Early on The Pitch2Win competition, in its second iteration, is open to Nigerian companies and gives up to $10,000 in prize money in addition to the opportunity to visit Japan. Techcircle, in association with Freakout, SGverse, and SGgrow, is the presenter of Pitch2Win. On June 12, ten eager companies will have the opportunity to present…
Startups come into existence for the purpose of solving a particular problem in the society. Every startup aims to be a worthy investment in the eyes of its potential investors. A startup’s business end goal, is to be valuable and have the ability to always connect to its end users. What is a startup business?…
The IFC today released the names of 100 women-led business entrepreneurs who have been chosen to participate in the She Wins Africa project. This IFC-led project aims to increase access to funding for women-led enterprises in Sub-Saharan Africa. According to a statement shared with Technect, the She Wins Africa program is part of the IFC’s…
Applications of artificial intelligence, climate technology, and spatial computing are among the latest projects that Y Combinator is looking to support. The list was released on Wednesday. In the most recent iteration of its RFS, or “Request for Startups,” tradition, which dates back to 2009, the organization made a call for the kinds of startups…
10 businesses—five of them from Africa—have been chosen to participate in Startup Boost, an international initiative for social impact entrepreneurs managed by the tech consulting firm tretton37, based in Sweden. Tech consultancy firm tretton37 works with Telia, Klarna, Paradox Interactive, Tibber, and ICA, among others. Launched in late 2023, Startup Boost provides free assistance to…
It was a challenging year for tech entrepreneurs in Africa. As previously projected, obtaining venture funding proved to be challenging; bridge and down rounds were commonplace; and rumors of fire sales, layoffs, and business closures spread over the continent. Startups and scale-ups in Africa have experienced far-reaching implications as a result of the overall amount…
The ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator, which offers access to up to US$120,000 in equity capital and other forms of support, has picked twelve entrepreneurs for its second round. The three-month-long ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator was established by Techstars, a global investment firm that offers early-stage entrepreneurs access to capital, one-on-one mentorship, and customized…
Though there were initially expectations that the nascency of the African tech ecosystem may mean it spared too much damage, the expanding extent of the continent’s “startup graveyard” implies that is not the case. Venture capital financing has fallen dramatically globally in 2023. According to PitchBook data, venture capital funding nearly halved globally in the…
The most recent iteration of Grindstone Africa, a well-known accelerator program that fosters high-growth entrepreneurship worldwide, has chosen seven South African and one Lesotho firm for inclusion. Founded in 2013, Grindstone is a well-known company that helps high-growth, innovative firms thrive. Knife Capital and Thinkroom Limited co-own the company. The most recent iteration is the…
Visa has chosen 23 firms for its inaugural Africa Fintech Accelerator program, which aims to support African startups by providing knowledge, connections, technology, and investment capital. In July, Disrupt Africa reported on Visa’s Africa Fintech Accelerator program, which followed the company’s pledge to spend $1 billion in Africa’s digital transformation and its long-term commitment to…
Google announced today that applications for the third cohort of the Black Founders Fund for Startups are now open in Africa and Europe, in keeping with the company’s commitment to digital transformation and support for black-founded startups. Google has committed $4 million this year to support eligible black-founded startups. Startups based in Africa with a…
Startups have become vital engines of change that can have an outsized impact on an economy. They are crucial in fueling innovation and enhancing economic and digital competitiveness. They improve access to products and solutions while significantly contributing to employment. In recent years, amid global economic volatility and uncertainty, Africa’s startup ecosystem has shown continued…
Orda, a Nigerian company that develops cloud operating systems for restaurants, has raised US$3.4 million in a seed round to further digitalize the food industry on the continent. Guy Futi, Fikayo Akinwale, Mark Edomwande, Kunle Ogungbamila, and Namir El-Khouri founded Orda in 2020 with the goal of assisting small-scale African restaurants in growing sustainably. After…
The Kenyan fintech firm Finplus Group has claimed that after five years of operation, its platform has processed transactions worth over US$1 billion. Finplus, a company founded in 2017 by Kageni Wilson and Bernard Banta, offers fully-managed software to assist financial service providers in running their businesses effectively and expanding in any market. With modular…
Start-ups require capital to establish a business. Capital is the amount of initial investment plus any interest accrued early. The initial investment of a company initiative is the sum required to get things started. Both internal and external sources of funding are used by start-up founders. Many times, a lot of work goes into starting a business,…
