This Week in African Tech 🌍

Hey everyone, Darius here with your Sunday roundup.

This week, the big story was all about the money—where it’s coming from, where it’s going, and who’s getting it back. African startups are on track to beat last year's funding record and industrial platform ARISE IIP secured a massive $700 million investment. For the first time ever, Nigeria successfully collected nearly $400 million in taxes from digital giants like Facebook and Netflix.

But it wasn't just about big deals. Here in Nigeria, the consumer watchdog helped get over $6.6 million back for everyday people, while Luno launched a new way for Nigerians to invest in global stocks using Naira. From record tax collections to new ways to invest, it’s clear the financial landscape is shifting fast.

But before we get into who's making the moves….

Tech Roundup

• Airtel Kenya, the country's second-largest telco, is set to launch a new home fibre service to compete with established players like Safaricom, Zuku, and Faiba. The move comes as Kenya's fixed broadband market continues to grow, with over 1.86 million subscriptions as of March 2025. While Safaricom currently leads with a 36.5% market share, Airtel is banking on its recent subscriber growth—adding 3 million new customers in Q1 2025—to shake up the market and expand its presence beyond mobile data.

• GTBank Kenya has partnered with Posta Kenya to launch 46 agency banking outlets, a major move to expand its services beyond its existing 12 branches. With the new partnership, branded as GTExpress, the bank plans to add an additional 54 outlets before the end of the year, bringing the total to 100, and is leveraging Posta Kenya's widespread network to reach more customers without the high costs of building new branches.

• African fintech company LemFi has partnered with GCash, the largest mobile wallet in the Philippines with 94 million users, to power remittances to the country. This new partnership allows Filipinos in North America and Europe to send money directly to GCash wallets with zero fees and near-instant delivery.

• South Africa's online retail sector is booming, with e-commerce sales expected to surpass R130 billion ($7 billion) in 2025. According to a new report by World Wide Worx, this marks a dramatic rise from its sub-1% share in 2015 to nearly 10% of national retail sales. The sector is growing over ten times faster than physical retail, with platforms like Takealot, Shoprite (Checkers Sixty60), and Pick n Pay leading the charge. While the arrival of global giants like Amazon and Shein is increasing competition, local retailers are holding their own by leveraging their strengths in fast delivery and easy returns.

• According to a new report by Briter, African startups are on track to raise more funding in 2025, than they did in 2024. So far, African startups have raised $2.9 billion across, and are just a few hundred thousand from beating 2024’s $3.1 billion total raise amount. This year, East ($865 million) and Southern Africa ($845 million) dominate funding volume, while West and North Africa see steady deal flows.

• Nigerian consumers are getting their money back. The country’s consumer protection watchdog, FFCCPC, announced that it has helped dissatisfied customers recover more than ₦10 billion ($6.66 million) in refunds from banks and other service providers between March and August 2025. The refunds came from over 9,000 complaints filed on the commission’s consumer complaints portal, with banking and fintech companies being the most common culprits for issues like loan deduction disputes and unauthorized charges.

• Nigeria just hit a major milestone, raking in over ₦600 billion ($399 million) in VAT from digital giants like Facebook and Netflix. For the first time, the country has successfully taxed foreign companies operating in its digital space. New amendments to the VAT Act now require these non-resident digital firms to collect and remit taxes directly from Nigerian users, a move that is expected to help Nigeria boost its tax revenue and reduce its dependence on oil.

• Luno, one of Africa's leading crypto platforms, has launched a new service in Nigeria that allows people to buy and sell global stocks in Naira. The service, which was first launched in South Africa, tokenizes shares from over 60 top companies like Apple, Tesla, and Microsoft, making it possible for everyday Nigerians to invest directly without needing foreign currency or offshore accounts. The move is a big step toward making global investing more accessible and affordable in a country where less than 5% of adults are active in the capital markets.

• Egyptian B2B startup, TradeHub, has shut down its operations just 18 months after raising a $1.4 million pre-seed round. The company, which aimed to connect local manufacturers with international buyers, was unable to achieve product-market fit despite multiple pivots. In a rare move for the MENA startup ecosystem, the founders decided to return the unspent capital to their investors, citing a lack of conviction to continue.

