(L-R): co-founders of Franc, Thomas Brennan and Sebastian Patel, Visa has selected 23 African startups for the inaugural cohort of its Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator, a program designed to support the growth of Africa’s vibrant fintech ecosystem. The startups will receive mentorship, training, and funding from Visa and its partners. Nigerian startups dominated the cohort of selected startups, followed by Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, South Africa, Egypt, Uganda, Zambia, and Tunisia. The 23 startups include: Anchor (Nigeria): Provides APIs, dashboards, and tools for developers to embed and build banking products Dojah (Nigeria): Offers a comprehensive Know Your Customer (KYC) and digital onboarding…
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Dimeji Sofowora Tito Ovia Adegoke Olubusi Helium Health Co-founders: Dimeji Sofowora, Tito Ovia and Adegoke Olubusi Here are the top 10 Nigerian startups, ranked by the amount of funds raised year-to-date in 2023 (source: Nairametrics Deal Book): Termii ($3.65 million) – In June, Nigerian communications platform-as-a-service (CPaaS) startup, Termii, raised $3.65 million to expand its product offerings. The new raise brought the startup’s total funding to $5.05 million having first raised $1.4 million in seed funding in January 2021. Termii’s CEO, Gbolade Emmanuel said the funds were not needed for operational activities but rather to power the company’s expansion initiatives,…
Wissal Ben Moussa (Co-Founder, Sand to Green) Wissal Ben Moussa is the proud co-founder and chief agricultural officer of Sand to Green, a Moroccan startup that can transform a patch of desert into a sustainable and profitable plantation in just five years. The company’s innovative irrigation solution is based on three pillars: Desalination: Desalination of sea water and brackish water is used for the irrigation of plantations. Thanks to a reverse osmosis technique and desalination units, fresh water is produced with minimised environmental impact and optimised costs. A drip system: An irrigation technique that brings the water necessary for plant…
Ezra Anajonu (Co-Founder, Bus 54) Organisers of the annual Africa Tech Festival, taking place in Cape Town (South Africa) from 14 to 16 November, have announced the top 10 finalists of the AfricaIgnite Pitch Competition. They will battle it out to win an opportunity to represent the African continent in the Startup World Cup on 1 December in Silicon Valley. The top 10 looking to win the AfricaIgnite Pitch Competition Final are: Bus54 – Based in Nigeria, Bus54 is a mobility technology company providing a platform to aggregate intercity bus transportation in Africa, allowing passengers to search, compare, book, and manage their journeys online. The platform enables transport operators to manage…
Soinato Leboo and Priscillah Wanjira Wakarera (Co-Founders of RHEA Soil Health Management) One of Africa’s leading incubator programmes for female-founded businesses, the Standard Chartered Women in Technology Incubator (WIT) Kenya, has awarded seven women-led businesses with a total of $70,000 (Sh 10.5 million). This marks the conclusion of the 6th cohort of WIT. The startups include: Rhea Soil Health Management: Provides access to soil testing and agricultural extension services to smallholder farmers, analysing soil and providing results and fertiliser recommendations through a machine learning-powered recommendation system; Imani Health Wallet: An e-Wallet that enables people to save specifically for healthcare. It…
On Saturday October 28, 2023, Founder of AS World Tech, Richard Odjrado was presented with two medals – Ambassador of African Solutions, and the Medal for innovation and excellence – at the Africa Solutions Week Gala, in Port Marly, Paris. AS World Tech is renown for its proudly homegrown AS® (Asuka Spirit) processors on which a range of very smart, affordable gadgets – computers, tablets, connected glasses, and watches – were created by Bénénois, Odjrado. In terms of performance, Richard’s tech gadgets are of superior quality, and have been mentioned in the same breath as Apple & Samsung. In his…
Fawziyyat Yusuf – Content creator. Graphics Design. Public Speaking. Tech Fawziyyat Yusuf may not sound familiar, but her online disposition – cheerful and firm at the same time – is both infectious and noteworthy. She also has some impressive accomplishments under her belt. Of her final year at Nile University of Nigeria, she says: “The highlight of my year, excluding surviving this semester, was getting to interview political journalist, Mr Seun Okinbaloye [along with Uyo Kadiri] at the Nile Career Fair 2023. 🎥 Fawziyyat Yusuf on LinkedIn Her internship period was spent at Multichoice Nigeria, with Fawziyya adding: “It has…
Nigerian startup GIFTY AI (providers of an AI-powered sales growth assistant for e-Commerce businesses) has won the top prize at GITEX Global 2023, the world’s largest and most inclusive tech show. Out of all 14 award categories and 1,800 startups in the world, GIFTY AI founder, Victor Akpan, emerged as the only winner from Africa. GIFTY AI’s sales growth assistant helps e-Commerce businesses to automate their marketing and sales activities. For example, GIFTY AI lets you create your Digital Shop in under five minutes, start selling to millions of customers across different countries, and receive multiple orders on WhatsApp. GIFTY AL…
Theo-Leo Houston is absolutely thrilled to announce that Slinger, his London-based startup revolutionising the hiring process in the hospitality industry, has successfully raised a new round of £500,000 pre-seed funding, led by Fuel Ventures. This funding round, includes participation from Ufi Ventures, Andrew Gale, Dan Cobley, CornerStone Partners, Resolution Foundation, Tim Parsons, Gary Elden, Ben Westwood, Richard Ng, and the Google for Startups Black Founders Fund, will enable us to further advance our mission of transforming the industry’s archaic hiring practices. Says Theo: “With staff vacancies in the hospitality industry leaving £25 billion on the table, Slinger is committed to providing a solution. By paying hospitality staff the UK’s Real Living Wage for…
🎥 Emmanuel Eribo Emmanuel Eribo, founder of LØCI (eco-friendly sneakers) is speechless. His brand can now be found at Selfridges (UK), stockists of the most-wanted luxury brands. He says: “So many emotions… it’s hard to keep it all together. LØCI x Selfridges 🌲🌲🌲#milestone “Keep pushing… we ALL have what it takes, to make our dreams a reality ✊🏾💥🚀” LØCI Atom The success of the LØCI brand is of little surprise. With the recent release (October 2023) of its ‘Atom’, it quickly became one of the most hyped sneaker labels. According to GQ magazine: “Inspired by classic skate shoes, this one…