Startup

Egyptian Logistics Startup Appetito raises $2m pre-Series A Funding

Egypt-based Grocery Delivery Startup Appetito has raised $2m in pre-Series A round, led by Jedar Capital. Golden Palm investments, DFS Lab, and a cluster of regional angel investors and family offices also participated in the round. Appetito was launched in March 2020 by Shehab Mokhtar to store products for businesses

Funding

Nigerian fintech startup, PayHippo raises $3M to widen credit access for SMEs

Small businesses play a big role in creating jobs and building the economies of most emerging economies. In Nigeria, small businesses account for 96 per cent of companies, 84 per cent of employment, and 48 per cent of the national GDP. However, one of the major challenges small businesses face

mobility

Kenyan electric mobility startup Opibus secures $7.5m funding round for expansion

Nairobi based mobility startup Opibus, announced today that it has raised $7.5m in funding led by Silicon Valley fund At One Ventures. The investment is the largest ever in an electric mobility company in Sub-Saharan Africa and is aimed to scale its operations in electric motorcycle and bus manufacturing.

Luno parent firm DCG raises $700m from syndicate of investors

The parent company of crypto exchange Luno, Digital Currency Group (DCG), has secured an over $700m investment round from SoftBank’s Vision Fund II and Latin American Fund valuing the company at $10 billion. Other equity investors led by the two funds include Google’s Capital G, Ribbit Capital, GIC,

mobility

Rwandan Electric Motorcycle Startup Ampersand Secures $9m Debt Facility

Rwanda-based mobility startup Ampersand has secured $9m loan facility from the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to expand its operations in Rwanda and Kenya. The loan is part of DFC’s Portfolio for Impact and Innovation (PI²) initiative and contributes to its commitment to the US Energy Compact and

Startup

Basigo launches operations in Kenya, after closing a $1M pre-seed round

BasiGo, an e-mobility startup based in Nairobi, has on Tuesday, announced its entry into the Kenyan market. This announcement is coming after the startup raised a $1 million pre-seed funding. The company will provide electric buses for purchase by public transport providers, offering them a more environmentally sustainable solution that

Funding

Kenyan agri-tech startup Twiga secures $50m funding for expansion

Twiga, a Kenyan B2B agritech startup has announced the close of a $50 million Series C round, to drive its expansion in East Africa and other neighboring countries. The startup had previously secured $30 million in a Series B round and $10.3 million in a Series A round. According

Startup

YC-backed Nigerian fintech Startup, Lemonade Finance raises $725k pre-seed funding

Y Combinator-backed Nigerian Fintech startup Lemonade Finance has raised a $725k pre-seed funding round to help it scale. The pre-seed round was spearheaded by Y Combinator. Other investors in the round are Microtraction, Ventures Platform, and Acuity Venture Partners. Several individual investors also took part. Lemonade Finance was cofounded by

Startup

South African API fintech Startup, Stitch, Announces Expansion Amid Funding

South African API fintech startup Stitch has announced expansion into Nigeria, as well as a $2M seed extension bringing their total seed funding to $6M. Participating investors in the round include founders of Monzo, GoCardless, ComplyAdvantage, and President of Coinbase, who join existing backers Raba, firstminute capital, CRE, Village Global,

Startup

Egyptian Ecommerce Fulfillment Startup, ShipBlu raises Pre-seed Funding

Cairo-based e-Commerce fulfillment startup ShipBlu has announced it raised $2.4m in venture funding. The funding was led by Nama Ventures, a MENA-focused venture capital firm. The likes of 1984 Ventures, Orange Ventures, Orange Telecom’s venture capital arm, Starling Ventures, and other VC firms and angel investors also participated

Startup

Egyptian B2B Startup Kuzlo raises Undisclosed Pre-seed Funding

Egypt-based B2B marketplace, Kuzlo, has announced it raised an undisclosed amount of pre-Seed investment. The funding round was led by Nama Ventures, and Kuzlo seeks to push its products and services with this new funding. Kuzlo was established in 2021 by Ayman, Tarek, Bassem, and Gebril. Kuzlo’s business-to-business (B2B)

Startup

Zambian Fintech Startup Union54 raises $3M Seed Funding

Zambian Fintech startup, Union54, has received further investment from Tiger Global, a leading venture capital firm. The $3 million seed round, which was led by Tiger Global, while Ace & Company, Vibe VC, Todd & Rahul Angel Fund, and Runa Capital, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm all participated in

Startup

Nigeria’s Jise Food Delivery App Raises $100,000 Angel Fund

Nigeria’s food-only delivery platform, Jise, has announced that it has successfully raised One hundred thousand dollars as angel funds from Europe and Africa. Jise was launched in wake of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 when food and groceries demand saw a spike globally. Jise has since leveraged the opportunity

