This Week in African Tech 🌍

Hey hey, Darius here 👋🏼, good morning.

Uber South Africa received a rating of 1.13 out of 5 on HelloPeter, based on over a thousand reviews this year.

Which is roughly the score you'd give a restaurant that served you subpar food with a side of attitude. Riders are complaining about everything from inflated fares to drivers literally fleeing hit-and-run scenes mid-trip. 

Let’s round it up!

Tech Roundup

• South African riders are losing patience with Uber. Complaints over inflated fares, reckless driving, and unexplained account suspensions are piling up, while rivals like Bolt undercut prices on key routes. With tougher e-hailing regulations set to kick in soon, Uber’s margin for error is shrinking fast.
  

• Starlink is growing again in Kenya. After reopening urban sign-ups, the satellite internet provider hit a record 19,460 active users in September, rebounding from months of stalled growth caused by congestion limits.

• South Africa’s Lazarus Motor Company is selling cars in the metaverse now. The company has launched a virtual dealership in UBU, where buyers can browse full-scale Jetour and MG models, tweak colours and trims, and chat with AI sales assistants. You can even pay with EFT, crypto, or old-school finance, because the future still likes options.

• Hostinger lands in Nigeria with AI tools and Naira payments. The global web host is rolling out website builders, hosting, and an AI assistant, Kodee, that can automate content, domains, and e-commerce tasks. They aim to help Nigeria’s 39 million small businesses get online fast without a developer on speed dial.

• Visa is betting on Africa’s $500 million fintech future. The payment giant wrapped Cohort 4 of its Africa Fintech Accelerator, giving startups access to 300+ products, mentorship, and launch support. With half the continent under 25, Visa says now is the time for ventures to build solutions that meet the needs of a young, tech-savvy population.

Deal Roundup

• Community Wolf has snapped up Namola, one of South Africa’s best-known emergency apps. The acquisition pairs WhatsApp-driven, AI-processed crime reporting with on-demand medical and security response, aiming to fix the country’s fragmented safety landscape. Think neighbourhood alerts, but with backup on speed dial.

• Ezeebit, a South African payments startup, secured $2.05 million in seed funding to help merchants spend digital coins like cash. With stablecoin rails, instant settlement, and lower fees, the platform is targeting South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria, backed by Founder Collective and Raba Partnership.

•  Ageiro raised $3 million to put enterprise AI on autopilot. The South African startup’s agentic AI platform turns business goals into production-ready apps, cutting development cycles from months to days. The funding will boost decision-intelligence models, compliance tools, and integrations for complex enterprise environments.

•  Business Partners LTD is betting on women-led SMEs with a ZAR 90 million ($4 million) fund. The Basadi-Women Growth Fund offers tailored loans for working capital, equipment, and franchises, combined with guidance and mentorship.

• Völz, an Algerian travel-tech startup, raised $5 million in funding, giving the Algerian Startup Fund its first-ever exit with a 3.35x return. The startup lets users book international flights in Dinar and pay cash-on-delivery, a smart fix for an underbanked market. The new capital will automate systems, boost engineering, and expand B2B partnerships, including Turkish Airlines.

• Capitec is buying its way deeper into digital payments. The South African bank has acquired fintech Walletdoc in a deal worth up to R400 million (approximately $23.6 million), betting that cheaper, simpler payment tools can win over both merchants and everyday users. The move brings payment gateways, Instant EFT, and digital wallets firmly in-house.

• Sun King raised $40 million from Lightrock to power Africa’s off-grid homes. The company has already reached 50 million people with 29 million solar products and plans to deploy 50 million more by 2030. With pay-as-you-go kits costing as little as $0.15/day, clean energy is finally within reach for millions.

Events

• The Africa FutureTech Summit 2025 is tackling the continent's digital transformation with a massive, virtual event this December, covering everything from Web3 and NextGen AI to Agritech and DePIN infrastructure. The co-located MIBT Cardano Hackathon will see builders develop real-world solutions to compete for 30,000 ADA in innovation prizes and access to investor networks. Learn more here.

Post of the Week

@techsafarihq

Here's what happened this week in Africa's Agric sector: The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is aiming to raise agricultural lending above t... See more

And that's a wrap!

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

Cheers,

The Tech Safari Team

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