This Week in African Tech 🌍

Hey, Maryann here 👋🏽 

Africa’s tech scene is heating up. Startups have already raised $1 billion this year, with Egypt leading the funding charts. MTN is spinning off its mobile money unit, and Solar Panda is expanding into Southern Africa. From agri-tech to clean energy, fresh capital is flowing. Plus, we’ve got a few new job postings across African tech.

Plenty to catch up on this week, but first just a quick heads-up... 

Now, on to this week’s roundup….

Tech Roundup

• African startups raised $1 billion between January and May 2025, a 40% jump from the same period last year. Egypt attracted the most funding, pulling in $330 million across 16 deals and making up 31% of all disclosed investment so far.

• South African home services startup GoodApp is piloting in the US, targeting underserved neighbourhoods with gig-worker gaps. It’s also exploring white-label partnerships with banks to power in-app home services.

• Egyptian fintech Paysky has launched “Pay by Bank,” a new solution for direct account-to-account payments. The service lets banks, merchants, and users bypass traditional payment rails for faster, cheaper, and more secure transactions.

• MTN Uganda is spinning off its mobile money unit into a standalone fintech company. The new entity will be owned by MTN Group Fintech Holdings and a trust representing minority shareholders. The deal is still pending regulatory and shareholder approvals.

• Kenyan clean energy startup Solar Panda has acquired Zambia’s Vitalite, marking its expansion into Southern Africa and a third active market. The deal brings over 100,000 new customers and builds on its existing presence in Kenya and Senegal.

Deal Roundup

• South African land management startup Vastpoint has secured funding from Vital Capital to scale its work in transforming land use, ownership, and management in vulnerable regions.

• African DevSecOps startup Salus Cloud has raised $3.7 million in seed funding to accelerate go-to-market efforts, hire AI talent, and launch a self-service option for developers. The round was co-led by Atlantica Ventures and P1 Ventures.

• South African agri-tech startup Nile has raised $11.3 million in a round led by the Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund. The funding will help Nile grow across Southern Africa by expanding its inputs marketplace and launching financing solutions with partner banks.

• Senegalese e-health startup KERA has raised $10 million from the International Finance Corporation. The funding will help improve its software platform, making healthcare more affordable and efficient through faster payments and AI-driven tools.

• South Africa’s Zero Carbon Charge has raised $5.6 million from the Development Bank of Southern Africa. The funding will support the rollout of its solar-powered ultra-fast charging stations every 150km along national roads, helping reduce range anxiety and reliance on Eskom.

Other Events and Opportunities

• African entrepreneurs worldwide have been invited to apply for the D-Prize Competition, which offers up to $20,000 in funding for social impact startups. Applications are open here until June 29.

• Faith Foundry is hosting its second Christian Tech Meetup on June 20, bringing together tech pros, faith-driven entrepreneurs, and church leaders. The event aims to tackle real challenges and grow the Jesus Tech movement. Register here.

• The Africa Technology Expo is set for June 21, 2025, at the Landmark Event Center in Lagos, Nigeria. The event brings together tech and innovation professionals aged 18 and above. Get your tickets here.

And that's a wrap!

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

Cheers,

The Tech Safari Team

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