Despite persistent structural challenges, from limited infrastructure to regulatory bottlenecks, African entrepreneurs continue to harness technology to build businesses that solve real problems, improve service delivery, and create jobs for the continent’s rapidly growing population.
For this inaugural Startups to Watch list, Techpoint Africa spoke with founders, investors, and ecosystem operators to identify the young companies shaping the next wave of innovation across the continent.
The list spotlights early-stage startups — mostly under two years old — operating across a wide range of sectors and showing strong potential for impact in 2026.
Here’s Techpoint Africa’s curated list of startups to watch in 2026.
1. Gowagr — Nigeria
Gowagr is Nigeria’s take on Polymarket, aiming to redefine prediction markets and move beyond the stereotype of gambling. With nearly 200,000 users in just two years, the startup is changing the way people view and participate in prediction markets.
On the platform, users can bet on a wide range of events, from sports and entertainment to politics, creating a dynamic and interactive experience. But Gowagr doesn’t stop there. The platform also powers esports and fantasy gaming competitions, expanding its reach and offering even more opportunities for users to engage with their favourite games and events.
2. Partyverse — Nigeria
Nigerians are passionate about events, but planning them can be a daunting task. Partyverse aims to simplify the process by offering a seamless platform for discovering, planning, and managing various types of events.
Launched less than a year ago, the startup has already secured a key partnership with PiggyVest and raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Zrosk. Beyond event management, Partyverse enhances the experience by allowing users to capture and share memorable moments, making every event unforgettable.
3. LevvyBox — Nigeria
Estimates suggest there are at least 20,000 ride-hailing drivers operating across Nigerian cities. But as many decry reduced earnings, LevvyBox’s outdoor marketing solution could provide an alternative income stream for these drivers.
Co-founded by Olamigoke Kumuyi, Goodness Chinemelum, Ayomide Ishola, and Tobiloba Adekunle, the startup turns vehicles into mobile advertising platforms. Drivers can opt for in-car static adverts or billboards mounted on top of their vehicles. LevvyBox says it has onboarded 400 drivers so far, while early brand customers include Kava, Yellowlyfe, and Filmhouse Cinemas.
4. ChipMango — Nigeria
Artificial intelligence may dominate today’s tech conversation, but its progress depends heavily on access to semiconductor talent and the ability to design chips efficiently. Over the past few years, rising global demand for semiconductors has prompted companies to seek new ways to expand design and production capacity, exposing a skills and supply gap in the process. ChipMango is positioning itself to address that gap.
Founded by Ola Fadiran and Jovan Andjelich, who bring design and operations experience from companies such as Tesla and Google, ChipMango focuses on building chip design capacity from Africa.
The startup offers chip design courses and has secured partnerships with Nigerian universities, including Miva Open University and Obafemi Awolowo University. Beyond training, ChipMango also provides chip design services to companies globally and says it has generated $200,000 in revenue to date.
5. Midiarack — Ghana
Booking media spots, such as billboards, radio, or newspapers, in Africa is still largely manual and fragmented. Advertisers often have to call or email multiple sales reps, wait for responses, and navigate several platforms before securing the space they need.
Midiarack, a Ghanaian media-buying platform, aims to simplify this process by centralising access to ad inventory in a single interface. Launched just seven months ago, the startup has already processed over 300,000 cedis in gross merchandise value, demonstrating early traction.
The platform allows advertisers to find, compare, and book ad spaces across billboards, radio, and podcasts from multiple media partners, thereby reducing the time and complexity of campaign planning. Founded by Kwabena Sarpong, a former Bolt employee, Midiarack is part of the Ashesi Venture Incubator and draws on his experience in operations and tech-driven marketplaces to digitise Ghana’s media-buying ecosystem.
6. VDL Fulfilment — Ghana
Ghanaian fulfilment startup VDL Fulfilment is quietly becoming a backbone for growing businesses that want to scale without being weighed down by logistics. Founded in 2020 by Vanessa Omari, the company enables merchants to stay focused on sales and customer growth while VDL handles the complexities of fulfilment.
In the last two years, the startup has processed over 622,368 fulfilment orders, serving more than 307,793 customers who placed orders through its vendor network.
VDL Fulfilment has grown into a robust operation with 70+ staff and over 350 riders, supporting businesses across eight countries spanning Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America. Its services include warehousing, packaging, last-mile delivery, inventory management, payments, and call centre support.
