- The Seedstars Youth Wellbeing Ventures Mandat, launched by Seedstars Capital and Fondation Botnar, will invest $20 million in early-stage, purpose-driven firms across Africa with the goal of enhancing the wellbeing and happiness of young people living in low- and middle-income regions. Together,…
- Eze, a wholesale marketplace for used and new electronics in Nigeria, has raised US$3.7 million in seed funding. Right Side Capital Management led the investment round, which also included angel investors C2 Ventures, Boro Capital, EVPI Investments, and others. Eze is a business-to-business (B2B)…
- Yellow has raised $14 million in a series B funding round. Yellow is an asset financier for solar energy and digital products in Africa. Convergence Partners led the funding round, which also included participation from Triple Jump’s Energy Entrepreneurs Growth Fund and Platform Investment…
- The Ecobank Fintech Challenge, which aims to support the expansion of Pan African Fintech success stories, has announced the launch of its 2023 edition. Ecobank operates in 35 different countries across Africa; the Challenge seeks to find and work with fintech that is ready to scale and give them…
- Peach Cars, a Kenyan online marketplace for automobiles, has raised $5 million in seed funding, the company announced. The University of Tokyo Edge Capital Partners, based in Japan, led the funding round alongside other angel investors like Shintaro Yamada, Peter Kenevan, and Hiroaki Ohta. Kaoru…
- According to IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, the IMF is developing a framework for central bank digital currencies (CDBCs) to facilitate transactions between nations. Unlike cryptocurrencies, which are almost always decentralized, CBDCs are digital currencies that are managed by the…
- French sustainable adtech start-up Greenbids is cleaning up the digital advertising space. A Scope3 report found that digital advertising generates more than 2.6 million metric tons of carbon per year, across five leading economies. It might be a somewhat surprising figure to some, so Greenbids is…
- Amsterdam-based TAPP, a digital platform that provides insights into the hospitality market based on cash register data to improve turnover, announced that it has secured €3M in a fresh round of funding. CNBB led a €2M funding and was supported by ROM InWest. An additional loan of €1M came from …
- London-based Synthesia, an AI video creation platform, announced that it has secured $90M in a Series C round of funding at a valuation of $1B. The round was led by Accel Ventures and NVIDIA’s venture capital arm NVentures. Existing investors Kleiner Perkins, GV, Firstmark Capital, Alex Wang,…
- Germany-based SPARETECH, a data platform for industrial spare parts, announced that it has raised €10M in a Series A round of funding. The round was led by New York-based software investor Insight Partners with participation from Headline and existing investors. The company says it will use the…
- Paris-based Mistral AI, a platform specializing in generative artificial intelligence, announced that it has secured over €105M in a seed-stage round of funding. According to Tech Crunch, the startup is currently valued at €240M. The round was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. Founded by key…
- Reykjavík-based DTE, an innovator in decision support for the metals production and manufacturing industry, announced that it has secured $10M in a Series A2 round of funding. The investment came from aluminium industry leader Novelis, VC firm Metaplanet, and the European Innovation Council (EIC)…
- Colombian fintech, FinMaq, closed a successful investment round, securing $3.5M in equity and $20M in funding. The company plans to use the capital to grow its presence in Colombia and expand operations to Chile, Peru, and Mexico. FinMaq aims to generate positive social impact through inclusion,…
- Blockchain and cryptocurrency have the potential to bring significant benefits and opportunities to Africa. Here are some areas where their potential impact is noteworthy: Financial Inclusion: Blockchain technology can enable financial services for the unbanked and underbanked populations in Africa…
- Fanki secured a $6M seed round led by Broom Ventures and Tenacity Ventures. The startup will use the funds to further develop its online platform to close the gap between sports clubs and fans in Latin America. The Colombian Fintech, Fanki, seeks to provide new alternatives for sports teams,…
- Nocnoc, which facilitates cross-border e-commerce between Latin American merchants and global sellers, raised $14 million in Series A funding. PayPal Ventures led the round and was joined by Mouro Capital, Quona Capital, Caravela Capital, Broadhaven and Ignia. This gives the company $22 million in…
- Dublin-based customer experience solution, EdgeTier is using AI to improve customer experience in call centers. Its SaaS solution gives real-time insights into customer conversational data using natural language processing to monitor customer conversations across all channels, 24/7, in…
