Shuttlers, a “tech-enabled scheduled bus sharing” company, has raised $1.6 million in seed funding from several investors to blitz scale within and outside Nigeria. Via its ridesharing platform, the firm provides companies with better mobility options for their employees. It also offers a fully functional app that allows mobile professionals on its three plans to book rides. In addition, through the platform, commuters can book a seat on one bus that goes along predetermined and scheduled routes. The company said that some of its other features include live bus tracking, optimal routing
An African healthcare startup running several hospitals has secured $18 million in a Series A round. These funds will build its “tech-forward healthcare system” across Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria. The funding round for Africal Health Holdings, led by Asia Pacific Land/Natural World Limited, saw the participation of several investors, including TRB Advisors, Breyer Capital, M3, Inc., Valiant Capital, Kepple Ventures, and SUNU Capital. Based in West Africa, Africa Health Holdings will use the new capital to expand its telemedicine service beyond Ghana to countries like Nigeria and Kenya. The startup’s MyCareMobile
A minority-owned platform that allows you to compare colleges, course options, and tuition fees all in one go has just managed to raise $1M in a pre-seed round that will go towards improving its search and recommendation technology. Craydel was launched earlier this year by co-founders Manish Sardana, John Nguru, and Shayne Aman Premji. It was inspired by the lack of a reliable portal in Africa to guide the big decisions on which college and course selection students will take. The trio then decided to bring to life a platform that would eliminate this
Of course, the closure announcement was a big shock to everyone since Disha had reportedly bootstrapped to more than 20,000 users and had claimed to have a monthly growth rate of about 100 percent. No one expected this would happen, but as with most startups – resources are a significant problem, and a lack of them can mean great companies fall through the gap. The Nigeria-based platform allows digital creators to curate, sell digital content, create portfolios, and receive payments from their audience globally. This is a $100 billion economy.
MFS Africa, an inter-operability hub connecting mobile network operators across the continent through a single API, has raised $100 million in a Series C round. That’s a pretty significant number for a Series C funding round, and it’s split between $70 million equity and $30 million debt. Private equity fund AfricInvest FIVE co-led the round with existing investors Goodwell Investments and LUN Partners Group. New investors CommerzVentures, Allan Gray Ventures, Endeavor Catalyst, and Endeavor Harvest joined in while ShoreCap III returned as an existing investor with other funds. For someone who spent more than
Google has teamed up with the University of Nairobi and Africa Centre for Advanced Technology to honor the 71st birthday of Professor Duncan Okoth Okombo in their latest Doodle illustrated by Kenyan artist Joe Impressions. The Doodle of Okombo was featured on Google’s homepage. His contributions throughout his lifetime, spanning 66 years, have pinned him as the founder of African sign language studies. In addition, the University of Nairobi held a virtual commemoration on the University of Nairobi’s YouTube Channel from 11.30 am. Speaking during the virtual commemoration the Vice-Chancellor, University of Nairobi, Prof. Stephen G. Kiama,
Electric vehicle startup BasiGo has today announced the launch of its operations in Nairobi, and the buses will come in 25 and 36-seater capacities, with a range of about 250 kilometers. The startup plans to sell locally assembled electric buses using parts from China’s EV maker BYD Automotive; the company said while announcing it had raised $1 million in pre-seed funding. It is also planning to enter other markets within the East Africa region after establishing ground in Kenya. BasiGo is backed by several investors, including Climate Capital, a Silicon Valley venture capital
Twiga Foods has raised $50M in its Series C round to take its mission to expand food and retail distribution across the African continent. The firm, which launched in 2014, uses technology to build supply chains in food and retail distribution. It claims to simplify the supply chain between fresh food producers, FMCG manufacturers, and retailers through a B2B e-commerce platform and it currently has over 100,000 registered customers and delivers to 10,000 every day. Twiga now plans to use the funding to test out a model they’re developing “to reduce the
An African startup described as the “booking.com for healthcare” by its founder has raised $1.5 million from its most recent round. RecoMed acts as a marketplace where patients can find and book services with healthcare professionals across South Africa. Sheraan Amod first founded the company after a brief stay in the U.S, where he experienced for the first time what it was like to book medical appointments online, which wasn’t the case back in his home country, South Africa. Mr. Amod then returned and created the company he refers to as
Bolt is set to roll out electric taxi options in South Africa four months after introducing e-bike food delivery services as part of its mission to expand across the continent rapidly. The move comes amid plans by Uber to test a carpooling and rideshare service in Nairobi, with ideas to also roll it out in Ghana and Nigeria. Bolt’s electric taxi option is part of the company’s “green category” initiative. The system lets riders only hail an electric or a hybrid vehicle – which is considered more environmentally friendly. The firm
