7 African Startups to watch in 2023

Welcome to Tech Safari!

Your tour guide on African Tech 🧭

Today is Startup Saturday - where we dive into startup news in Africa - the world's most exciting continent.

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Hey friends!

When we launched Tech Safari, we had a goal in mind for the end of February: 3000 subscribers.

Yesterday we beat that (and then some) and have 3,328 of you reading this. A huge thank you to everyone who has read along and supported us so far 🙌🏾

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Okay - here's the tour plan for today 🧭

• The Tech Safari Ten Seven!

• Deal Roundup

• Events and Opportunities

• Tech Twitter

Alright, lets get this tour started!

The Tech Safari Ten Seven!

This week we had some huge tech news → Africa’s latest unicorn was born.

But you’ll have to watch out for that one next week - because now we’re in February and I still haven't shared the startups I’m watching in 2023.

So, without further ado, welcome to the Tech Safari Seven - the seven African startups I’m watching in 2023.

Now, I know what you’re thinking - how do I choose these startups? Why do I choose them? Wouldn't it be biased? Wasn't it supposed to be the Tech Safari Ten?

There are too many great startups to choose from to write a list of the best ones to follow.

So I’ve narrowed down the scope to startups that are using innovation born in Africa.

Most startups in Africa use a model from the west and retrofit it for Africa - and that’s great.

But today we’re covering companies and founders that have started in Africa, then scale to the rest of the world.

A few quick notes before we start.

1. First and foremost, this is not investment advice or endorsement - they’re simply startups I’m watching in 2023.

2. I invest in African startups and a few of these companies are in my portfolio. Call it bias, or investing in companies that I think are truly innovative - your call 💁🏾‍♂️

3. This was going to be called the Tech Safari Ten, but I wanted you to help me decide on the last three spots. I’ve left the last three spots open for you to share startups you’re following with me, and I’ll announce the final three next week.

Grab a cup of coffee (or if it’s your Saturday evening, a cold beverage) and strap in for the Tech Safari Ten Seven:

1) Foondamate

Foondamate is a South African AI-powered bot that makes education accessible to students around the world. Think of them as ChatGPT for education (before ChatGPT was a thing). Foondamate was started by Tao Laine Boyle and Dacod Magagula, who were trying to get textbooks to under-resourced schools in South Africa.

What we love about them: Tao and Dacod spent ages trying to help students access study materials. They realised students didn't have textbooks, but they had WhatsApp. When they combined two technologies - WhatsApp and AI - Foondamate was born. Now they’ve democratised education for over 1 million students. I wrote about them in last week’s edition.

2) Releaf

Releaf is an agritech startup disrupting Africa’s vegetable oil production sector. The founders, Ikenna Nzewi and Uzoma Ayogu, spent years in rural Nigeria understanding the supply chain for FMCG companies. They found that farmers would harvest palm nuts and crack them by hand, before selling them to a ‘trader’ who sells them to FMCGs.

So they built a machine called ‘The Kraken’ which can crack nuts effectively and replaces the trader (or middleman) - making farmers’ lives easier and giving FMCGs consistent pricing.

What we love about them: Kenna and Uzoma built a machine that cracks nuts and operates in rural Nigeria - the definition of an unsexy problem and product. But it’s a huge step in raw material processing, and a multibillion-dollar problem to solve - FMCGs process $900 billion worth of raw materials across Africa.

3) XRay Goggles - The Mphahlele Sisters

No company name (yet) - just two twin sisters who started inventing digital X-ray glasses when they were 19.

Matlhogonolo and Masego Mphahlele were playing soccer when one of their friends was injured in a game and spent hours waiting for an X-ray at the local hospital.

They figured there needed to be an easier solution than waiting for an X-Ray machine. So they created Digital XRay Goggles for health professionals to make faster diagnoses.

What we love about them: The Mphahlele’s are another example of innovation starting in Africa but shooting globally. In 2022, they developed and pitched the idea at the Red Bull Basement Global Finals - although they didn't win, they’ve been grinding away, working with radiologists to build these X-Ray glasses.

4) BasiGo

BasiGo is a Kenyan startup that manufactures electric buses for bus owners, started in 2021 by Jit Bhattacharya, Jonathan Green, and Alex Mwaura.

In Kenya, Matatus are minibuses that are used as share taxis. They’re everywhere. And 70% of commuters in Nairobi (Kenya’s capital city) use them to get around.

Bus drivers’ biggest expenses are vehicle costs and fuel, and electric buses neutralize fuel costs.