- Berlin-based Spectrm, a conversational marketing platform that helps businesses automate one-to-one conversations with consumers on social messaging channels, announced that it has secured approximately €6M in a fresh round of funding. The investment was led by 3TS Capital Partners. Existing…
- US and Ukrainian-based Haiqu, a startup building software to enhance the performance of quantum processors, announced that it has raised $4M in a pre-seed round of funding. The round was led by MaC Venture Capital with participation from Toyota Ventures, SOMA Capital, and a group of Ukrainian firms…
- Amsterdam-based Smiler, a startup that connects photographers with visitors at popular tourist locations and hotspots, announced that it has secured an additional $8.5M in fresh funding. Smiler’s investment coincides with the launch of Smiler.co website. This consumer website draws on Smiler’s…
- Cambridge-based Uncommon (formerly Higher Steaks), a cultivated meat startup, announced that it has secured $30M in a Series A round of funding led by Balderton Capital and Lowercarbon. Other investors include Red Alpine, East Alpha, and previous investors Max and Sam Altman, Miray Zaki, and…
- France-based BeFC, a company that invented ecological biofuel cells that are paper-based, ultra-thin, and flexible, announced that it has raised €16M in a Series A round of funding. The round was supported by Avolta Partners as the sole financial advisor. Otium Capital was the new lead investor in…
- Luxembourg-based Salonkee, a salon management solution and booking platform for the hair- and beauty industry, announced that it has raised €28M in a growth round of funding. The company says it will use the funds to help increase its market penetration across Europe, continue to invest in…
- Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, has been told to cease operations in Nigeria after the country’s markets regulator declared that a local arm of the company that solicited Nigerian investors online was operating illegally. According to the Nigerian authority, Binance…
- Termii, a platform-as-a-service startup in Nigeria for communications, has secured $3.65 million in new funding. The funding round was led by pan-African early-stage investor Ventures Platform with support from New York-based fund FinTech Collective and Launch Africa Ventures. Other investors in…
- Haul247, a Nigerian end-to-end logistics digital platform that links businesses with haulage and warehousing assets in a single platform, has raised $3 million in seed funding. Alitheia Capital, through its uMunthu Fund, participated as the lead investor in this round, with loan financing from…
- Rology, the market leader in teleradiology in the MENA region, has acquired Arkan United, a teleradiology provider based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. In order to address the global scarcity of radiologists, Amr AboDraiaa, Moaaz Hossam, Mahmoud Eldefrawy, and Bassam Khallaf founded Rology in October…
- Applications are now open for Venture for Africa’s second bootcamp program. This talent community is a top source for hiring top tech startup talent on the continent. The goal of Venture for Africa’s flagship three-month fellowship is to help the world’s most vibrant Young professionals make the…
- Apple’s biggest and most anticipated Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) ever commenced with a revolutionary keynote at Apple Park, which was attended by developers, students, and media and viewed by millions of people around the world via live stream and on-demand. Every year, Apple commences…
- Helium Health, a Nigerian e-health startup, has secured US$30 million in Series B funding in order to expand its fintech product, HeliumCredit. AXA IM Alts was the lead investor in this round of funding, which also included Capria Ventures, Angaza Capital, Anne Wojcicki, and Flatworld Partners.…
- Microsoft has agreed to pay $20 million to US federal regulators to settle allegations that the company unlawfully collected data on children who had created Xbox accounts. Microsoft and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) settled on terms that include additional protections for children who play…
- Amazon has reached an agreement to pay over $30 million in order to settle two federal lawsuits alleging that the e-commerce giant breached the privacy of users, particularly the privacy of children, through the usage of its Alexa voice assistant and its Ring doorbell cameras. The FTC agreements…
- Paris-based start-up elba, a cybersecurity platform for teams, has raised €2.5 million in its first funding round. elba will use the funding to expand internationally and invest in research and development. The brainchild of co-founder and CEO Théo Rouer, he came up with the idea for elba with…