According to a statement provided to TechCabal today, Thepeer, a Nigerian tech infrastructure startup that facilitates frictionless wallet transfers between businesses, has raised a $2.1 million seed round. Thepeer was created in August 2021 as a solution to the expensive and time-consuming transfer of money across mobile wallets by Kosisochukwu Chike Ononye (CEO) and Michael…
According to a statement provided to TechCabal today, Healthtracka, a Nigerian firm that provides simple at-home lab tests, has acquired $1.5 million in pre-seed funding. Venture capitalists Ingressive Capital and Hustle Fund are leading this round, which also includes angel investors Alunmi Angels Alliance and Flying Doctors. After taking part in the Techstars Toronto accelerator…
Chari, a Moroccan B2B e-commerce and finance firm, said today that it has purchased a 100% share in Diago, an Ivorian app that connects local stores with FMCG makers and importers. AF Legal and RBB International firms, representing Chari, and Houda Law Firm, representing the Ivorian startup, handled the all-stock transaction. This transaction comes just…
The CcHUB’s Creative Economy Practice has selected 15 entrepreneurs to participate in the Createch Accelerator 1.0 program, which will provide them with knowledge, networks, and assistance to help them accelerate their journey to profitability, scalability, and institutional financing. The selected startups will have access to a network of Creative Economy leaders, including the ATCG network…
Doxx launches a digital platform in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, connecting medical professionals and institutional healthcare providers such as pharmacies, labs, scans, and insurance companies to support the patient’s medical journey, increase accuracy, and improve service quality while lowering healthcare costs. The startup raised $1.5 million in a seed round headed…
Autocheck, a Nigerian auto-tech firm, has purchased KIFAL Auto, a Moroccan competitor, to help it expand into the North African market. Autocheck’s goal is to create digital solutions that will improve and enable a seamless and secure automotive commerce experience throughout Africa. By developing a single platform for consumers’ automotive needs, from sourcing and financing…
Nile, a South African agri-tech firm that uses its platform to allow purchasers to buy directly from Africa’s top food producers, has raised a ZAR83 million (US$5.1 million) equity fundraising round headed by Naspers Foundry. Nile was founded in 2020 with the goal of providing farmers with digital solutions to address several pain points associated…
RapidDeploy, a South African emergency response platform, has raised equity capital from Nedbank CIB, the Nedbank Group’s corporate and investment banking division, one of the country’s four main banking companies. RapidDeploy is an open and integrated response technology founded by Steven Raucher and Brett Meyerowitz that transforms any size first responder communications center into a…
The Alexandria Business Angels Network led an undisclosed bridge round for Egyptian company Teegara, a B2B e-commerce platform focused on household and FMCG products. Teegara is a B2B2C e-commerce marketplace founded in 2019 by Ahmad Kayyali and Nader Ibrahim with Ahmed Samir as the first investor. It seeks to help everyone trade, starting with small…
GoMetro, a South African logistics startup, has secured $1 million in a seed extension round to accelerate its growth, enhance its sales team, and aggressively expand into the South African, UK, and US markets. The investment round also included Kalon Venture Partners, Hlayisani Capital, Tritech Global, 4Decades Capital, and E Squared Investments. GoMetro is a…
The Baobab Network, a Nairobi-based accelerator that invests in early-stage software firms across Africa, has announced its next cohort of five investees, each of which will receive US$25,000. After making five more investments as part of a new model, the Baobab Network has been propelling companies with capacity building and fundraising since 2019. It now…
Mindjoy, a Cape Town-based ed-tech company, wants to make coding skills available to kids – and adults — on any internet-enabled device. Gabi Immelman founded Mindjoy in July 2021 to address one of the industry’s most widespread issues: a lack of digital skills development. Mindjoy offers live, small-group virtual coding sessions to kids aged eight…
DigsConnect, a student housing marketplace, has secured funding from international startup capital firm The Delta as part of its latest funding round. The DigsConnect website, which was founded by Alexandria Procter and Greg Ramsay-Keal in 2018, allows landlords, estate agents, and property managers to post their property listings, with students searching and filtering through these…
ArK Kapital, based in Stockholm, has secured a €150 million senior secured debt facility from Pollen Street Capital after raising €165 million in March to provide long-term alternative financing options. Through AI-powered financial forecasts and non-dilutive funding, the company will be able to assist startups in growing smarter. ArK Kapital, which was founded by six-time…
IFC, a World Bank Group member, will invest $15 million in Algebra Ventures’ second fund, which will support the growth of approximately 20 technology startups in Egypt and across Africa. Algebra Ventures II, with a target size of $90 million, will focus on women-led businesses and those serving rural communities, and will provide access to…