Start-ups – Page 2 – Africa Tech Digest

Rosenics Technologies’ Future Throttle event unveils deep tech startups and its plans for a drone-powered eCommerce in Africa

20Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

ecommerce, Start-ups

Rosenics Technologies’ Future Throttle event unveils deep tech startups and its plans for a drone-powered eCommerce in Africa

From delivery drones to electric cargo vans and an app that detects asphyxia in newborns, the Future Throttle event hosted by Rosenics Technologies on Friday, July 31 2021, unveiled innovative solutions by Africans for Africa. Rosenics Technologies is a Nigerian-based startup that uses deep technology to create products and innovations to help other businesses scale. The company is currently focused on creating drones for logistics applications. The event was also backed by US-based fintech company Betascale, and Ukraine-based remittance company, Brownpay. Ugi Augustine Ugi, CEO of Nugitech, an ICT solutions company, in his opening remark said, the Future Throttle event is to showcase and discuss how technology can be advanced in Africa. Continue reading Image: tech...

A Nigerian fintech startup serving solar providers secures $2m funding

20Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Fintech, Nigeria, Start-ups

A Nigerian fintech startup serving solar providers secures $2m funding

Infibranches Technologies Limited, a Nigerian startup that provides digital payment services to solar energy providers, on Monday said it has secured a $2 million funding from All On, an impact investment company backed by oil major Shell. Through its flagship products – OmniBranches and Green Energy Plug – Infibranches helps companies with large distribution networks, particularly Solar Home System (SHS) distributors and mini-grid developers, manage their operations. According to Infibranches CEO, Olusola Owoyemi, OmniBranches has served over a million customers. Its features include agent hierarchy management, commission tracking, transaction records, transaction analytics, and profile management. Continue reading Image: Guardian Nigeria

Jumuisha – A startup helping Kenyan churches receive donations secures funding to scale

19Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Fintech, Start-ups

Jumuisha – A startup helping Kenyan churches receive donations secures funding to scale

Jumuisha, a Kenya-based fintech startup that helps churches and non-profit organisations receive donations through multiple payment channels, has secured an undisclosed amount of seed funding for product development and team expansion. The investment in Jumuisha came from SprintX, a venture studio for early-stage startups based in the United States. In addition to the funding, Sprint will also provide the startup with business strategy, marketing, and technology expertise. Using Jumuisha, churches and NGOs can receive donations via USSD, bank transfer, mobile money, online payment, or credit cards, and also make payments to contractors, suppliers, and employees. The platform provides a real-time overview of and generates financial reports for all transactions. Continue reading ...

African genomics startup 54gene raises $25M to expand precision medicine capabilities

16Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Africa, Start-ups

African genomics startup 54gene raises $25M to expand precision medicine capabilities

Less than 3% of genetic material used in global pharmaceutical research is from Africa. The staggering gap is quite surprising because Africans and people of African descent are reported to be more genetically diverse than any other population. Since launching in 2019, African genomics startup 54gene has been at the forefront of bridging this divide in the global genomics market. Today, the company has secured $25 million in Series B funding to bolster its efforts. This round comes a year after the company, founded by Dr Abasi Ene-Obong, raised $15 million in Series A and two years after closing a $4.5 million seed round. In total, 54gene has raised more than $45 million since its inception. Continue reading Image: 54gene

Nigerian agritech startup Releaf secures $4.2M to scale its food processing technology

15Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Agri-tech, Start-ups

Nigerian agritech startup Releaf secures $4.2M to scale its food processing technology

The distance between their farms and the nearest processor is key for smallholder farmers who need to process their crops. And though Nigeria’s food processing systems have a keen resemblance to the West with respect to big factories and huge economies of scale in high-demand cities, farmers still suffer from poor logistics networks. With distance and logistics problems, farmers’ crops can go bad and when factories buy them, it affects their processing yields and price. Farmers, witnessing post-harvest loss, also get paid less and miss the opportunity to invest in their crops production. Nigerian agritech startup Releaf is solving this by building proprietary hardware and software solutions to make these farmers and food factories more efficient and profitable. Today, the company is ...

