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Y Combinator Increases Standard Deal Size to $500,000 for Startups

Y Combinator Increases Standard Deal Size to $500,000 for Startups

The foremost tech accelerator program, Y Combinator has announced an increment to $500,000 in funds to invest in participating startups. The Silicon Valley tech accelerator will now offer an additional $375,000 in the form of an uncapped simple agreement for future equity (SAFE) note from the traditional $125,

Energise Africa, Solarise Africa raises over $1.13M funds to fund solar projects in Africa

Energise Africa, Solarise Africa raises over $1.13M funds to fund solar projects in Africa

Energise Africa and Solarise Africa, in partnership with crowdfunding companies in the UK, raised over $1.13M million in the space of eight days to fund large-scale energy projects in Sub-Saharan Africa. “We are humbled by the support we’ve received from the Energise Africa investor community”, said the CEO

ThankUCash Raises $5.3 Million Seed Fund for Expansion

ThankUCash Raises $5.3 Million Seed Fund for Expansion

ThankUCash, a leading multi-merchant rewards platform based in Nigeria has raised $5.3 million in seed funding. The seed round was co-led by 500 Global and Unicorn Growth Capital with participation from Expert Dojo, Predictive VC, SaaS growth Ventures, Betatron Hong kong, Accelerex Holding, Andrew Dell (former CEO of HSBC)

Startups in Benin Republic Exempted from Corporate Tax for First 2 Years Under the General Tax Code Act

Startups in Benin Republic Exempted from Corporate Tax for First 2 Years Under the General Tax Code Act

Any government can benefit from the growth of its startup ecosystem. The ability of a government to create a peaceful dialogue between itself and startups in the locality will go a long way in determining the existence and growth pattern of the startup and the economic development of the country.

Nigerian government partners JICA to launch iHatch, a startup incubation program

Nigerian government partners JICA to launch iHatch, a startup incubation program

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), through its subsidiary, the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR) in partnership with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), is set to launch iHatch, a startup incubation program aimed at increasing the number of innovation-driven enterprises by Nigerian youths. This might not

Nigerian fintech Bfree raises $1.7 M to expand across Africa, other emerging markets

Nigerian fintech Bfree raises $1.7 M to expand across Africa, other emerging markets

Nigerian credit management fintech startup, Bfree has secured $1.7 million in a pre-Series funding round to expand its operations across Africa, into Asia, Europe, and South America. Having raised $800,00 in a seed round in May 2021 brings the total raised funds to $2.5 million. Participants in

SA based HealthLeap raises $1.1M Pre-seed to Reduce Malnutrition in Hospitals

African Health Tech

SA based HealthLeap raises $1.1M Pre-seed to Reduce Malnutrition in Hospitals

South Africa-based health tech startup, HealthLeap, has raised $1.1M pre-seed to reduce malnutrition in hospitals with clinical AI assistant which focuses on a global healthcare market, starting from the hospitals in the United States. The $1.1 million pre-seed round was led by deep tech investor Fifty Years. HealthLeap

YC backed Namibian startup, JABU gets $3.2 M in seed funding round

YC backed Namibian startup, JABU gets $3.2 M in seed funding round

JABU, a Namibia-based B2B e-commerce startup has announced the raise of a $3.2 million seed round. The seed funding, which closed last year received investors such as Afore Capital, Y Combinator, FJ Labs, Kli Capital, Quiet Capital, Pareto Capital, and other anonymous seed investors. JABU joined the Y Combinator

REEF Technologies to launch cloud kitchens across MENA

REEF Technologies to launch cloud kitchens across MENA

The US-based operator of delivery kitchens, logistics, and proximity hubs, REEF Technologies, has announced plans to launch cloud kitchens for its network of restaurants and brands in MENA. REEF was launched in 2013 by Ari Ojalvo, Aziz Ihsanoglu, Philippe Saint-Just, Umut Tekin. The firm currently functions as North America’s

mPharma closes $35million Series D Round to Expand its Mutti Pharmacies

African Health Tech

mPharma closes $35million Series D Round to Expand its Mutti Pharmacies

mPharma, a Ghanaian health tech startup, is building a network of community pharmacies across Africa as it targets to be the go-to primary healthcare service provider for millions of Africans. The startup is now set to activate more Mutti pharmacies to widen its reach and to build out its tech

Rwanda snaps $100M from AIDB for its Digital Acceleration Project

Rwanda snaps $100M from AIDB for its Digital Acceleration Project

The Rwandan government, through its Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, has reportedly borrowed $100 Million from the Asian Infrastructure Development Bank (AIDB) to fund its Digital Acceleration Project. The Digital Acceleration Project is also co-financed by the World Bank to help increase the country’s broadband access and digitalization

Digital Realty Acquires 55% Controlling Stake in S.A Teraco Data Environments

Africa’s largest data center

Digital Realty Acquires 55% Controlling Stake in S.A Teraco Data Environments

Africa’s largest data center services provider, Teraco Data Environments, has been acquired by Digital Realty in a deal that values Teraco at an astonishing $3.5 billion. This is Digital Realty’s 3rd acquisition on the African continent following previous ones in Kenya (iColo) and Nigeria, (Medallion) respectively. “We