7. Senga — Kenya
Kenyan logistics startup Senga helps businesses deliver products “wherever roads are available.” Founded by June Odongo, the company promises delivery times of under 48 hours and claims to have completed more than 20,000 deliveries since its launch.
Drawing on years of experience supporting businesses with their logistics operations, Senga is now codifying those workflows through automation and machine learning. By transforming operational expertise into software, the startup aims to enhance reliability and efficiency in last-mile delivery across complex and often fragmented transportation networks.
8. ChatSasa — Kenya
ChatSasa, founded by Eston Kimani — who previously built Africa’s Talking — is a Kenyan startup revolutionising customer service with AI. The platform offers a human-assisted AI assistant that integrates seamlessly across a business’s website, WhatsApp, mobile app, and email channels.
Beyond answering customer enquiries, ChatSasa provides valuable business insights, helping companies monitor agent performance, track sales progress, and assess overall operational efficiency. This holistic approach enables businesses to optimise customer service and streamline operations in real time.
9. Honeycoin — Kenya
Honeycoin, a Kenyan fintech, is part of a new wave of startups leveraging stablecoins to tackle the persistent challenges of cross-border payments in Africa. The company claims to serve over 300 businesses and 300,000 individuals, processing $150 million in transactions every month.
Last year, Honeycoin secured $4.9 million in seed funding from prominent investors like Flourish Ventures, 4DX Ventures, and Visa Ventures. Founded five years ago, the startup now operates in over 15 African countries, the United States, and parts of Europe.
10. Carschek — Nigeria
The majority of vehicles sold in Africa are used, but trust remains a significant challenge for all parties. By combining AI-driven 150-point inspections with real-time VIN history and document verification, Carschek provides a trust-as-a-service layer that empowers buyers and sellers to transact with confidence.
The startup is going beyond building trust and integrating car financing and document registration for vehicle owners.
11. BAC Intelligence — Nigeria
BAC Intelligence is an aviation analytics startup focused on bringing greater clarity to decision-making in Africa’s airline industry. Founded in 2024, the company provides data and enterprise-grade analytics that help airlines, aircraft lessors, investors, and other aviation stakeholders assess market readiness, asset fit, and operational quality across the continent’s often opaque markets.
BAC Intelligence aims to address long-standing gaps caused by fragmented data and uneven disclosure. Its platform offers a consolidated view of airline performance and market dynamics, enabling stakeholders to move from intuition-driven decisions to evidence-based planning.
12. Flux — Kenya
Flux is a Kenya-based climate-tech startup focused on carbon dioxide removal through enhanced rock weathering, a process that uses crushed rock dust to restore soil health while permanently capturing CO₂. Led by CEO Sam Davies, a former British Army officer, the company applies a logistics-first approach to what is often a science-heavy field.
In 2025, Flux began mineral rock trials with 50 smallholder farmers in Western Kenya in collaboration with the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The startup has onboarded farmers, GPS-mapped fields, processed basalt rock, and prepared for large-scale field application ahead of planting cycles. Flux is also developing an 800-acre research farm to support more controlled experimentation and data collection.
13. Woliz — Morocco
Moroccan retail tech startup Woliz is building digital infrastructure that connects small merchants to fast-moving consumer goods brands and financial institutions. Fresh off a $2.2 million pre-seed round, the company enables merchants to accept digital payments and manage inventory through a single platform.
Co-founded by Kamal El Hardouzi, Ismail Amri, and Othman Jabrane, Woliz focuses on nanostores, a large but often underserved segment of Morocco’s retail economy. Since its launch in 2024, the startup says it has signed up 55,000 stores and processed over $50 million in gross merchandise value. Woliz has also entered into an agreement with Morocco’s Ministry of Industry and Trade to support the digitisation of 90,000 shops and roll out digital payment tools to 20,000 stores.
14. SongDis — Nigeria
SongDis is a Nigerian music-tech startup focused on helping independent musicians manage and monetise their careers. The platform offers a suite of music distribution tools that allow artistes to release their work across major global streaming platforms, opening up new revenue opportunities.
Beyond distribution, SongDis enables musicians to collect and manage royalties worldwide and provides advance funding based on streaming revenue, offered with flexible repayment terms and no credit checks.
The startup also offers marketing services to support audience growth and visibility. Launched in December 2024, SongDis claims to have onboarded 1,200 users across 20 countries and was recently selected to participate in the NBA Triple Double Accelerator Program.
