africa

Egypt’s MNT-Halan banks $157.5M, gobbles up a fintech in Turkey to expand

Fintech /

MNT-Halan, a fintech unicorn out of Egypt, is on a consolidation march. The microfinance and payments startup has raised $157.5 million in funding and is using the money in part to fund the acquisition of another fintech, Tam Finans, to expand into Turkey. Tam Finans provides financing to micro-enterprises and SMEs. It currently operates 39 […]

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Intron Health gets backing for its speech recognition tool that recognizes African accents

Startups /

Voice recognition is getting integrated in nearly all facets of modern living, but there remains a big gap: speakers of minority languages, and those with thick accents or speech disorders like stuttering are typically less able to use speech recognition tools that control applications, transcribe or automate tasks, among other functions. Tobi Olatunji, founder and

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Pesa unlocks new markets to keep remittances flowing to emerging economies

Fintech /

Founders of Pesa, a remittance fintech, know too well how costly, inaccessible and unreliable remittance services drive people to opt for risky informal channels —  like WhatsApp groups  — to transfer money.  Their firsthand experience using informal channels and realizing how prevalent their use was among Africans living in the diaspora after settling in Canada

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Cadana, an emerging markets payroll services provider for global hiring platforms, banks $7.1M seed

Fintech /

The global freelancer market, a $1.3 trillion industry fueled by over 200 million knowledge workers, drives demand for solutions that automate payroll and streamline employment and tax regulations worldwide. However, most existing products fail to address the legal landscape of emerging markets, such as differences in employment laws.  This oversight means global hiring platforms, which

Cadana, an emerging markets payroll services provider for global hiring platforms, banks $7.1M seed Read More »

Paris-based VC Breega hits first close of $75M Africa fund to back pre-seed and seed startups

Venture /

Paris-based VC firm Breega has observed Africa’s tech ecosystem mature over the years. From receiving less than a billion dollars in venture capital per year to a record-high $6 billion, there’s also been an increase in high-growth companies, from one unicorn to seven within the span of three years. Now the VC wants to put

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Sources: Wasoko-MaxAB e-commerce merger faces delays amid headwinds in Africa

Enterprise /

Last December, Nairobi’s Wasoko and Cairo-based rival MaxAB — two B2B e-commerce startups that enable retailers to order fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) from suppliers via their respective apps — announced a planned “merger of equals.” The aim was clear: create better economies of scale in a sector that holds a lot of promise in the

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Founded in war-torn Sudan, YC-backed Elevate now provides fintech to freelancers globally

Startups /

In early 2022, the fintech startup Bloom — not to be confused with the Gen Z-focused investing app, or the heavily capitalized revenue financing platform — was accepted into Y Combinator as the first-ever startup from Sudan to participate in the famed accelerator. Alongside its four founders’ track records at Amazon, Meta, IBM, and Goldman Sachs,

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YoLa Fresh, a GrubMarket for Morocco, digs up $7M to connect farmers with food sellers

Commerce /

The fresh produce supply chain in Africa and emerging markets is faced with a daily list of cascading challenges. They include environmental and labor issues through to logistical ones food wastage to poor demand-supply synchronization. These various issues affect stakeholders differently: farmers struggle with sales, while retailers struggle to negotiate effectively. Several agritech startups have

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OpenseedVC, which backs operators in Africa and Europe starting their companies, reaches first close of $10M fund

Venture /

Founder-market fit is one of the most crucial factors in a startup’s success, and operators (someone involved in the day-to-day operations of a startup) turned founders have an almost unfair advantage in finding that fit. Data shows that a lack of expertise and business acumen in founders contributes to failed VC investments. The same principle applies

OpenseedVC, which backs operators in Africa and Europe starting their companies, reaches first close of $10M fund Read More »

Axmed raises $2M from Founderful to streamline drug supply chains in underserved markets

Biotech & Health /

It is estimated that about 2 billion people, especially those in lower and middle-income countries, lack access to quality and affordable essential medicines. The situation is exacerbated by low-quality or even killer counterfeit drugs that fill the gap. This shortfall means diseases that are otherwise treatable or preventable end up causing distress and even death.

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