Latest from Tage Kene-Okafor
Commerce
Jumia plans to raise more than $100 million in secondary shares to drive stalled user growth
African e-commerce company Jumia is selling 20 million American depositary shares over the next couple of weeks, TechCrunch has learned. The at-the-market transaction is to take advantage of strong results…
When Egyptian B2B e-commerce platform Cartona last raised money in 2022, global and local investors were eager to invest in African startups solving the supply chain and operational challenges for…
MNT-Halan, a fintech unicorn out of Egypt, is on a consolidation march. The microfinance and payments startup has raised $157.5 million in funding and is using the money in part…
Featured Article
Endeavor CEO says long-term capital needs to be prioritized in emerging ecosystems
Venture capital has become a more global industry as the tech sector slowly decentralizes. In 2022, more than 50% of VC deployed globally was invested in startups outside the U.S., according to data available from the National Science Foundation (NSF) — a stark contrast to 20 years ago, when nearly…
Startups
Digital banking startup Mercury abruptly shuttered service for startups in Ukraine, Nigeria, other countries
Digital banking startup Mercury informed some founders that it is no longer serving customers in certain countries, including Ukraine.
When the war between Israel and Hamas broke out last October, we examined its potential impact on the tech ecosystems in Israel and Palestine. Nine months later, the prevailing sentiment…
Fintech
Cadana, an emerging markets payroll services provider for global hiring platforms, banks $7.1M seed
The global freelancer market, a $1.3 trillion industry fueled by more than 200 million knowledge workers, drives demand for solutions that automate payroll and streamline employment and tax regulations worldwide.…
Venture
Paris-based VC Breega hits first close of $75M Africa fund to back pre-seed and seed startups
Paris-based VC firm Breega has observed Africa’s tech ecosystem mature over the years. From receiving less than a billion dollars in venture capital per year to a record-high $6 billion,…
Ilya Sutskever, one of OpenAI’s co-founders, launches Safe Superintelligence (SSI), just a month after leaving OpenAI.
Featured Article
Black founders are creating tailored ChatGPTs for a more personalized experience
ChatGPT, one of the world’s most powerful artificial intelligence tools, struggles with cultural nuance.
The merger has yet to close due to extended due diligence amid ongoing restructuring and macroeconomic headwinds across multiple countries.
Inflation and currency devaluation have always been a growing concern for Africans with bank accounts.
YoLa Fresh works with over a thousand retailers across Morocco and records up to $1 million in gross merchandise volume.
Agritech company Iyris helps growers across eleven countries globally increase crop yields, reduce input costs, and extend growing seasons.
Venture
OpenseedVC, which backs operators in Africa and Europe starting their companies, reaches first close of $10M fund
Founder-market fit is one of the most crucial factors in a startup’s success, and operators (someone involved in the day-to-day operations of a startup) turned founders have an almost unfair advantage…
Venture
Accion’s new $152.5M fund will back financial institutions serving small businesses globally
For over six decades, the nonprofit has been active in the financial services sector.
Jumia’s revenue and gross merchandise volume showed growth despite a decrease in quarterly active customers, according to its Q1 2024 report. Revenue increased by 19% year-over-year (57% in constant currency)…
Two years after announcing plans, Amazon’s highly awaited e-commerce entry into sub-Saharan Africa has finally come to pass. On Tuesday, the tech giant launched its marketplace in South Africa. South…
Cards are gaining ground in Egypt, with over 30 million in circulation (prepaid cards, particularly, are seeing more use than debit and credit cards combined). This surge in card usage,…
The logistics industry in Nigeria, like any informal sector, struggles with poor infrastructure and other inefficiencies, making it difficult for businesses — both large and small — to move and…
Startups
Nigeria’s YC-backed Chowdeck hopes to scale food delivery, a notoriously tough market, with $2.5M funding
Food is significant to Nigerians, with households spending nearly 60% of their income on it, the highest globally, according to official reports. This strong affinity for food, coupled with the…
Venture capital activity in Africa has shown resilience over the past six months, with major firms on the continent closing their funds despite the ongoing funding winter. In the latest…
Featured Article
Inside LemFi’s play to be fintech to the Global South diaspora
The African tech ecosystem, buffeted by huge potential but also lots of economic, political and social instabilities, is no stranger to major drama affecting even its most promising-looking startups. But recently, LemFi, the Nigeria-based fintech that provides money transfer services to African migrants, is shaping up as an example of…
VNV Global, a Swedish investment firm that backs startups in mobility, health and marketplaces, slashed the value of its holding in Wasoko, an African B2B e-commerce startup, by 48%, according…
Transportation
Uber leads $100M investment in African mobility fintech Moove as valuation hits $750M
Moove, an African mobility fintech that offers vehicle financing to ride-hailing and delivery app drivers, has raised $100 million in a funding round as it plots expansion into new markets.…
African financial institutions typically scale their solutions using a mix of local and foreign tech. Appzone is one of the standout local fintech software providers for banks and fintechs, providing…
Featured Article
What African B2B e-commerce startups can learn from OmniRetail’s profitable run
Save for fintech and clean tech, B2B e-commerce and retail was the leading destination for venture capital dollars over the last five years. The premise of digitizing the continent’s mom-and-pop convenience stores and offering various solutions to streamline logistics and procurement processes saw hundreds of millions of dollars flood the…
Youverify, a Nigerian provider of identity verification and anti-money laundering (AML) solutions for banks and startups, secured a $2.5 million investment from Elm, which specializes in offering ready-made and customized…
Nigeria is actively seeking information from Binance regarding its top 100 users in the country and all transaction history spanning the past six months, according to a Financial Times report.…
MDaaS Global, a Nigerian health tech company that operates a network of tech-enabled diagnostic centers across the country, has secured $3 million in pre-Series A funding. The round was led…
