This Week in African Tech 🌍

Hey 👋🏽, 

It’s lawsuit season in Nigeria, and Apple just dropped the iPhone 16e—basically the same as the iPhone 16, just… cheaper? Innovation or just Apple being Apple? 🤔

Meanwhile, African tech has been busy—funding rounds, regulatory drama, and some big moves in AI and fintech. We’ll get to the roundup in a sec.

But before we do, we have a little announcement.

Now, on to this week’s roundup….

Tech Roundup

• Kenya’s data protection regulator has fined Zuku $3,200 for failing to delete a former customer’s data and sending unsolicited messages despite multiple opt-out requests. The company must erase the data and provide proof of compliance within seven days.

• Nigerian food procurement startup Vendease has conducted its second round of layoffs in five months, as part of a restructuring aimed at improving financial sustainability while working to secure a Series A extension.

• Former Kuda executive Rosemary Hewat has sued the fintech and its CEO, Babatunde Ogundeyi, alleging a toxic work culture, gender-based discrimination, unequal stock options, and wrongful termination.

• Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) is suing Binance for $79.5 billion in alleged economic losses and $2 billion in back taxes for 2022 and 2023. The lawsuit also claims Binance operated covertly in Nigeria despite its significant economic presence.

• Former Leatherback CEO Ibrahim Ibitade has launched Prune Payments, a cross-border payments startup, months after stepping down. Under his leadership, Leatherback raised $10 million pre-seed from Zedcrest Capital in 2022, signing up over 60,000 users and processing more than $300 million monthly.

Deal Roundup

• Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) has secured a $400 million Islamic financing facility led by Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank. The three-year funding will support industrialization, infrastructure development, and economic growth.

• Egyptian SaaS startup Qme has raised $3 million in a seed round led by deep-tech company AHOY. The funds will enhance its AI-driven solutions for modernizing appointment booking and reducing inefficiencies across sectors.

• The European Investment Bank (EIB) has invested $15.8 million in the IPAE 3 fund by Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P) to support high-growth African businesses in sectors like agriculture, health, energy, and water.

• Microsoft is investing $1 million to train one million Nigerians in AI and digital skills over the next two years, aiming to strengthen its presence in Africa and prepare the workforce for the global economy.

• Ghanaian fintech Affinity Africa has raised $8 million in an oversubscribed seed round led by Grazia Equity and BACKED VC to expand in Ghana and drive financial inclusion ahead of international growth.

 Other Events and Opportunities

• Talent Safari, a community for Africa’s top mid-level startup professionals, is now helping companies hire from its exceptional talent pool. Employers looking to recruit the best talent can fill out this form to get started. Haven’t joined Talent Safari yet? There’s still time to sign up!

• The second edition of Payd Founders Game Night is happening on Friday, March 28th, at Antler, ABC Place Nairobi, starting at 7 PM. Get ready for Maverick vibes, high-stakes fun, and an unforgettable night. Secure your spot here.

• 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.

• Applications are open for the sixth edition of the OceanHub Africa accelerator, a 12-month program supporting up to 24 high-impact, for-profit startups dedicated to ocean conservation. The program will run in two intakes, March and July, with applications reviewed on a rolling basis. Applications are open here.

• Applications are open for the fifth cohort of AUDA-NEPAD’s Home Grown Solutions Accelerator for Pandemic Resilience. The program supports African e-health startups in strengthening the continent’s healthcare sector, aligning with the African Union’s Energize Africa Initiative and Agenda 2063. Apply here by February 28^th.

And that's a wrap!

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

Cheers,

The Tech Safari Team

PS. refer five readers and you’ll get access to our private community. 👇🏾

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