The first-ever Africa ICT Summit Awards have been unveiled by Africa Tech Summit as a new platform to honor the continent’s most creative and influential ICT firms, executives, and solutions. At the annual Africa Tech Summit in Nairobi, where the continent’s leading innovators, entrepreneurs, and business executives come together to discover, network, and invest in…
Ten startups and ten scale-ups are among the twenty African digital businesses that have been chosen to present at the Angel Fair Africa event, which will take place in Nairobi, Kenya, on November 7–8. In addition to Johannesburg, Lagos, Accra, Nairobi, Abidjan, Maputo, Dar es Salaam, Mauritius, and Cape Town last year, Angel Fair Africa…
The Sterling Bank Green Innovation Challenge, which is providing award financing to projects in the cleantech, social enterprise, or agriculture sectors, has extended an invitation to Nigerian startups to apply. Those developing startups, SMEs, or other business models centered around innovation, sustainability, and environmental change are eligible to apply for the Sterling Bank Green Innovation…
STEP, a leading initiative dedicated to empowering startups across Nigeria, partnered with StartupSouth9 to host the STEP x StartupSouth9 Event on October 3rd to 4th, 2024, in Port Harcourt. This collaboration aimed to strengthen the South-South and South-East regions by connecting startups with essential resources, including growth strategies, funding opportunities, and mentorship. The event reached…
Green Innovation Challenge (GIC) 2024: Encouraging innovation by providing access to capital. GIC is committed to making capital accessible to cooperatives, social companies, MSMEs, SMEs, and startups that are promoting innovation and good environmental change. It is intended to connect you with the resources you need to scale operations, create a lasting effect, and realize…
Unconventional Capital, a EUR30 million (US$33 million) fund, has been established by early-stage African investor Uncap with the goal of offering non-dilutive, revenue-based financing to early-stage small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) throughout Africa. Through its unique, revenue-based financing model, Uncap has invested in early-stage African SMEs since its founding in 2019 and official launch in…
TechNvst, a prominent innovation commercialization firm based in South Africa, has announced an exciting new collaboration with Microsoft through the African Transformation Office (ATO) to launch the TechNvst AI Startups Uhuru Program. This new initiative is set to transform the landscape for AI-focused startups across Africa by providing them with essential resources and strategic support….
Nigeria’s Itana, a digital free zone driving Africa’s digital economy, has partnered with Accelerate Africa in a strategic relationship to give up-and-coming companies the resources, connections, and on-the-ground assistance they need to grow and address major issues around the continent. With the Itana digital zone, which offers a one-stop shop for establishing operations in Nigeria…
Grow is a 12-month program for advanced African businesses that prepares them for funding. GROW, which was created in partnership with AfricaGrow, BPI France, Go Ventures, and Africinvest Group, was designed to assist African firms that have funded up to $350,000 and are hoping to raise a million dollars and grow into new markets. A…
The Anzisha Prize, which honors champions for their capacity to successfully develop their businesses, has recognized four African entrepreneurs as its winners. Recently, in Johannesburg, South Africa, the annual Anzisha Prize final was held. Mathias Yabe, Nzinga Antonio, Sharon Alyorneku, and Ivo Bonfirm became victorious overall. In addition to receiving US$10,000 apiece, the winners get…
The African startup ecosystem is experiencing unprecedented growth, with innovations spanning across education, finance, agriculture, technology, and B2B sectors. In 2023, despite global economic challenges, African startups raised $2.4 billion in funding, demonstrating the continent’s resilience and potential. As these startups scale and seek to make a global impact, one critical factor often overlooked is…
In today’s fast-paced world, young adults juggle commuting to demanding jobs, managing side hustles, and maintaining personal lives. With the economic realities affecting transportation and fuel costs, grocery shopping has become increasingly expensive and time-consuming, often leading to unhealthy eating habits. There is a clear need for a technology-powered solution to help people cut costs,…
Africa’s fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) supply chain is broken due to numerous factors. High logistics costs, market fragmentation, and inefficiencies are often highlighted as the major culprits. Informal retailers, unable to purchase products in high quantities, rely on sub-distributors, wholesalers, and even sub-wholesalers, increasing the supply chain length and cost. This system also hinders manufacturers’…
Nigerian startup Skill Up With Kahdsole (SUWK) is a cutting-edge ed-tech platform that offers easily accessible, market-driven vocational education and assistance with job placement through an extensive online ecosystem, tackling the pressing concerns of youth unemployment and skill shortages. SUWK was established in 2021 by Chioma Ukpabi and Kelvin Steve, a couple who are passionate…
Risk-taking, those large bets made early on as startups to differentiate themselves from the competition, is the foundation of all prosperous organizations. After they are established, businesses usually strive to capitalize on their newfound size while maintaining this spirit of entrepreneurship. The issue is that risk aversion frequently accompanies progress. Even though many big businesses…
Co-creation Hub Nigeria (CcHUB) today announced the selection of twelve innovative EdTech start-ups to join its second cohort of the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship. Launched in 2023, the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship at CcHUB provides industry support and funding to empower start-ups driving change in Africa’s education landscape. The Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship will provide…
NBA Africa is now accepting applications for Triple-Double, an accelerator program designed to give financial awards and other forms of support to early-stage African entrepreneurs. Triple-Double, run by tech incubator ALX Ventures, targets early-stage African businesses creating products in the areas of youth development, artificial intelligence (AI), digital marketing for sports and creative industries, and…
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…