Latest from Tage Kene-Okafor
Startups
RemotePass, which helps companies onboard, manage, pay and retain remote workers, raises $5.5M
As remote work becomes increasingly prevalent, organizations globally are adapting, especially regarding onboarding procedures for new employees and navigating cross-border payment complexities. This new age of work has led to a…
HR startup Deel said it is acquiring Africa’s PaySpace in a deal that marks its largest acquisition to date.
Qatar unveiled its startup investment program at the recent Web Summit through its development bank. The program aims to attract seed and growth-stage tech companies seeking to establish or expand…
The payment landscape in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region is marked by significant fragmentation, with numerous payment providers and methods in each country, evolving regulations and diverse customer…
Dubai-based early-stage venture capital firm COTU Ventures is announcing that it has raised $54 million for its inaugural fund to support startups in the Middle East from pre-seed to seed…
The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) is launching a $1 billion venture capital fund of funds for international and regional venture capital funds, the sovereign wealth fund announced on Monday at…
Some cryptocurrency exchanges in Nigeria faced accessibility issues for users, prompting speculation of imposed restrictions on crypto sites, the Financial Times reported. On Wednesday, local media reported that Nigeria’s telecom…
In the face of South Africa’s worsening energy crisis, marked by increasingly severe power shortages, implementing daily electricity rationing has become imperative to avert the risk of a nationwide grid…
FairMoney, a digital bank based in Lagos and headquartered in Paris, is in discussions to acquire Umba, a credit-led digital bank providing payroll and financial services to customers in Nigeria…
Partech has closed its second Africa fund, Partech Africa II, at €280 million ($300 million+), just one year after reaching its first close. At that size, Partech Africa, which originally…
In 2023, Jumia revised its adjusted EBITDA loss guidance thrice: $100 million to $120 million in Q1; $90 million to $100 million in Q2; and $80 million to $90 million…
Arnergy, a Nigerian clean tech startup that deals in distributed renewable energy products and solutions, has raised $3 million in new financing. The bridge round was financed by All On,…
Featured Article
African product, global market: Expensya employees cashed out $10M from 2023 acquisition
What’s more rewarding for an angel investor than paper returns in a startup? An acquisition that turns those paper returns into a cash payout while still maintaining shares in the company. “The return after dilution was eight times my investment,” said Selma Ribica in an interview with TechCrunch recently. “I…
Climate
Why Rally Cap VC, a fintech investor for emerging markets, is launching a $5M climate fund spinoff
Last year, Amini, a Kenya-based climate tech startup using data from satellites to offer insights on crop health and track farming progress, announced pre-seed and seed rounds six months apart.…
Startups
Techstars-backed Nigerian edtech Klas raises $1M for global scaling of online teaching platform
Nigerian online teaching platform Klas has raised $1 million in pre-seed funding led by Ingressive Capital, with participation from Techstars, HoaQ, and several angel investors. Founded in 2022 by Nathan…
Featured Article
Despite glimmers of profit, most African neobanks remain in the red
It was only just over a year ago that McKinsey described Africa’s financial technology landscape as a “hotbed for investment.” Fast-forward to today and startups on the continent are facing many of the same problems plaguing fintechs in more mature markets like the U.K. and the U.S.: Valuations are tanking,…
DXwand, a Cairo- and Dubai-based startup that leverages conversational AI to help businesses in the Middle East automate customer service and employee assistance, has raised $4 million in Series A…
Featured Article
How African startups raised funding in 2023
After defying the global funding slowdown of 2022, VC investments in African startups dropped considerably last year, mirroring the situation in other regions where capital taps were significantly turned off. The drop, however, was not unexpected as months preceding the year, deals had become infrequent as investors began to pull…
Media & Entertainment
Amazon Prime Video is discontinuing support for local originals in Africa and Middle East
Amazon Prime Video is said to be downsizing its Africa and Middle East operations in a move that will affect teams in the two regions; according to a report in…
Fintech
African neobank Kuda tried to raise $20M at flat valuation in 2023, missed user milestone projection by 3M
Updated to note that Kuda has now responded to say that it didn’t close a bridge round last year. The story below is modified to reflect that. Earlier this month,…
Nigerian fintech Cleva, focused on creating a banking platform for African individuals and businesses to receive international payments by opening USD accounts, has raised $1.5 million in pre-seed funding. The…
Featured Article
Last year was a tough period for African growth-stage startups and 2024 presents a mixed bag
Last year presented a tough period for African tech startups. Venture capital was hard to bag (as predicted earlier), bridge and down rounds became the norm, and news of fire sales, layoffs and startup closures reverberated across the continent. With the overall amount of VC funding raised in Africa dipping…
Egyptian B2B e-commerce startup MaxAB and Wasoko, a Kenya-based e-commerce player with operations in Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia, are in talks to merge operations, TechCrunch has exclusively learned from…
Hardware
Backed by Schmidt Futures, Cloudline raises $6M to take aerial autonomy green and mainstream
South African aerospace startup Cloudline has secured $6 million in funding as it aims to lead the global frontier of carbon emissions-free autonomous flight. Schmidt Futures, the philanthropic venture founded…
Featured Article
Al Mada Ventures, the $110M fund for Africans by Africans
Al Mada Holding Group is one of Africa’s largest private investment funds. The Casablanca-headquartered private holding operates in different fields, such as banking, telecommunications, renewable energy and the food industry. Over the years, Al Mada’s approach has centered on acquiring majority shareholdings in some of Morocco’s largest private companies, with…
Last week, pan-African e-commerce platform Jumia said it was discontinuing its food delivery service, Jumia Food. According to the company, its food delivery business didn’t align with the current operational…
Tamara, a buy now, pay later platform for consumers in Saudi Arabia and the wider GCC region, has raised $340 million in a financing round that values the fintech at…
Commerce
Jumia discontinues food delivery across seven markets, shifts focus to expanding physical goods business
Pan-African e-commerce platform Jumia has disclosed its intention to discontinue its food delivery service, Jumia Food. The company said its food delivery business is not aligned with the current operational…
Commerce
Social commerce platform Maka raises $2.65M to simplify buying fashion and beauty products in Africa
Maka, an African fashion and beauty e-commerce platform, has raised a $2.65 million pre-seed round led by Pan-African venture capital firms 4DX Ventures and Janngo Capital. Other investors include Palm…
Commerce
Ex-Metaswitch CEO John Lazar joins Copia’s board as the Kenyan e-commerce outfit rakes in $20M to push toward profitability
Kenyan e-commerce and fintech platform for mass market consumers Copia Global has appointed John Lazar, the ex-CEO of Metaswitch, a Microsoft subsidiary, to its board off the back of $20…
