Startups
In nearly a decade, hundreds of entrepreneurs have emerged with innovative startups across the African continent. We provide insights on their experiences and highlight the activities of investors who fund them.
Top stories
In Nigeria, trending is easy, but getting paid is hard. Owllup is changing that by blending mentorship with a skill-to-wallet fintech pipeline.
Atsur is building the digital infrastructure that allows African artworks to be tracked, authenticated, and traded securely.
Moniepoint says it disbursed over ₦1 trillion in loans to 70,000 businesses in 2025. Provision stores received the most credit.
Nigerians may resent PayPal, but with the naira under pressure, startups like Paga are prioritising global reach and dollar inflows.
Trove Finance has acquired UCML Securities, rebranded as Innova Securities, to bring brokerage services in-house, strengthen compliance, and improve trade execution for its growing user base.
Zanders dreams of his startup one day becoming the foundational credit tool to facilitate successful farmer lending across Africa.
Born from a personal experience, Kollegescout wants students to search and compare Nigerian universities. filter institutions by location, tuition fees, and admission criteria.
Andela has acquired Woven, a technical assessment company, to deepen its AI-focused hiring capabilities as global demand rises for engineers who can build and deploy AI systems at scale.
Nigeria recorded its lowest funding share among Africa’s four largest startup markets in 2025, taking just eight percent of the continent’s $3.8 billion in disclosed funding.
Terra Industries’ seed round reignited claims that African VCs lack ambition, but a closer look suggests the story is less about fear and more about structural constraints.
Eric Annan bought bitcoin at $354, but after losing all his crypto earnings to failed businesses, the lessons he learned led him to build Aya HQ, one of Africa’s biggest Web3 incubation programmes.
Paystack says it is now profitable as it launches The Stack Group, a new holding company that brings together its payments, banking, and AI ambitions
Nigeria’s creator economy is maturing, with creators earning meaningful income and platforms multiplying, signalling a growing and vibrant digital ecosystem.
Many startups don’t fail because of bad products but because they never figure out how to sell and scale them. Clarus is building the GTM systems that help founders turn great ideas into repeatable growth.
After exiting Goldman Sachs in 2021, Moore Dagogo-Hart built Cognito Systems out of Six Labs after scaling Zap Africa to Now, the startup is betting on AI and blockchain infrastructure to ensure Africa isn’t left behind in the global intelligence race.
inDrive has launched in-app advertising in Nigeria, adding a new revenue stream as ride-hailing platforms face pressure on commissions, driver earnings, and long-term sustainability.
After 25 years in tech and consulting, Seyi Akamo is building, Turog, the invisible infrastructure that powers Africa’s $65 billion digital banking revolution
Paystack is expanding beyond payments into lending after acquiring Ladder Microfinance Bank. The deal gives the Stripe-owned fintech a banking licence, allowing it to offer loans, hold deposits, and launch new financial services in Nigeria
From logistics and fintech to AI and climate tech, these African startups are tackling real problems and shaping the continent’s next wave of innovation.
Terra Industries, a Nigerian defence startup run by 22-year-old Nathan Nwachuku, has raised $11.75 million, with Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale’s 8VC leading the round.