Deal Roundup

• ARISE Integrated Industrial Platforms (ARISE IIP), a company that builds and operates industrial zones across Africa, has secured a $700 million investment from Saudi-based firm Vision Invest. This landmark deal, one of the largest private infrastructure transactions in Africa, will help ARISE IIP fast-track its expansion across the continent. With over $2 billion already deployed in more than 14 countries, the company focuses on creating jobs and local value by transforming raw materials into finished goods.

• Acumen, an impact investment firm, has launched its second KawiSafi fund, with $90 million in approved capital, to scale climate solutions across Africa. The fund, which already has $40 million in committed capital, will back entrepreneurs in sectors such as renewable energy, clean transportation, and carbon solutions. Building on the success of its first fund, KawiSafi II aims to impact 50 million people and avert 50 million tons of CO2 at scale, signaling a major step toward a more inclusive and low-carbon future for the continent.

• Egyptian AI company Intella has raised $12.5 million in a Series A funding round to advance its AI speech technology for the Arabic-speaking world. The company focuses on developing AI models for over 25 Arabic dialects, claiming an industry-leading accuracy rate of 95.73%. The funding will enable Intella to accelerate its research and expand its platform across the MENA region, helping businesses to better understand and serve millions of Arabic-speaking customers.

• Moroccan cybersecurity firm Nucleon Security has raised $3.5 million in seed funding to expand its AI-driven security solutions across Africa. The company, which already serves over 100 clients across the continent, plans to use the funds to scale its "Zero Trust" platform, which uses artificial intelligence to help businesses proactively defend against cyber threats.

• South African fintech company Float has raised $2.6 million to expand its unique card-linked installment service. Unlike traditional "Buy Now, Pay Later" models, Float allows shoppers to split purchases into interest-free and fee-free installments using their existing credit card limits. The funding will help Float scale its operations in South Africa and prepare for international expansion.

• South African healthtech company Alignd has received a strategic investment from impact investor E Squared Investments to expand its value-based healthcare model. The company, led by a team of women, aims to reform the country's private healthcare system by shifting away from the expensive "fee-for-service" model. Alignd already provides home-based care to 2.9 million people through partnerships with major insurers, and the new funding will help the company expand its services to include maternity and kidney disease care.

• Moroccan startup Jobzyn has raised an undisclosed pre-seed round to expand its AI-powered hiring platform across Africa and the MENA region. The platform uses artificial intelligence to help companies screen and match talent faster by automating candidate assessments and providing recruiters with valuable insights. The funding, led by Pan-African VC firm Janngo Capital, will help the company scale its product and address the major inefficiencies in Africa's job market, where millions of applicants compete for a limited number of opportunities.

• cNGN, Africa's first regulated stablecoin, has secured a significant investment from Adaverse, a venture capital firm based in Riyadh. Since its launch in February 2025, cNGN's transaction volume has grown rapidly, with 600 million minted tokens recorded in July, up from just 66.1 million in February. With over 26 million crypto users in Nigeria, the investment aims to tap into the high demand for a naira-backed alternative to foreign-dominated stablecoins like USDT and USDC.

• Tunisian AI startup Addvocate.AI has secured a strategic investment from 216 Capital to scale its AI-powered sales platform. Founded in 2024, the company offers a "Sales Performance OS" that acts as a digital co-pilot for sales teams, providing AI-driven insights and streamlining data to boost productivity. The new funding will help the company accelerate its product innovation and expand into new international markets.

Post of the Week

Other Events and Opportunities

• Applications are now open for the MEST Africa Challenge (MAC) 2025. This year, the competition is calling on fintech startups from Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, and six other African nations that are building solutions in areas like digital payments and financial inclusion. The winner will receive a grand prize of $50,000 in equity funding, the opportunity to run a pilot project with Absa Bank, and a spot in the MEST Africa incubation portfolio. Apply by September 26.

• The Africa Money & DeFi Summit returns to Accra on September 24–25, bringing together 500+ fintech and Web3 leaders. Applications are open for its Investment Showcase, where selected African startups will pitch to investors for funding and partnerships.

And that's a wrap!

That’s it for this week. See you on Wednesday 😃 

Cheers,

The Tech Safari Team

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