- London-based Qflow (Qualis Flow), a digital platform enabling construction teams to collect real-time materials and waste data at source announced that it has secured £7.2M in a Series A round of funding. Qflow says it will use the funds to scale its operations in the UK and grow its presence in…
- Berlin-based GetYourGuide, a platform for discovering and booking travel experiences, announced on Thursday that it has raised $194M in a Series F equity and credit round of funding. GetYourGuide says it will use the funds to expand in important regions such as North America and to speed up product…
- Galway-based Ex Ordo, an online events platform built for scholarly and professional societies, announced that it has secured more than $3M in a fresh round of funding. Paul Killoran, founder and CEO of Ex Ordo, says, “This is a major milestone for us on our journey towards scaling our vision.” The…
- Huli, a healthtech founded in Costa Rica with a presence in Latin America, has closed a $5.5 million Pre-Series A funding round led by Intoku Health, a group of successful US healthcare technology founders and executives, and Carao Ventures, the leading Venture Capital firm in Central America. This…
- Nearpays Technology Limited has won the Supernova Challenge’s Fintech and Blockchain category at GITEX Africa in Morocco. Nearpays received a cash reward of USD 10,000 and free travel to GITEX Global, which will be held in October 2023 at the Dubai World Trade Center in the United Arab Emirates.…
- Kenya’s Ministry of ICT and Digital Economy has signed an MoU with the Korea Trade Center Nairobi (KOTRA), marking a significant step forward in the country’s digital transformation. In accordance with this MoU, Korea will assist Kenya in bringing many landmark projects to fruition, including the…
- PrestaFreedom, a Moroccan startup that specializes in household subscriptions and other services for individuals, received $1 million in funding. Azur Innovation Fund, a seed public-private investment fund that invests in innovative startups, provided the funding. PrestaFreedom, a services…
- Zofi Cash, a Ugandan fintech startup, has raised $1 million in pre-seed capital to strengthen its mission to make every day a payday for employees with paychecks. Advancly, a provider of business-to-business lending with operations in six African nations, is the sole investor in the pre-seed…
- Meta recently unveiled its next-generation virtual reality (VR) and mixed-reality (MR) headset, the Meta Quest 3, which is scheduled to begin shipping this fall at a price point that starts at $500. While Apple is widely speculated to unveil its own mixed-reality headset at next week’s 2023…
- Analyzing the regulatory environment for technology companies in different African countries requires a comprehensive understanding of the diverse legal frameworks, policies, and practices that govern the tech industry in each nation. While it is challenging to provide an in-depth analysis of all…
- The Africa Food Prize is the premier prize honoring an exceptional person or organization that is driving the effort to transform the reality of farming in Africa from a company that struggles to survive to one that flourishes. The US $100,000 award honors Africans who are directing the continent’s…
- M-KOPA, a major fintech platform, recently announced that it had successfully raised more than $250 million in fresh debt and equity capital to increase its reach among underbanked customers in Sub-Saharan Africa. Standard Bank Group took the lead in raising the funds. The International Finance…
- The technology startup Gricd, which has now rebranded itself as Figorr and is based in Lagos, Nigeria, has acquired $1.5 million in Seed funding. Figorr develops solutions that are powered by the Internet of Things. Atlantica Ventures took the lead in the funding round. Vested World, Jaza Rift, and…
- The proposed $69 billion acquisition of gaming company Activision Blizzard by Microsoft was approved by European Union regulators subject to Microsoft’s requested revisions. Regulators and some of Microsoft’s competitors, including Sony, the maker of the PlayStation game console, have opposed the…
- Brazilian insurtech Justos closed a $5.9M venture round led by an anonymous major reinsurer. MSR Capital also participated. The startup will use the money to extend its runway up to 30 months and continue its growth strategy to raise a strong series B and avoid a down-round. Justos uses machine…
- Stockholm-based anotherblock has raised €4 million in a seed funding round. According to the company, after making “significant strides” in the past year, the new funding will be used to push the company further forward, on a global scale. Since early 2022 anotherblock has raised a little more…
- Netherlands-based Young Heroes, an HRtech startup that empowers young professionals to shape their future by building self-confidence through knowledge, announced that it has secured €400K in a fresh round of funding. The investment came from G-Force Capital, a Dutch pre-seed fund focused on…