Kenyan Money Manager App Alvin raises $740k pre-seed Funding Round

Kenyan Money Manager App Alvin raises $740k pre-seed Funding Round

Kenyan smart money manager app, Alvin, helping people align their daily spending around savings goals, has raised $740k in a pre-seed funding round as it continues to hone its product, which is in the private beta phase. The round was led by Ingressive Capital, and featured Zephyr Acorn, Voltron Capital,

US-based Xcelerate to buy stake in Tanzanian Medical Technology Firm, AfiyaSasa Africa

US-based Xcelerate to buy stake in Tanzanian Medical Technology Firm, AfiyaSasa Africa

Tanzanian med-tech startup, AfiyaSasa Africa (ASA), is closing in an investment from Xcelerate Inc., a medical technology services provider based in the United States, in which it will yield a majority position to the company. The deal will see Xcelerate purchase a 51% stake in the Tanzanian medical technology and

How African Entrepreneurs can Leverage TEF's Grant for Growth

How African Entrepreneurs can Leverage TEF's Grant for Growth

Recently, African Tech-Startups have taken the center stage particularly in the area of access to funding. In 2021, African tech companies did unimaginable numbers by surpassing every prediction by experts as tech companies raised over $4 billion (more than they got in 2019 and 2020 combined) From minting five unicorns

SA Proptech and digitalisation company, e4 expands to UK

SA Proptech and digitalisation company, e4 expands to UK

South African property tech and digital solutions provider, e4 has announced its expansion into European markets, making the UK its international go-to-market. In a statement, the company says long-standing executive director Simon Slater has relocated to the UK to head up the venture. Slater’s focus, it notes, will be

Nigerian IdentityPass, Ethiopian BeU Delivery Gets Into Y Combinator W22 Batch

Nigerian IdentityPass, Ethiopian BeU Delivery Gets Into Y Combinator W22 Batch

Ethiopian startup BeU delivery and Nigerian-based IdentityPass have been confirmed as participants in the prestigious Y Combinator W22 Batch which would run from January through March. Participants receive $125,000 in seed funding in addition to other investment opportunities at the demo day. beU delivery has just been added to

Benin-based FedaPay Secures Funding from Benin Business Angel Network

Benin-based FedaPay Secures Funding from Benin Business Angel Network

Benin-based payment aggregator, FedaPay, has announced it raised its first round of investment from Benin Business Angel Network (BBAN). FedaPay is an efficient and secure system for payment by credit cards and by mobile money launched in 2018 by Hermann Aguessy and Boris Koumondji. The platform manages merchant accounts, allowing

Egypt’s B2B eCommerce Fashion Startup Gahez Raises $2M in Pre-Seed Funding

Egypt’s B2B eCommerce Fashion Startup Gahez Raises $2M in Pre-Seed Funding

Egyptian e-commerce startup, Gahez, has announced it raised $2m in a pre-Seed funding round to boost its inward growth and accelerate expansion. The pre-seed round was led by Disruptech Ventures with participation from Egypt Ventures, Tanmeyah (an EFG Hermes company), Afropreneur fund, and other angel investors. Headquartered in Egypt, Gahez

How Piggyvest Helped Nigerians Save $585 million in 2021

How Piggyvest Helped Nigerians Save $585 million in 2021

Nigeria-based online savings and investment company PiggyVest, announced on January 1st, 2022 via its newsletter that it successfully paid out over N242 billion ($585 million) in 2021 to customers. The payout for 2021 doubles in comparison to 2020, which was announced to have amounted to N90 million. “With over 3.

Three Egyptian Edtech startups close rounds from EdVentures

Three Egyptian Edtech startups close rounds from EdVentures

Three Egyptian startups, OBM Education, Super Fny, and Crafty Workshop have received an undisclosed amount of funds from EdVentures and The Academy of Scientific Research and Technology (ASRT). EdVentures is an Arabian venture capital firm with a focus on Education, Culture, and Innovative Learning Solutions, powered by the long successful

Africa and Tech 2021

Africa and Tech 2021

It’s slow, but it’s moving An article from theouut.com in March stated thus: In a world that continues to evolve, and fast, Africa is very quickly rising in the ranks of tech innovation and evolution. At the moment, Africa has a finger in every pie in the

Nigerian data visualization startup, Mustard Insights, raises capital

Nigerian data visualization startup, Mustard Insights, raises capital

In what can be described as a last-minute round, Nigerian data visualization startup, Mustard Insights has raised an undisclosed amount of capital in a pre-seed round of funding towards its goal of building Africa’s largest data repository. The round was led by Velocity Digital as well as other investors.

Kenyan Agritech startup, Apollo Agriculture, takes up US$ 9.5m Loan to Enhance Food Security Pact

Kenyan Agritech startup, Apollo Agriculture, takes up US$ 9.5m Loan to Enhance Food Security Pact

A Kenya-based technology firm that helps small-scale farmers increase their profitability, Apollo Agriculture, has agreed to take up a US$9.5 million loan from the US government-backed International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) for up to ten years. The DFC said the 10-year loan would assist to improve Kenya’s

South African Internet Provider, Isizwe, secures $450K from the Global Innovation Fund

South African Internet Provider, Isizwe, secures $450K from the Global Innovation Fund

The Johannesburg-based internet service provider that promotes access for minimal-income communities, Isizwe, has announced it secured a $450k investment from The Global Innovation Fund. GIF is offering this funding as part of ADVANCE, a collaboration with Anglo Americans that allows private investment to grow creative business models in support of