This Week in African Tech 🌍

Hey 👋🏽, Caleb here!

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Before we dive in though, we’ve got some exciting Tech Safari Events coming up! 🥳 

Now, let’s get into this week’s roundup.

Tech Roundup

• American tech giant IBM has exited Nigeria, Ghana, and other key African markets, transferring regional functions to MIBB, a subsidiary of Midis Group. The shift is part of a new operating model, effective April 1, 2025.

• Ebun Okubanjo, CEO of Nigerian payroll platform Bento Africa, has resigned amid allegations of failing to remit taxes and pensions for clients. He cited the challenges of scaling HR and payroll systems in Africa as the reason for his departure.

• South African fintech startups Float and Peach Payments have partnered to bring buy now, pay later (BNPL) options to thousands of merchants. The integration will expand access to interest-free monthly instalments for South African consumers.

• Egyptian fintech Paymob has received the Retail Payment Services License from the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) after meeting all regulatory requirements through a thorough approval process.

• Kenya's Business Registration Service (BRS) has confirmed a data breach exposing sensitive information on company ownership, directorship, and beneficial owners, compromising privacy and security.

• Nigerian HR-tech startup SeamlessHR is expanding its customer base by targeting government agencies. With more than 720,000 civil servants, the Nigerian government presents a valuable opportunity for sustained growth in the public sector.

• Investing in Innovation Africa (i3) is prioritizing five to seven growth-stage startups in pharmacy care for its third cohort. The shift follows a US State Department directive halting foreign aid, which is expected to disrupt medicine distribution in Africa.

• Canal+ will restructure MultiChoice into two entities: LicenceCo, holding the broadcasting licence, and MultiChoice Group, which will retain 49% economic interest and 20% voting rights in LicenceCo. This aims to meet South African foreign ownership regulations.

• Resilience17 has launched Go Time AI, an accelerator supporting African startups building AI products. Selected startups will receive up to $200,000 in funding, starting with $25,000 and up to $175,000 in later rounds.

Deal Roundup

• Egyptian B2B loyalty platform Prepit has been acquired by Dsquares for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition will help Dsquares expand its loyalty expertise in key Middle Eastern markets like Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the UAE.

• French development finance agency Proparco has invested $10.4 million in AfricInvest’s latest SME-focused fund. The fund will support SMEs across North, East, and West Africa in key sectors like education, health, and agribusiness.

• Egyptian fintech Khazna has raised $16 million in a pre-Series B round from new and existing investors. The funds will support its digital banking license application in Egypt and drive expansion into Saudi Arabia.

• Nigerian fintech Accrue has raised $1.58 million in a seed round led by Lattice Fund. The funds will expand Accrue’s payment infrastructure, strengthen its team, and enhance its product offerings.

• Egyptian VC firm Foundation Ventures has closed the first round of its $25 million fund. While primarily focused on Egypt, part of the capital will be invested in promising startups across Africa.

• Egyptian startup Simplex has raised $13 million to build a 20,000-square-meter Computer numerical control (CNC) factory in Saudi Arabia. The move follows a Memorandum of Understanding with Saudi Arabia’s National Industrial Development Centre.

 Other Events and Opportunities

• The African Tech Summit Nairobi has announced 10 startups to showcase their products at the event on February 12th & 13th. Some of the selected startups include Heala Health, PricePally, Dojah, Duhqa, and Flow Global. If you haven’t registered for the event, you can do that here.

• Are you a female founder working on energy and mobility in Africa? Delta40’s Energy & Mobility Innovation Program is currently open for you. It’s a 10-month program providing founders with world-class venture studio support and funding. Applications are open here till February 15th.

• Applications for the 4th Visa Fintech Accelerator are now open. It gives fintechs access to tools, network, and mentorship to scale their products, and four startups that got in last year went on to raise funding from Visa. Apply here by March 15th.

  

• No Code Tech Summit (NCTS) is hosting a Virtual Career Workshop on February 22nd. The expert-led session will cover career tracks in Customer Success, Quality Assurance, Business Development, and Human Resource Management. Register here.

And that's a wrap!

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