How early-stage venture capital firm, Saviu Ventures, is funding Francophone African startups

15Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

ecommerce, Start-ups

How early-stage venture capital firm, Saviu Ventures, is funding Francophone African startups

It can be argued that most of the progress made in the African startup space has been concentrated in one part of the continent. One legacy of colonialism in Africa is language, with the United Kingdom and France colonising most of the continent. As a result, English and French are two of the continent’s most widely spoken languages. That difference is also seen in the developmental gap between Francophone and Anglophone African countries, with the latter significantly ahead of the former. However, the gap has gradually closed as more startups have sprung up in this region in recent years. Continue reading Image: Disrupt Africa

Egyptian startup Capiter raises $33M to expand B2B e-commerce platform across MENA

13Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

ecommerce, Start-ups

Egyptian startup Capiter raises $33M to expand B2B e-commerce platform across MENA

Funding startups that help manufacturers and sellers distribute products and merchants access them on a single platform keeps increasing across Africa. Today, Cairo-based B2B e-commerce startup Capiter continues that trend by raising a $33 million Series A round. The investment was co-led by Quona Capital and MSA Capital. Other participating investors include Savola, Shorooq Partners, Foundation Ventures, Accion Venture Lab, and Derayah Ventures. Capiter was launched in July 2020 by Mahmoud Nouh and Ahmed Nouh. Speaking with TechCrunch, CEO Mahmoud Nouh says Capiter solves problems around reach and insights for suppliers and manufacturers. Continue reading

Nigerian one-click checkout platform OurPass raises $1M pre-seed, wants to build ‘Fast for Africa’

11Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

ecommerce, Nigeria, Start-ups

Nigerian one-click checkout platform OurPass raises $1M pre-seed, wants to build ‘Fast for Africa’

We like to buy things online ranging from e-commerce stores to subscription-based sites. However, no one enjoys the hassle when you have to always re-log into different sites and stores. I mean, shopping can be a whole lot more fun if a fast logging and checkout system existed across all your favorite online stores. In the U.S., high-flying startup Fast already caters to this need. Although the company is building a global product, it is limited in Africa, and OurPass has taken an interest to build one for the market. The Nigeria-based startup, which describes itself as the “Fast for Africa”, has also closed a $1 million pre-seed round to scale across the country. The round was led by Tekedia Capital and angel investors from Fortune 500 companies, the company said. E-commerc...

How Scrapays is helping Nigerians get value from waste with USSD technology

11Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Nigeria, Start-ups

How Scrapays is helping Nigerians get value from waste with USSD technology

Being the most populous country in Africa, Nigeria faces a number of urban challenges and uncollected trash is high on the list. Waste collection methods driven by local authorities remain inadequate, particularly in rural areas. Furthermore, most Nigerians are not inclined to collect and dispose of their waste properly. In Lagos, for instance, where trash volume grows by 15,000 tons daily, only 40% of waste generated is collected and just 13% is recycled each year. The rest – including materials that could feed the local recycling industry – litters the streets and clogs open drains. Over the past few years, trash-for-cash initiatives have emerged in Nigeria, looking to tackle the widespread waste problems by incentivising Nigerians while supplying recycling plants with much-needed ...

Egyptian fintech MNT-Halan lands $120M from Apis Partners, DisrupTech and others

9Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Africans in Tech, Fintech, Start-ups

Egyptian fintech MNT-Halan lands $120M from Apis Partners, DisrupTech and others

More than 70% of Egypt’s young and fast-growing population of over 100 million is financially underserved, despite mobile penetration exceeding 90%. Traditional banks often overlook this segment because of their spending power or financial status, and fintechs have seized the opportunity to cater to their needs. One such fintech is MNT-Halan, and today, the company, which describes itself as “Egypt’s leading fintech ecosystem,” is announcing that it has closed a $120 million investment. The investors backing MNT-Halan include private equity firms Apis Growth Fund II, Development Partners International (DPI) and Lorax Capital Partners, as well as VCs like Middle East Venture Partners, Endeavor Catalyst and DisruptTech. Continue reading