This week on Startup Researcher Africa, we cut through the noise and recap the moves shaping the continent’s startup and VC landscape.

Regulators took center stage as the Bank of Ghana suspended five remittance operators for one month over guideline breaches, while Egypt’s central bank rolled out new governance rules for payment institutions with a one-year compliance window. In South Africa, TymeBank partnered with the Department of Home Affairs to launch Smart ID and passport services via 1,450 kiosks, a clear play to embed financial services into everyday citizen touchpoints. Elsewhere, Raise Africa shut down after seven years, migrating customers to Carta, and TradeHub closed after missing product-market fit, returning funds to investors.

Funding stayed active across priority verticals. Egypt’s Intella secured 12.5 million dollars led by Prosus to scale Arabic AI speech technology. The Invigilator raised 11 million dollars from Kaltroco to expand remote proctoring across education and workforce testing. Nigeria’s Babban Gona landed 7.5 million dollars in debt from British International Investment to back smallholder farmers. MOPO drew 6.7 million dollars from Norfund for solar battery rentals that extend off-grid access, and Justyol raised 1 million dollars to streamline cross-border e-commerce. On exits and M&A, Ora Technologies moved to acquire Cathedis in Morocco, tying digital payments to last-mile logistics pending regulatory approval.

On the ecosystem front, Oxford Saïd convened more than forty VC managers in its Africa Venture Finance Programme to drive inclusion and access. Tanzania’s Startup Association signed a three-year pact with Africapital to widen flexible financing and incubation support.

Our Startup of the Week is PalmPay, the Lagos-founded fintech scaling a multi-product platform with more than a thousand employees. Backed by 140 million dollars from Transsion, AfricInvest, and GIC, PalmPay is profitable, eyeing a 50 to 100 million dollar Series B, and partnering with AfriGo to issue five million cards.

Investor of the Week is Afrimobility, the Akwa Group–backed VC writing 100 to 500 thousand dollar checks across Africa, Europe, and North America, with portfolio bets including Quantum Dice, Chari, CloudFret, and Cathedis. We close with a call to founders in South Africa: applications are open for Google for Startups Accelerator South Africa Cohort 2025, an equity-free program running September to December with mentorship, global networks, and 57,300 dollars in support.

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This week on Startup Researcher Africa, we bring you a comprehensive roundup of the latest startup and venture capital developments shaping Africa’s innovation landscape.

We begin with key regulatory changes across the continent. In Kenya, the Central Bank is reforming lending practices by tying rates to the KESONIA benchmark to improve transparency and policy effectiveness. Nigeria’s Data Protection Commission has launched probes into fintech insurers and pension firms, ensuring compliance with data privacy rules. Ghana has officially classified digital credit services as non-bank financial institutions, tightening oversight in the sector. Meanwhile, the London Stock Exchange is rolling out new rules to attract African firms, as it competes with Nasdaq and the NYSE. Also in Kenya, mobility startup eBee Africa has downsized its team and scaled back e-bike operations amid weak demand and rising costs.

On the funding front, Poowa Internet secured $4 million in debt financing from Finnfund with backing from Nokia, aiming to expand affordable broadband and close Kenya’s digital divide. In Egypt, fintech startup Munify joined Y Combinator’s Summer 2025 batch and raised $3 million in seed funding to simplify global remittances. Additionally, TRANSFORM—an initiative by Unilever, the UK Government, and EY—awarded $663,000 to five East African enterprises advancing circular economy solutions and supporting local livelihoods.

In M&A news, AfriCar Group acquired Côte d’Ivoire’s Koto.ci, reinforcing its pan-African auto ecosystem that now reaches over 15 million users, while also pushing forward electric vehicle adoption across the region.

Our Startup of the Week is Nile, a B2B agritech marketplace founded in 2021. Backed by AfricInvest, Naspers Foundry, and FMO, Nile has raised $17 million, including $11.3 million in July 2025, to streamline trading, logistics, and financing for farmers across Africa.