Startup

Nigerian Fintech Startup, Brass raises $1.7m funding round for Expansion

Nigerian Fintech startup delivering easy access to affordable premium banking services for small and medium-sized businesses Brass, has secured $1.7m in funding to accelerate its expansion into South Africa and Kenya. The funding was secured from Olugbenga ‘GB’ Agboola, co-founder of Flutterwave; Ezra Olubi, co-founder of Paystack; Hustle Fund;

Startup

Nigerian B2B Startup Alerzo Acquires FinTech Firm Shago Payments

Ibadan-based B2B e-Commerce startup Alerzo has announced the acquisition of Fintech company Shago Payments to provide new digital services to its 150,000-plus informal retailers. Alerzo was founded in 2018 by Adewale Opaleye as a delivery platform that enables direct delivery of goods from manufacturers down to retailers until 2019

Startup

Kenyan Asante closes first tranche of $7.5m Series A funding

Kenya-based Fintech startup Asante has announced a $7.5m Series A investment to help its credit offerings to a host of African countries. The funding round was led by Goodwell Investments with participation by other investors including Sorenson Impact Foundation and Forsage Holdings. Asante was launched in 2020 by Chidi

Startup

Egyptian Logistics Startup ILLA obtains $2m investment round to expand

Cairo-based FMCG Logistics company ILLA has secured a $2M investment round to expand and boost its growth in the market and diversify its offering to the FMCG value chain. The round was co-led by Watheeq Financial Services and Golden Palm Investments. Loftyinc Capital Management, Kepple Africa Fund, Cubit Ventures, AUC

Startup

Egyptian Contech startup Elmawkaa raises six-figure Seed round

Cairo-based construction tech e-Commerce startup Elmawkaa has raised a six-figure Seed round led by Flat6labs and joined by a Group of Oqal angels from Saudi Arabia after joining 500 Startups in Misk second batch in 2019. Elmawkaa was founded in 2017 by the trio of Ebrahem Anwar, Mahmoud Habib, and

Startup

Egypt B2B Marketplace Startup Talabeyah raises 7-figure pre-seed round

Cairo-based food and grocery B2B e-commerce and distribution startup Talabeyah, has secured $1.1m in funding from a group of angel investors to help boost its strong early growth. Talabeyah was founded by Karim Nassef, Amr Abbas, Khaled Hussein, and Adel Hodroj in July 2020, to provide a tech-driven supply

Funding

Flutterwave seeks to raise a new funding round to triple valuation

Flutterwave, an African fintech startup powering payment is seeking to raise a new funding round at a valuation of $3billion or more, according to Bloomberg. This new round is expected to triple its last valuation according to sources familiar with the matter. According to Bloomberg, the startup recently held discussions

Startup

South African Healthtech Startup BioCODE secures $473k

Stellenbosch University (SU) and Innovus startup that focuses on developing health and disease risk screening solutions, BioCODE, has secured $473k funding from University Technology Fund (UTF). BioCODE was launched in 2008 by Prof Resia Pretorius, Prof Anna-Mart Engelbrecht and Prof Willie Perold with the aim of commercializing a multiplexing system

Startup

Emerging markets fintech financer, Lendable, seeks to raise $100M for African and Asian Startups

Lendable, an emerging markets fintech financier has revealed in a statement that it is planning to raise a $100 million fund to invest in African and Asian fintech companies. The new fund, which the firm dubbed the MSME Fintech Credit Fund will provide credit to African and Asian fintech companies

Startup

Nigerian Fintech Startup Sparkle secures $3.1M Seed Round

Nigerian Fintech startup providing financial, lifestyle, and business support services to Nigerians across the globe Sparkle, has raised $3.1m in a seed funding round. The funding came from an all-Nigerian group of investors including Leadway Assurance, Trium Networks, and several Nigerian HNIs, bringing Sparkle’s total funding to $5.

African Startups Can Benefit from President Macroon’s Digital Africa initiative Fund for African Startups

French President Emmanuel Macron has reaffirmed its position in the Digital Africa Initiative by pledging $150m as part of its commitment to support 500 African startups in line with the French Government’s Digital Africa Venture Capital Fund. Digital Africa Venture Capital Fund was launched in 2018 by President Emmanuel

Eden Life

Eden Life secures $1.4M seed to provide home services to busy Africans

Africa’s foremost home services app, Eden Life, has completed a $1.4m seed round. The funding round was led by UK-based LocalGlobe. Other participants in the round include Future Africa, Samurai Incubate, Village Global, Rising Tide Africa, and Enza Capital. The funding round brings Eden Life’s total investment