15. Sytemap — Nigeria
Nigeria’s real estate market faces persistent challenges, particularly around land ownership, where poor documentation and weak records make buyers vulnerable to fraud. In many cases, the same parcel of land is sold to multiple buyers, and even after purchase, it can take months or years for owners to take possession.
Sytemap aims to address these issues by using technology, including blockchain and satellite imagery, to make land transactions more transparent and verifiable. The startup says it has onboarded more than 20,000 users and processed over $200,000 in transactions to date. Sytemap also works with over 200 real estate companies, enabling it to serve a wide range of buyers.
Beyond improving transparency, the platform allows users to purchase property through instalment payments, lowering barriers to ownership in a market where upfront costs are often prohibitive.
16. Solve.AI — Nigeria
Solve.AI offers businesses an AI-powered agent that handles inbound calls, qualifies leads, books appointments, and manages follow-ups. The platform processes around 10,000 minutes of phone calls and over 15,000 automated WhatsApp interactions weekly, supporting multiple languages to allow customers to communicate in their preferred language.
The AI agent delivers human-like voice interactions and can seamlessly transfer high-priority leads to human agents in real time. It also manages appointment scheduling and follow-up tasks, reducing friction in sales workflows.
An integrated analytics dashboard gives businesses actionable insights into all sales interactions, enabling teams to track performance, identify opportunities, and optimise customer engagement. By combining automation with real-time handoffs to humans when needed, Solve.AI aims to streamline communication for businesses while maintaining a personalised experience.
17. MarketingBlocks AI — Nigeria
MarketingBlocks AI provides founders with an AI-driven growth engine for building and managing their personal brands. The platform automates content creation, distribution, and engagement across multiple channels, allowing users to simply sign up, define who they are, what they sell, and who they serve, and let the AI handle the rest.
Posting, replying, and amplification are all automated, while regular strategy sessions with an AI-powered CMO help users identify what’s working and adjust their approach.
The startup has generated $740,000 in annual recurring revenue and over $3 million in total revenue since its launch. By combining automation with a data-driven strategy, MarketingBlocks enables founders to maintain a consistent online presence and effectively reach their target audiences without the operational overhead of a full marketing team.
18. PlotWeaver — Nigeria
Plotweaver is developing the language infrastructure to support Africa’s creative economy. An end-to-end AI platform dedicated to creating, producing, and distributing African stories, Plotweaver aims to bridge language gaps across the continent. In 2025, it launched AI-powered script development and production planning tools, earning recognition as the official AI software partner for filmmaking in Nigeria through the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC).
The startup also forged partnerships with Nigerian universities such as the University of Lagos (UNILAG) and Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), as well as the Federal University of São Carlos in Brazil, to develop proprietary African language datasets. In addition, it partnered with top studios, including Nile Group, Pan-Atlantic Productions, KM Creative, and ICAB, as well as South American networks such as BRAVI and FORCINE.
Plotweaver’s ambitious plans for 2026 include rolling out studio-grade AI dubbing and subtitling across 12 African languages, offering voice cloning and cultural accuracy with a 48-hour turnaround guarantee.
19. TNKR — Nigeria
TNKR is positioning itself as a key player in Africa’s industrial innovation sector, addressing a critical gap in the continent’s manufacturing ecosystem. The startup, which was selected from over 5,600 applicants by the Innovate Africa Fund, has developed Leonardo, an AI-powered workshop assistant designed to support engineers, makers, and hardware teams with troubleshooting, prototyping, and manufacturing in resource-constrained environments.
Initially launched as a content platform, TNKR’s rapid pivot and ability to execute has earned it follow-on angel funding. With Africa pushing for industrial self-sufficiency, TNKR’s technology could become essential infrastructure for the region’s manufacturing future.
20. Oikus — Nigeria
Oikus is addressing the lack of trust in Africa’s real estate market. Instead of focusing solely on property listings, the Lagos-based startup is building verification and data infrastructure to address issues such as fraud, unreliable information, and systemic mistrust.
In 2025, Oikus was invited to present at the Lagos State Real Estate Marketplace Conference, organised by the Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority (LASRERA). The startup says it has analysed over 100,000 property listings and conducted 250+ resident surveys to show how misinformation affects pricing, investment, and the broader real estate ecosystem.
With housing affordability a growing concern across Africa, Oikus is working to introduce more transparency and data-driven solutions into the sector.