Our Investor of the Week spotlight is on The Baobab Network, a Nairobi-based accelerator launched in 2016. The firm invests $100,000 for 12.5% equity and has supported over 65 startups, including Terminal Africa, Lemonade Payments, and Vove ID.

We close with an opportunity highlight: the Water Innovation Challenge 2025 by RootCamp and K+S, open for applications until September 7. The program targets startups working on water management, brine treatment, and salt valorization, with final pitches scheduled for October and November.

Tune in for insights that matter across Africa’s startup and VC scene.

This week on Startup Researcher Africa, we dive into the latest developments shaping the continent’s startup and venture capital ecosystem, from policy shifts and funding milestones to groundbreaking ventures and investor moves.

In Nigeria, Lagos State rolled out a $20 million Innovation Bill to strengthen the country’s technology ecosystem by funding startups, research, and hubs through a dedicated R&D&I fund. Meanwhile, Algeria introduced its first regulatory framework for digital wallets, requiring transactions in dinars, setting tiered limits, and enhancing consumer safeguards—marking a key step in fintech governance.

On the blockchain front, Nigerian exchange Roqqu partnered with SiBAN to enhance asset credibility and financial inclusion, while YC alum Oluwatomi Ayorinde launched Timon, a travel-fintech platform providing global cards to Africans abroad, tackling persistent issues with cross-border banking and fraud. In Egypt, ITIDA’s Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre selected eight startups for its 47th Start IT incubation round, providing funding and mentorship to early-stage founders.

Funding activity was also strong this week. Hewatele raised $10.5 million to build East Africa’s first large-scale liquid oxygen facility using advanced air separation technology, addressing medical oxygen shortages and strengthening healthcare systems. On the investor side, Uncovered Fund and Monex Ventures launched a $20 million fund for early-stage African startups, particularly in fintech and mobility, while Impact Fund Denmark and the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs unveiled a $54.6 million Africa facility to boost sustainable investment flows into the region.

Our Startup of the Week is Moove, founded in 2020, which has raised over $400 million and is expanding globally with its innovative drive-to-own vehicle financing model. The Investor of the Week is Silverbacks Holdings, a Mauritius-based permanent capital investor managing a $10 billion portfolio with major names like Flutterwave, Wave, and Moove, and successful exits such as Lemfay and Omniretail.

Finally, don’t miss the NBA Africa Triple-Double Accelerator 2025, now open for applications, offering mentorship, exposure, and up to $50,000 in support for early-stage startups in sports and the creative industries.

Tune in to stay ahead of Africa’s fast-moving startup and VC landscape—where innovation meets investment, and the future of entrepreneurship is being built today.

This week on Startup Researcher Africa, we cut through the noise with a fast, data-rich sweep of African startup and VC activity.

Regional policy shifts lead the show: Nigeria launches Build with AI with Google and GOMYCODE to train 1,000 generative AI developers, TymeBank challenges South Africa’s ID verification fee hikes, Nigeria’s FCCPC rolls out new lending rules that tie fines to turnover in a 2.1 billion dollar market, Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange onboards Thunder as the GCC’s first remote retail trading member, and Nigeria’s FIRS certifies 16 firms for e-invoicing with more than 1,000 companies already onboarded ahead of a November deadline.

Funding highlights span fintech, commerce infrastructure, and AI. Chowdeck secures 9 million dollars to scale ultra-fast delivery in Nigeria and Ghana, HoneyCoin raises 4.9 million dollars for a fiat-to-blockchain payments gateway, Street Wallet closes 350,000 dollars for QR payments that work without smartphones, Yamify picks up 100,000 dollars to build local AI infrastructure and GPU clusters with domestic billing, and Hypeo AI wins backing from Renew Capital to expand influencer marketing across Africa and the Middle East.

Consolidation is heating up. Nedbank acquires iKhokha for 92.4 million dollars to deepen SME digital payments, while customer experience players Ajua and Rate My Service merge, serving 45 clients and eyeing a Nigeria return with a broader product suite. On the investor front, Redimension Capital debuts a 13.8 million dollar proptech and sustainability fund in South Africa, TLcom Capital’s 5 million dollar TAPSI pre-seed fund hits 50 percent deployment feeding into its 154 million dollar TIDE Africa Fund, and 500 Global launches the Nairobi Sustainable Innovation Program with support from Shell Foundation and UK partners.

