South African vehicle leasing startup MyNextCar (MNC) has secured $10 million in its first institutional funding round. The capital injection is set to fuel the rollout of 1,500 new vehicles, primarily Bajaj Bikes for Bolt Lite, the budget ride-hailing service operated by Bolt. Lerato Motsoeneng, senior general manager at

WhatsApp is rolling out new features aimed at turning its Updates tab into a serious revenue stream without touching its core chat experience. The Meta-owned platform now allows channel subscriptions, promoted channels, and ads in Status, marking its biggest shift yet toward monetization. Used by over 1.5 billion people

Global delivery platform Glovo has signed a strategic partnership with Kenya’s Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, marking one of the largest private-sector investments in the country’s gig economy. Backed by a $123 million (KSh 16 billion) commitment through 2030, the company aims to establish Kenya as its

Jumia is undergoing a major strategic shift as it works to rebuild investor trust, sharpen its focus, and return to profitability by 2027. Once valued at over $1 billion during its 2019 IPO, the African e-commerce platform has seen its market cap fall to around $400 million. Since taking over

Orange Middle East and Africa has entered a three-year partnership with risingSUD, the economic development agency of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, to accelerate the global expansion of African and Middle Eastern startups. Through this collaboration, startups connected to the ODC ecosystem will gain direct access to risingSUD’s localized

The Ugandan government is introducing a three-year income tax holiday for new, locally owned startups in a bid to spur innovation and business formalization. Announced as part of the 2025/26 national budget by Finance Minister Matia Kasaija, the tax break will apply to Ugandan-founded businesses registered after July 1,

Kenyan electric mobility startup Roam has introduced the Generation 2 Roam Air, an upgraded electric motorcycle developed with direct input from boda boda riders. The Generation 2 Roam Air arrives with more than 40 enhancements, following rigorous field testing across both urban and rural terrains. Built entirely by Roam’s

Payments firm Pesapal has partnered with local startup RACK to launch an integrated point-of-sale (POS) solution aimed at helping small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) transition from manual to digital operations. Agosta Liko, CEO of Pesapal, described the partnership as more than a technology rollout: “It’s a response to one

Startups across Africa raised over $345 million in May 2025, marking more than double the amount raised during the same month last year, according to a report by research firm Briter. Despite the surge in capital, the number of deals and participating startups fell. Fintech emerged as the leading sector,

Kenyan solar energy startup Solar Panda has entered the Southern African market through the acquisition of Vitalite Zambia Limited. The deal adds over 100,000 new customers to Solar Panda’s existing base, significantly boosting its presence in Africa, which previously included operations in Kenya and Senegal. “This acquisition represents

Startups in Kampala are being encouraged to integrate intellectual property (IP) protections into their business models from the outset, as a key strategy to safeguard innovation and attract investment. This message was central at the Intellectual Property Awareness Clinic held at the National ICT Innovation Hub, a gathering that brought

Meta has launched the Llama Impact Accelerator, a startup-focused program aimed at strengthening open-source AI innovation across Sub-Saharan Africa. Targeting early-stage ventures, the initiative will support the development of AI tools that address the region’s most urgent socio-economic challenges, including agriculture, health, education, and public service delivery. Meta is

Salus Cloud, an AI-native DevOps startup founded in 2024 by Andrew Mori, has raised $3.7 million in seed funding to scale its platform across Africa, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. “We built Salus so a fintech can focus on loans, an e-commerce company on logistics, not

Kenyan agri-tech startup Twiga Foods has temporarily suspended its Nairobi operations for two months as part of what it calls the “final stage” of a business transformation aimed at reshaping its role in the country's retail ecosystem. Twiga is using the break to relocate from its current hub

Ten Kenyan startups have secured a spot in the regional finals of the prestigious Startup World Cup. The competition, held during the Kenya Startup Festival and organized by the Kenya National Innovation Agency (KeNIA), attracted over 160 applicants from across the country. The Startup World Cup, organized by Pegasus Tech

Ethiopian food delivery startup beU has recorded May as its first profitable month after nearly four years of operation. The company, which launched in June 2021, has invested $4 million in infrastructure and operations to establish itself as a dominant player in Ethiopia’s competitive on-demand delivery sector. With an

The Finance Bill 2025 has proposed significant tax reforms that could reshape Kenya’s startup landscape, including the removal of deferred taxation on Employee Share Ownership Plans (ESOPs). If passed, employees will now be taxed when their shares vest, rather than when they sell them, a move critics say could

Kenya attracted Ksh82.5 billion (USD 634 million) in startup funding in 2024, reaffirming its position as Africa’s top destination for venture capital, according to the Kenya Innovation Outlook 2024 report. This accounted for 29% of all startup capital raised across the continent, ahead of Nigeria, Egypt, and South

Ethiopia’s Council of Ministers has unanimously endorsed a long-delayed Startup Proclamation, setting the stage for a significant policy shift aimed at formalizing and boosting the country's emerging tech startup ecosystem. The draft law outlines a framework tailored to early-stage, tech-driven businesses. It offers targeted incentives such as

Climate technology startup Tera, based in Kisumu, has become the first African project developer to secure independent validation on the France-based Riverse carbon registry. Founded in 2024, Tera uses sugarcane bagasse, a fibrous byproduct of sugar production, to produce biochar, a substance that stores carbon and enhances soil fertility. The

Latin American payments giant dLocal has announced plans to acquire AZA Finance, a Nairobi-based cross-border payments startup, although the acquisition remains subject to regulatory approvals. The two companies initially partnered in February to co-expand their offerings through cross-selling. Now, dLocal, which is valued at over $5 billion and headquartered in

Nigerian fintech Moniepoint is poised to expand into Kenya’s financial sector following regulatory clearance for its proposed acquisition of a 78% stake in Sumac Microfinance Bank. The green light from the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) positions Moniepoint for a strategic entry into East Africa’s high-growth digital finance

Pan-African telecom operator AXIAN Telecom has acquired an 8% minority stake in Jumia, the e-commerce platform. The stake acquisition was disclosed through a Schedule 13D filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. AXIAN Telecom, which operates across several African markets, described the investment as part of its broader

An Ethiopian technology startup, MyCharge Technology PLC, has unveiled a new power bank rental and sharing service aimed at creating an on-demand mobile charging infrastructure in Addis Ababa. Users can rent power banks from more than 60 stations across the city after registering on the app. The power banks can