OZÉ, the Ghanaian fintech startup founded in 2017 to help MSMEs with capital has raised $700k in seed funding. Anorak Ventures, Matuca Sarl, and Rising Tide Africa joined Ingressive Capital and MEST t…
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.
Flutterwave remains the most valuable YC-backed African startup
US seed-stage accelerator, Y Combinator released its updated Top Companies list which includes companies with $150m+ in valuation. Flutterwave is the only African startup on the list despite Paystack&…
With 17k users and $270k in GMV, Selar wants to build the passion economy of Africa
Selar is a Nigerian eCommerce tool that lets creatives and entrepreneurs sell their content. Founder and CEO, Douglas Kendyson tells us about the startup’s journey and how it is building Africa’s pass…
Why Nigerian fintech startup, TeamApt is changing business model and expanding across West and North Africa
Finding success with Monnify and Moniepoint, TeamApt has made plans to shift its focus from bank products to direct consumer and business-facing ones. Also, there are plans to expand across West and N…
African startups raised at least $1.3b in 2020, according to Briter Bridges
Investments went off to a flying start in Jan & Feb 2020 before fluctuating throughout the year. In the end, not less than $1.3b was deployed into African startups, and when M&A come into pl…
Tokunbo Adetona to lead Nairabox as Jay Chikezie steps down from co-CEO role
Nairabox, one of Nigeria’s largest lifestyle concierge platforms, wants to pursue growth aggressively in 2021. Tokunbo Adetona will be tasked with carrying this out going forward, a responsibility he …
In 2020, Nigerians traded more than $400m worth of crypto on local crypto exchange platforms
In October 2020, UsefulTulips reported that $32.3m worth of bitcoin was traded in Nigeria. And judging by the numbers of different crypto-exchange platforms, Nigerians likely traded $400m+ worth of cr…
An insight into how Lagos and US-based VC, GreenHouse Capital invests in African startups
A spin-off from Venture Garden Group, Nigerian fintech conglomerate, GreenHouse Capital launched as an investment firm in 2014. With startups like CredPal and Flutterwave in its portfolio, here’s how …
Bitsika posts impressive 2020 metrics including a 4,000% increase in transaction volume from 2019
Joining a growing list of private fintech startups that have shared numbers publicly in the past, Ghana’s Bitsika posted impressive metrics in its fiscal year of 2020 (Jan 1, 2020 – Jan 1, 2021)…
How Africa’s AfCFTA agreement will impact startups and policymakers
Africa is set to enter a new economic era, as the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement launches today, January 1, 2020. While it presents several opportunities for startups, it is only one ke…
Agritech startup ecosystem: Tax planning, incentives and opportunities
‘Agritech startup ecosystem: Tax planning, incentives and opportunities’ by Aderemi Fagbemi and Anthonia Udeh for @TopeAdebayoLLP (Techpoint Africa Publishing Partner)…
TLcom partner, Andreata Muforo talks African startups, investments and what to expect in 2021
How badly did the pandemic affect VC investments? Will we see more exits in 2021? Will fintech be VC’s top destination next year? Andreata Muforo, Partner at TLcom Capital, gives insights on these and…
What 54gene actually does and why you should care, as told by COO, Delali Attipoe
In this conversation with 54gene COO, Delali Attipoe, she explains in detail what the healthtech startup is all about, why you should care, and what its newly launched genome sequencing lab means for …
“I want to solve problems, save the world, and make money while at it.” – Damilola Olokesusi, Co-founder and CEO of Shuttlers
Damilola Olokesusi is the Co-founder and CEO of tech transport startup, Shuttlers. In this interview, she shares her entrepreneurial journey, and highlights her struggles and opportunities as a female…
5 months after expanding to South Africa, Nigeria’s Kiakiaprint goes to the US and Canada
Following its expansion to South Africa, Kiakiaprint, a Nigerian print-on-demand startup, is now live in the North American countries of Canada and the US. Here’s what you need to know about the expan…
With $950k pre-seed, OnePipe is building a super aggregator for every financial service API in Nigeria
OnePipe aggregates APIs from banks and fintechs into a unified gateway that makes partnerships seamless. Here’s why the Techstars-backed startup raised $950k in pre-seed investment and its plans to fo…
Kenyan healthtech startup, Ilara Health, raises $3.75m Series A led by TLcom Capital
Ilara Health has raised $3.75m to expand its diagnostic reach across Africa. This is two months after receiving a $1.1m grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and securing a $735k seed in…
Senegalese-based solar energy startup, Oolu Solar, raises $8.5m Series B
With over 60,000 solar home systems sold in five African markets since launching in 2015, Senegalese-based solar energy startup, Oolu Solar, has raised $8.5m Series B for product development and expan…
21 out of the 51 West African startups that raised $1m+ in the past decade went through an accelerator
Of the 51 startups that raised $1m or more cumulatively in the past decade, 21 (41.2%) passed through an accelerator. We take a look at some of the reasons why founders choose them in the first place.…
Why SSE Angel Network might explore investing outside Nigeria’s South-South/East region
Since its formation in 2018, the South-South/East Angel Network (SSEAN) has made investments in six startups across Nigeria. However, three of them are based outside the SSE region, in Lagos. Here’s w…