Country focus spotlights Morocco’s agritech wave, featuring Agri 4.0, DeepLeaf, Jodoor, PCS Agri, Sand to Green, SOWIT, and YoLa Fresh modernizing farming with precision tools, AI diagnostics, hydroponics, regenerative models, and tech-enabled supply chains.

Startup of the Week is Nawy, founded in 2016, now at 80 million dollars raised and expanding into the GCC via SmartCrowd.

Investor of the Week is A15, a Cairo firm backing 40 plus startups across 20 plus MENA markets with eight exits.

Opportunities close with EDP Energy Starter 2025 Track 2, offering funded pilots, 28-market access, and a Lisbon bootcamp in November.

"Stay ahead of Africa’s dynamic startup and venture capital landscape with this week’s Startup Researcher Africa podcast — your essential roundup of the continent’s biggest innovation and investment moves.

In policy shifts, Kenya is set to regulate all non-deposit lenders, enforcing Central Bank licensing for greater fairness and consumer protection. Cameroon’s fintech scene heats up as Wave enters the mobile money market with a Commercial Bank of Cameroon licence, challenging MTN and Orange with low fees and $136M in funding. OpenWay is pushing deeper into Francophone Africa via a Moroccan banking partnership, while Shiga Digital launches Tether-backed stablecoin solutions for cross-border inclusion. Plus, Visa welcomes 22 African startups into its fintech accelerator for 12 weeks of funding and partnership opportunities.

On the funding front, Flood secures $2.5M to scale its no-code SuperApp-as-a-Service across emerging markets. Egypt’s Suplyd raises $2M to transform HORECA procurement, TurnStay closes $2M to cut cross-border tourism costs with stablecoins, and Wuilt lands $2M to expand its free e-commerce platform across MENA. Meanwhile, Fusepay picks up $350K to digitise payments in island economies.

Exits this week include ViFi Labs acquiring OneRamp to merge FX protocols with stablecoin payments for Africa and Latin America’s $540B market, and SYSPRO buying DATASCOPE to integrate ERP and warehouse management for industrial clients.

On the investor side, F6 Group emerges from the merger of Flat6Labs and F6 Ventures, managing $90M for early-stage startups across the Middle East and Africa.

Spotlights: Startup of the Week is Morocco’s ORA Technologies, founded by Omar Alami, offering Kooul — a culturally tuned food delivery app — and ORA Cash, a low-cost mobile payments service, with $11.9M in total funding. Investor of the Week is Addis Ababa-based Renew Capital, backing over 50 African startups with capital, mentorship, and operational support.

Plus, applications are open for QUBIC Labs Accelerator Cohort 2, a 12-week hybrid programme for Blockchain, Web3, Fintech, and AI startups, offering $100K+ in benefits and investor access in Boston.

Follow us on Spotify, for your weekly guide to the trends, deals, and opportunities shaping Africa’s innovation economy.

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Stay current on Africa’s fast-moving startup and venture capital scene with this week’s Startup Researcher Africa video, your concise briefing on the forces reshaping innovation across the continent.

Inside, we break down five headline stories: Chowdeck’s 1 000-orders-a-day milestone in Ghana, Peach Payments’ Bitcoin tie-up with MoneyBadger, Algeria’s sweeping crypto ban, MAX’s off-grid solar battery swap debut for e-mobility, and the court order stalling 54gene’s asset sale. Funding news spans Sun King’s record-setting 156 million-dollar solar raise, Payaza’s 13.5 million-dollar commercial-paper approval, biotech bets at Altera Biosciences, Libyan-backed e-commerce play Mataa, and Cameroon’s logistics newcomer Swyft. Exit highlights feature Adapt IT’s hospitality push via ResRequest and Admyt’s Mallpass pivot after acquiring SHôPING. On the capital side, HAVAÍC closes a fresh 25 million-dollar fund to scale African disruptors.

