Here is our latest roundup of tech headlines from across the African continent. Kune, a Kenyan food-tech startup that delivered ready-to-eat meals at affordable prices, has closed its doors, the company’s founder and CEO Robin Reecht announced. In a statement posted to his LinkedIn page, Reecht cited a stifled economy and inflated food prices as circumstances that contributed to Kune’s closure. “With the current economic downturn and investment markets tightening up, we were unable to raise our next round. Coupled with rising food costs deteriorating our margins, we just couldn’t keep going,” he said.
For many Black entrepreneurs, getting funding for their business is a daunting and disproportionately difficult task, especially because only about 1% of all venture dollars goes to Black founders, according to Crunchbase, despite Black and African Americans making up 13% of the U.S. population. But a trio of Black Techstars alumni — who each raised at least a million dollars in seed capital for their business — met at Startup Hall at the University of Washington to share their experience of raising capital. They also offered advice for Black founders looking to
Ghana-based Fintech company, Fido, has raised $30 million in equity investment in a Series A funding round. The funding round, led by the equity fund company, Fortissimo Capital, included venture capital firm Yard Ventures and a series of other private angel investors. Fido, co-founded by Nadav Topolski, Nir Zepkowitz, and Tomer Edry in 2012, provides mobile loans of up to $250 to small businesses and individuals. In addition, the fintech company aims to build a digital bank, which will give hundreds of adults in Africa access to flexible loans and other financial services, which
The online technology platform, Kibo School, known for providing online degrees for students across Africa, has raised $2 million in seed funding. The funding round, which venture capital firm Neo led, included African investment company Future Africa, Brooklyn Bridge Ventures, and Transcends Ventures. In addition, a range of different angel investors also participated in the seed funding round. Kibo School, co-founded by Ope Bukola in 2021, aims to provide affordable and high-quality programs for anyone interested in building a career in tech. The curriculum, based on the Human Skills Matrix,
London-based venture capital firm, Octopus Ventures, has launched its first £10 million ($12 million) pre-seed fund to support fresh startups in the fintech and health sectors. The firm, founded in 2007, works to fill the growing gap in early pre-seed funding for European founders. Kirsten Connell and Maria Rotilu, veterans of Seedcamp and Uber, will lead the company’s first-ever investment fund. They will bring their extensive experience and knowledge of growing firms from the beginning to the job, enabling them to work closely with start-ups in their early years. Octopus
African technology startup, Theeper, known for creating technology for businesses to support fast, direct, and efficient transactions, has raised $2.1M in seed funding. The funding round, which Raba Partnership led, included VC fintech company Rali_cap Ventures, BYLD, and leading African fintech Chipper Cash and Stitch. Theeper, co-founded by Kosisochukwu Chike Ononye and Michael’ Trojan’ Okoh in 2021, is located at the crossroads of data and finance. They work directly with businesses to address the difficulty of transferring money from one fintech wallet to another fintech. According to Theeper, its API
The community-led startup Afropolitan, also known as the company behind “The Year of Return” event in Ghana, has raised $2.1 million (£1.8 million) in pre-seed funding to bring its vision to life, with Srinivasan being one of its investors. The funding round, which saw African-based VC firms Atlantica Ventures and Microtraction participate, also included angel investors Balaji Srinivasan, Elizabeth Yin of Hustle Fund, and Iyinoluwa Aboyeji of Future Africa. Afropolitan, co-founded by Eche Emole and Chika Uwazie in 2016, works to create community-led events for Africans and those in the
Nigerian health tech startup, Healthtracka, has raised $1.5 million in its first official funding stage. The funding round, which was hosted by Africa-focused VC Ingressive Capital and US-based venture fund Hustle Fund, also included Angel investors, Flying Doctors, and Alumni Angel Alliance. Healthtracka, which was co-founded by Victor Amusan and Ifeoluwa Dare-Johnson in May 2021, works with lab partners to help detect early cancer patients. The organization has set up a website that allows people to book lab tests online and get their results back within 48 hours. “As a
Black entrepreneurs saw a dramatic decrease in funding this year as investors continue to pull back. So far, new Crunchbase data shows Black startups received $324 million in VC funds in the second quarter, a steep decrease from the $1.2 billion received in Q1 this year and substantially below the $866 million the founder cohort raised in Q2 last year. Overall, Black founders have received more than $1.5 billion in capital this year, compared to the over $2 billion received last year. Funding at all levels is tracking below 2021.
Over in Los Angeles, Jonathan Moore, 25, left his Wall Street career to work as an analyst at TCG Capital Management. He pitched the idea for the firm to launch a crypto fund, believing the intersection of web3 and the creator economy could tap a generation of untapped talent. Since launching the fund in September 2021, he has closed over 20 deals and says the outlook for this year is equally promising. He’s not the only young person getting into the VC scene. Gen Zs are getting into the space
