This Week in African Tech 🌍

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

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

Tech Roundup

• Kenyan startups over three years old risk being excluded from registration and incubation under the new Startup Bill. The bill requires Kenyan-owned startups to invest 15% of their expenses in research. It’ll also set up a Startup Fund financed by the government and grants.

• Globacom CEO Ahmad Farroukh has resigned just one month into the role. His departure comes as the company faces more regulatory scrutiny, with its market share in Nigeria dropping from 60% to 12%.

• The Kenyan Treasury has published the Virtual Asset Service Providers Bill, 2025, aiming to regulate crypto firms. The bill requires companies to set up local offices, obtain licenses, and have executives and boards vetted by regulators.

• The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has granted a Payment Service Provider (PSP) license to Kasa Pay Limited. This makes Kasa Pay the first fintech company, excluding telecoms, to hold both a PSP license and a remittance/cross-border payments license in Kenya.

• South Sudan’s National Communication Authority (NCA) has ordered a 90-day shutdown of all social media platforms. The motive is to stop the spread of violent content linked to unrest in Sudan.

• Bolt Kenya is entering the grocery delivery market with Bolt Market, integrated into its Bolt Food app. The move is part of Bolt’s strategy to expand services, grow market share, and position itself as a trusted platform for on-demand grocery delivery.

• M-Pesa is teaming up with PesaLink, allowing for smoother transactions between different platforms. PesaLink can now reach more users by tapping into M-Pesa’s large customer base.

Deal Roundup

• South African insurtech Naked has raised $38 million in a Series B2 round led by BlueOrchard. The funding will fuel investment in automation, AI, product expansion, and marketing to grow its customer base.

• Egyptian fintech MoneyHash has raised $5.2 million in pre-Series A funding to fuel global expansion. The round was led by Flourish Ventures, with venture partner Ameya Upadhyay joining the board.

• Egyptian fintech Raseedi has acquired its counterpart Kashat in an equity deal to broaden its product offerings and launch instant cash loans. The two companies plan to expand their fully digital solution across Africa and Asia to serve the underbanked.

• Nigerian fintech Moniepoint has raised over $10 million from Visa, and is in talks with other investors to secure more funding in the coming months. Moniepoint’s Series C now totals over $120 million.

• South African travel-booking platform Conservio has raised $1 million in its second funding round led by E4E Africa. The startup plans to expand its portfolio to over 2,000 properties, grow its customer base, and strengthen its position as the top brand for nature-based travel.

• Nigerian HR-Tech SeamlessHR has secured $9 million in its latest funding round from the Gates Foundation and Helios Digital Ventures. The funds will support its expansion, boosting productivity and performance with AI and Embedded Finance solutions.

 Events and Opportunities

• Applications are open for the Timbuktoo MineTech Accelerator program. The Timbuktoo MineTech Hub is an accelerator for youth-led startups in mining. The program offers mentorship, funding, and a global network to increase growth and efficiency in mining. Apply by February 13.

• On January 31st, CloudPlexo & AWS are hosting an exclusive dinner for VCs, founders, and tech enablers in Nairobi. It’ll be a night of meaningful talks and connections, and spark collaboration and opportunities for growth in Africa’s tech scene. Sign up here to attend.

• 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.

  

• Stanford Seed is collaborating with the African Management Institute to run the Aspire Business Growth Programme for founders and CEOs of small, fast-growing companies in Africa. Founders get access to expert lectures from Stanford faculty and practical growth tools. Applications are open here.

And that's a wrap!

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