This Week in African Tech 🌍

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Tech Roundup

• Safaricom Ethiopia is calling out Ethio Telecom for being an unfair monopoly, as Ethio Telecom users are being charged higher prices for calling Safaricom subscribers. They’ve asked lawmakers to step in and fix things.

• Over 20 Kenyans were arrested for cyber fraud in a two-month sting operation by INTERPOL and AFRIPOL. The operation busted $43 million in stolen funds, mostly from online credit card scams, which had been sent to digital firms in the UAE, Nigeria, and China.

• Zambian fintech eShandi is expanding to Kenya, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. They’re targeting unbanked Africans and SMEs with their services.

• Starlink, Elon Musk's satellite Internet service, has launched in Cape Verde with plans to improve connectivity in underserved areas.

• GoFree, a fintech, is expanding into the UK and Canada and has just secured its Money Services Business (MSB) license in the US. GoFree lets Africans abroad send money home and access financial services via text.

• Kenyan cleantech SunCulture has teamed up with insurtech Turaco to help farmers tackle climate change using SunCulture’s pay-as-you-go (PAYG) devices.

• Nigerian telecom Pan African Towers has appointed Oladipo Badru as acting CEO, starting November 2024. Badru, previously the CFO, will lead the company’s next phase of growth.

• The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has allegedly fined Moniepoint and OPay $644,650 each as the country tightens fintech regulations. While Moniepoint refused to confirm the story, OPay strongly denied that it happened.

• Nigerian fintech PalmPay has partnered with Jumia, enabling customers to pay for products directly from their PalmPay accounts.

• Klasha, a global cross-border payment company, has teamed up with Asian fintech LianLian Global to enable seamless payments between China and Africa.

Deal Roundup

• South Africa’s The Good People Data Company has secured an undisclosed amount of funding from the REdimension Real Estate Technology and Sustainability Fund, along with other investors, to accelerate its growth.

• Nigerian fintech Billboxx has raised $1.6 million in a pre-seed debt and equity round led by Norrsken Accelerator to help tackle cash flow challenges faced by SMEs across Africa.

• Catalyst Fund (Kenya), Reach for Change Foundation (Ghana), Ennovate Ventures (Tanzania), Emerge Livelihoods (Malawi), and IdeiaLab (Mozambique) are advancing to the next phase of Village Capital’s Empowering Sustainable Entrepreneurship in Africa program.

• Morocco B2B marketplace ZSystems, has raised $1.5 million in a Seed funding round led by MNF Ventures through its MNF II fund. The fresh capital will help the company improve its technology, expand its product offerings, and prepare for its next phase of growth.

• Eyone, a Senegalese health tech startup, has secured $1 million in a funding round led by Sonatel to expand its services across West Africa.

• Tunisian fintech Konnect has secured an undisclosed amount of funding from Renew Capital, marking the firm’s first investment in Tunisia. The funds will support Konnect’s expansion efforts.

• Cauris Finance, an Africa-focused impact credit fund, has secured a $40 million debt facility from a US-based institutional investor. The fund will use the capital to scale its support for socially impactful African fintechs.

• Seedstars Africa Ventures I, an early-stage venture capital fund, has reached a first close of $42 million.

• Ghanaian agritech SAYeTECH has won the 2024 MEST Africa Challenge, earning $50,000 in equity funding to scale its operations.

• Senegalese cloud startup LAfricaMobile has added $2.2 million to its Series A, bringing the total to $6.8 million. The initial $4.6 million round, led by Janngo Capital now gets a boost from Bpifrance and other private investors.

Events and Opportunities

• Applications are open for the first Climate-Smart Agriculture Angel Network cohort! If you're passionate about advancing angel investing in Africa and driving innovation in climate-smart agriculture, this is your chance.

  The program offers tools, training, and technical support to help business angels maximize their impact. Key activities include training, networking, venture showcases, and technical assistance. Apply here by December 20th.

• The 7th edition of Africa Tech Summit Nairobi, powered by Raenest, is happening on February 12-13, 2025 at the Sarit Expo Centre. Join over 2,000 leaders, investors, and corporates for two days of networking and insights. Get your early bird passes here!

And that's a wrap!

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