Spotlights this week: Startup of the Week is Andela, the AI-powered talent cloud connecting 150 000 engineers to global enterprises, while Investor of the Week is Oui Capital, celebrating a full Fund I return and a new 12 million-dollar war-chest. Plus, seize the Environmental Tech Lab 2025 challenge from NYC DEP before the 8 August deadline.

Follow us on Spotify for weekly deep dives and resources shaping Africa’s innovation future.

Stay sharp on Africa’s startup and venture capital pulse with this week’s Startup Researcher Africa podcast — your no-fluff roundup of what’s shaping innovation across the continent.

This episode unpacks critical updates in fintech regulation, funding trends, crypto, and investor shifts. Nigeria’s tax authority is gearing up to launch real-time VAT tracking for banks and fintechs by 2026, aiming to plug digital tax gaps. Ghana is finalizing long-awaited crypto regulations by September 2025, a move set to boost cross-border commerce. Meanwhile, Egypt’s Financial Regulatory Authority approved five fintech initiatives to unlock innovation in the non-banking space.

In regional news, AfriLabs and the ATU linked a strategic MoU to align policies and infrastructure for frontier tech growth. Luno made headlines by launching Nigeria’s first crypto staking service, offering up to 18% annual returns—zero fees, no lock-in.

On the funding front, BURN raised $10 million from the African Development Bank and SEFA to deploy clean cooking tech across East Africa. Egypt’s Flend secured $3 million to grow SME lending, while Eyone Medical raised another $3 million to scale digital health in West Africa. Tru, founded by Temilola Giwa (ex-Paystack) and Temilola Famuboni, raised $130K via Kickstarter for its wearable step tracker. Rujo Agri-Trade also closed funding to expand Ghana’s rice and soybean supply chains, supporting 3,000+ farmers.

Exit activity sees Verod Capital complete its full exit from TAG West Africa, owners of Lancaster University Ghana, after eight years of backing.

On the investor front, 54 Collective collapsed after Mastercard Foundation withdrew $114 million over governance concerns. But Egypt’s Breadfast delivered a bright spot, hitting $150 million ARR and a $382 million valuation, while expanding into fintech with Breadfast Pay.

Startup of the Week: Flutterwave — the $3 billion fintech juggernaut revolutionizing global payments from Africa.

Investor of the Week: Future Africa, led by Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, doubling down on deep tech and climate via its newest challenge fund.

Plus: Applications are open for Startup Elevate Japan 2025 — a golden chance for healthtech, deep tech, and sustainability founders to gain global exposure.

🎧 Follow us on Spotify for weekly deep dives into Africa’s venture, startup, and innovation landscape.

Stay ahead of Africa’s grind‑forward innovation scene with this week’s Startup Researcher Africa. We unpack headline‑worthy moves in fintech, policy, funding, and exits so founders, investors, and operators can make sharper bets in real time.

Africa’s fintech footprint keeps expanding as ten names, including OPay and PiggyVest, break into CNBC’s global top 300—a milestone that signals growing global competitiveness. Ethiopia finally ratifies its first Startup Law, unlocking long‑awaited legal clarity, tax breaks, and a national fund‑of‑funds to drag red‑tape hurdles into the modern era. We also break down boardroom drama at truQ after CEO Williams Fatayo steps aside, and dive into Kenya’s BNPL shake‑up as Wabeh pauses merchant activity under default pressure. On the blockchain front, SuiHub Lagos launches to arm African devs with fresh tooling and mentorship.

Funding momentum stays hot: Rwazi tops the charts with a USD 12 million Series A to scale its real‑time market‑insights engine across 190+ markets. Moroccan super‑app ORA Technologies bags USD 7.5 million to stitch payments, e‑commerce, and logistics into one friction‑free experience. Egypt’s PALM secures a seven‑figure pre‑seed to build goal‑based savings for the mass market, MoneyBadger pulls in USD 400k to spread Lightning‑powered Bitcoin payments, and EATO clinches undisclosed capital to plug African food SMEs into global buyers.