But electric buses are expensive - so BasiGo uses a Pay-as-you-Drive model, which lets bus owners own their busses over time and comes inclusive of battery and charging costs.

What we love about them: Fuel scarcity is a big problem and mobility is one of Africa’s biggest markets to disrupt. We’ve seen Bolt and Uber launch in Africa, but tech disruption in African mobility hasn’t moved past this. BasiGo is an exciting take on making mobility affordable and sustainable in Africa.

5) Spleet

Spleet Africa is a rental marketplace for landlords and tenants in West Africa, started by Akintola Adesanmi and Dolapo Adebayo.

While rental marketplaces aren't new, Spleet has a rent financing product that lets you Rent Now, Pay Later.

I’m not a fan of most [Buy/Rent/Ride/Eat/insert verb] Now, Pay Later startups, but when it comes to rentals in Africa, it’s a bit of a different story.

One of my teammates in Nigeria explained it takes 4-5 months to find a place in Lagos, and he recently moved back in with his parents because rental prices were so high.

In Nigeria, renters are supposed to pay one year of rent upfront.

In the US, that’s $14,500 upfront - and would keep most people living with their parents until they’re 35.

Spleet uses a Rent Now, Pay Later model that lets renters save and invest their money into themselves.

What we love about them: Paying rent monthly is taken for granted, but isn't an option for some countries. Spleet has recognised this problem and is making rentals accessible in Africa - solving a unique problem for millions of people.

6) OkHi

OkHi is a digital smart addressing system for emerging markets. Timbo Drayson, the CEO, launched Google Maps across the Middle East and Africa and came across the addressing problem.

In Africa, having a street address is rare. You usually pinpoint a building or landmark and explain your position from there. This makes basic things - like getting a bank account, receiving goods or even getting a job - very difficult.

Usually, banks will send a physical agent to your door to verify where you live.

OkHi lets you create an address by dropping a pin on the map with a virtual representation of your street

What we love about them: More than 4 billion people don’t have a formal physical address. OkHi’s tech gets these people included in the global address system, starting from Africa.

7) Chekkit

Chekkit, started by Dare Odumade, uses blockchain technology to authenticate pharmaceuticals in Africa.

10% of all medicine in low-to-middle-income countries is counterfeited, and 42% of all fake medicines reported to the World Health Organisation were from Africa. It’s the cause of many deaths on the continent.

Chekkit tracks drugs by letting users scan the barcode or enter the code on the product, and rewards users who authenticate products. They also monetise by letting FMCGs get feedback and insights on pharmaceuticals in Africa.

What we love about them: Chekkit saves lives while building a product that gives FMCGs insights into how their products are performing. Tracking product performance and customer perceptions in Africa is difficult for FMCGs, who need to conduct surveys with customers and retailers to get insights.

8,9 and 10) Help me choose!

Click below to vote for a startup that I should look into and fits the criteria 👇🏾

I’ll announce the last three companies next in next week’s edition. Stay tuned!

Deal Roundup

Startup raises

• Zuri Health, a Kenyan digital healthcare startup that offers accessible healthcare services to patients through its mobile application has raised an undisclosed amount from Morocco’s UM6P Ventures.

• Trade Lenda, a digital bank in Nigeria that helps supply chain MSMEs gain access to finance has raised $520K, pre-seed from African-focused investors like Sovereign Capital, ARM Labs, Expert Dojo and a few angel investors.

• Lulalend, a South African digital lending platform that focuses on SMEs raises $35 million in a Series B round led by global impact investors Lightrock.

• MNT-Halan, an Egyptian microfinance lending and payments startup has secured $400 million in equity and finance. Bringing its post-money valuation to $1 billion, making it Egypt’s second unicorn 🦄

Events + Opportunities

• Applications are open for the MEST Training Program, Class of 2024. MEST offers a 12-month graduate-level training to aspiring entrepreneurs across the African continent. Deadline on 27 February 2023.

• The fourth edition of the Africa Tech Summit will be held in Nairobi, Kenya this year from the 15th - 16th of February 2023. The event connects tech leaders from the African ecosystem and international players.

• Tech Safari is hosting a panel on Investing in Africa! Featuring Joe Kinvi (Co-Founder of HoaQ Club), Boum III Jr (CEO of Daba Finance) and Eric Jackson (Co-Founder of Hisa). Sign up here.

Startup Twitter

Our favourite tweets on African tech this week

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Catch you soon!

👋🏾 Caleb