 and based in Johannesburg, Apollo Studios works mostly with partners in the short-term insurance…
- African agri-tech startups have been invited to apply for the GROW Impact Accelerator, which aims to accelerate wide-ranging solutions for how we produce, process, package, transport, consume, and dispose of our food. The GROW Impact Accelerator, backed by AgFunder, aims to supercharge the growth…
- Entrepreneurial talent is equally distributed around Africa, and among men and women, but financial opportunity is not, as such investors should operate with intentionality and ambitious targets to counteract this inequity, says Fatoumata Bâ, founder and managing partner of Janngo Capital. Speaking…
- Female fund managers are very much in the minority worldwide. In the US, only nine per cent of decision makers in the VC space are women. In Africa, no definitive numbers are yet available, but female fund managers are hard to come by – a big mistake for the VC world, as data clearly demonstrates…
- African tech’s gender problem is only getting worse, with just 20.2 per cent of 633 funded ventures in 2022 having a female founder, down from 21.5 per cent in 2021. This is according to the eighth edition of the annual African Tech Startups Funding Report released by startup news and research…
- Applications are open for the Rice Business Plan Competition 2023 for Student Startups, which provides real-world experience and cash prizes to student entrepreneurs. Run by the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, the competition has evolved from nine teams competing for US$10,000 in…
- Ugandan fintech Qiribu believes itself to be the first platform within the East African country to launch an earned wage access product, which it plans to expand into Kenya and Rwanda in the next couple of years. Qiribu provides salaried employees with the ability to access a portion of their…
- Nigerian e-health startup Famasi, which began life as a medication management service but has expanded its vision to building pharmacy infrastructure to scale digital health, has raised a pre-seed round of funding. Launched in 2021 by Adeola Ayoola and Umar Faruq Akinwunmi, Famasi Famasi is a…
- The Baobab Network, a Nairobi-based accelerator that invests in early-stage tech companies across Africa, has announced its latest cohort of five investees, each of which secures US$50,000 in funding. The Baobab Network has been accelerating startups with capacity building and fundraising since…
- South African startup RNR, a breakdown management company with technology that mobilises a network of nationwide suppliers to service entire fleets at the touch of a button, has raised ZAR10 million (US$555,000) in funding to support its growth and African expansion. Founded in 2019, RNR, which…
- South African artificial intelligence (AI)-driven insurtech company Naked, which offers a new, fully digital way for consumers to insure their cars, homes, and valuables, has raised US$17 million in Series B funding to drive its growth. Launched in 2018 by actuaries Alex Thomson, Sumarie Greybe,…
- Nigerian insurtech startup Curacel, an AI-powered platform for claims processing and fraud management in Africa, has secured US$3 million in seed funding to roll out new solutions and support its expansion into North Africa. Formed in 2017, Curacel automates the insurance claims process, allowing…
- Africa-focused startup Smile Identity, which enables ID verification and KYC compliance through artificial intelligence (AI) designed for African faces and identities, has secured a US$20 million Series B funding round to help it expand across the continent. Smile Identity launched in 2017 with a…
- Nigerian mobility startup Treepz has launched operations in Kenya following strategic investment deals to raise additional US$1.2 million in funding over the last 12 months. Founded in 2019 and known as Plentywaka until its September 2021 rebrand, Treepz operates a digital platform allowing…
- Seed, a Stanford Graduate School of Business-led initiative, has renewed its collaboration with the African Management Institute (AMI) in its ongoing effort to partner with entrepreneurs to help them build thriving enterprises that transform lives. Stanford Seed, which is a part of the Stanford…
- Fintech remains African tech’s most powerful force when it comes to funding, but growth is everywhere, and the sector’s share of total investment actually fell in 2022. This is according to the eighth edition of the annual African Tech Startups Funding Report released by startup news and research…
- Nigerian HR tech startup, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) company with a mission to build the simplest and most efficient people operations platform, has closed a US$500,000 pre-seed funding round to help it expand its operations. Founded in December 2020 by Seye Bandele and Lekan Omotosho, Pade HCM…
- Climate resilience venture launcher Triggering Exponential Climate Action (TECA) has announced the selection of seven startups to each receive US$55,000 in funding to advance their solutions for the blue economy in Africa. The TECA programme, managed by BFA Global and supported by FSD Africa, was…
- South African startup Sendmarc, which has become a leader in email and domain security, has raised a US$7 million Series A funding round to expand its market enablement strategy and further develop its product. Sendmarc helps customers avoid email impersonation such as phishing and spoofing – from…