Exits get interesting too. Engage Capital bids USD 24.5 million for the core assets of collapsed Kenyan BNPL player Lipa Later, testing a playbook for distressed fintech turnarounds. Tactful AI’s founders reclaim their customer‑experience platform from Dstny to regain product speed and regional control.

Investor news features Village Capital’s new USD 4 million facility for ecosystem‑led bets in Ghana, Nigeria, and Tanzania, plus a Technopark Maroc‑Azur Innovation Fund tie‑up to supercharge Moroccan deal flow. Operations‑driven VC A15 touts a 10x DPI from Fund I.

Startup of the Week, Nowlun, offers an AI‑powered freight marketplace that compresses quote comparisons, tracking, and customs into one dashboard after extending its seed round to USD 2.3 million. Investor Spotlight lands on LoftyInc Capital Management, fresh off a USD 43 million first close to bridge Series A gaps across Africa’s deep‑tech frontier.

Opportunities close fast: apply to the DTTT Accelerate Founders Programme by 31 July 2025 if you are building at the crossroads of tourism and tech.

Hit follow on Spotify for weekly, no‑fluff insights on Africa’s venture, funding, and exit landscape. Like, share, and tag a founder who needs the intel.

#AfricanStartups #VentureCapital #Fintech #StartupFunding

Stay ahead of Africa’s fast-evolving startup and venture capital scene with this week’s episode of Startup Researcher Africa. We cover the most important funding rounds, acquisitions, and market moves shaping the continent’s innovation landscape.

In this edition, we spotlight major fintech milestones as Moniepoint, Flutterwave, and Tyme Group land on Time magazine’s 2025 list of the world’s most influential companies. Discover how these African fintech leaders are transforming payments, financial inclusion, and cross-border transactions. We also break down new regulations from the Bank of Ghana targeting virtual-asset service providers and what this means for crypto startups.

Funding activity remains strong: South African fintech Pay me now has raised $22.4 million from Standard Bank to expand earned-wage access solutions across low-income markets. AI infrastructure innovator Cerebrium secured $8.5 million to scale lean GPU platforms for language models and video processing. Meanwhile, Bfree, a Nigerian ethical debt-recovery platform, obtained $3 million to buy distressed loan portfolios and support borrower rehabilitation.

On the M&A front, Egyptian proptech firm Nawy acquired UAE-based SmartCrowd to enter the Gulf’s fractional real estate market, while Stitch in South Africa purchased Efficacy Payments to enhance its card-acquiring capabilities and reduce merchant costs. Nigerian crypto exchange Roqqu has acquired Kenya’s Flitaa, leveraging M-PESA integration and local licensing to accelerate East African growth.

We also feature the SECO Startup Fund as Investor of the Week. Backed by Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, SECO has committed $6.3 million in fresh debt financing to back high-impact African ventures focused on inclusive growth and climate-smart solutions.

Our Startup of the Week is Pay me now, founded by Bryan Habana and Deon Nobrega, providing early wage access across Southern Africa.

Finally, don’t miss this week’s opportunity spotlight: the XTC AI Energy Innovation Startup Showcase. Founders developing energy-efficient AI hardware or data centre technologies can apply by July 30, 2025, for a chance to pitch in Palo Alto.

Subscribe for weekly insights into Africa’s startup ecosystem, venture trends, and funding news.

#AfricanStartups #VentureCapital #Fintech #StartupFunding #StartupResearcherAfrica

African tech is moving fast—catch up in one listen. We break down Afreximbank’s PAPSSCARD rollout, Flutterwave’s Kenya & SA retrenchment, Ghana’s near-final Innovation & Startup Bill, Cassava’s GPU-as-a-Service gambit, Moove’s planned $1.2 B Waymo-linked debt raise, Wave Mobile Money’s $137 M expansion line, Knife Capital’s new Series A bets, Stanbic Bank Kenya’s $100 M Catalytic Fund, and the Wave 7 call from Qatar FinTech Hub. Expect crisp insight on capital flows, policy shifts, and the founders reshaping Africa’s venture scene. Subscribe for weekly no-nonsense briefings on startups, VC, and growth trends across the continent.