Microsoft announced plans today to support 10,000 startups in Africa over the next five years through a series of initiatives including partnerships with accelerators and incubators across the continent. The global tech company is also partnering with venture capital investors to facilitate access to $500 million in potential funding and has launched the Startups Founders Hub in Africa. Microsoft will enable digital transformation powered by Africans for Africa through the Africa Transformation Office. Microsoft said that it is already working with Banque Misr, Global Venture Capital, and Get Funded Capital. On top of that,
Sudo Africa, an API platform that enables you instantly issue physical and virtual cards with more control and flexibility at scale, has raised $3.7 million in pre-seed funding. What makes the startup different from others? While banks take weeks or months to give cards, Sudo Africa claims to just take days. In partnership with licensed card issuers, the company’s infrastructure allows itself and any developer or merchants that come on its platform to issue virtual and physical cards to their customers. And on the platform lets businesses control and program cards to
Emtech, a Black female owned central bank digital infrastructure provider, targets emerging markets where payments infrastructure need aligning with digital innovations — to improve efficiency, introduce new products and services that are likely to promote financial inclusion, and in ensuring the secure movement of money.
The announcement of the collaboration between the 10 studios was made today against the backdrop of the Africa Games Week 2022, which is taking place in Cape Town, South Africa. The clan, which have named themselves Pan Africa Gaming Group, or PAGG, said they aim to grow the industry by two times annually and to put Africa “on the map of the global game industry.” South Africa has the highest saturation of gamers across Africa with 24 million people – this is almost half of its population – playing, according
MarketForce, the retail B2B and end-to-end distribution platform founded in Kenya, has raised $40 million in Series A funding for its merchant inventory financing and expansion across Africa. The firm, which first launched in Uganda in 2018, plans to introduce buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) options to help merchants access fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs) on credit. It also plans to enter additional markets in East and West Africa. Through its merchant super app RejaReja, informal traders can source goods directly from manufacturers and distributors, make and pay for orders digitally, accept payments for utility
African fintech Flutterwave has raised $250 million in a Series D round that tripled the company’s valuation to over $3 billion in justtwelve months.
Egypt and US-based MoneyHash has just emerged from beta with $3 million in pre-seed funding.
It was rare to see a Nigerian startup raising $10 million ten years ago but now the country’s fintech unicorns are becoming just as valuable as its banks. Every other month we’re hearing about startups all over the country raising capital but a new report has found that in 2021, investors, including global giants SoftBank and Tiger Global, put a total of $1.37 billion into Nigerian startups, according to Africa: The Big Deal, a pan-African funding tracker. But to justify large valuations, companies need to demonstrate growth, which means spending big on customer acquisition.
Remedial Health has secured $1 million in pre-seed funding to digitize pharmacies, and stem the supply of fake and substandard pharmaceutical products, starting with Nigeria before expanding to the rest of Africa. Founded in 2020 by Samuel Okwuada, a trained pharmacist and self-taught software developer, together with his co-founder Victor Benjamin – the company is said to be using part of the new funding will be used to extend the startup’s buy-now-pay-later offering, for an even wider reach. Okwuada started his entrepreneurial journey while still at the university, where he built SaaS products,
Mdundo, an Africa-focused music streaming service, is banking on more partnerships with telcos across the continent to grow its earnings and user base. The optimism comes after a successful year. Last year, the Kenya-based company signed deals with MTN and Airtel in Nigeria, and Vodacom in Tanzania, which reportedly appeared to be paying off after its user-base almost doubled as it added paying subscribers as a source of revenue, according to media. According to TechCrunch, MTN and Airtel Nigeria have a combined customer base of 124.5 million, while Vodacom Tanzania
