This Week in African Tech 🌍

Copia is finding it hard to cope 😢

Caleb Maru
June 09, 2024

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Two weeks after laying off 1,000 employees, Copia Global has laid off its remaining 1,500 employees and will likely shut down. The company has raised $123 million so far but faced sales issues in different markets across Africa.

Kenyan agri-tech data platform, Gro Intelligence, has laid off all its staff and shut down after 12 years of operations. Gro built an AI tool that crunches data and gives clients insights, but it seems nobody's buying and they couldn't get more funding.
Rwanda plans to launch a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in the next two years, offering a convenient and secure alternative to cash. The CBDC is expected to boost financial inclusion by allowing more unbanked people to join the formal economy.
Zone, a Nigerian payment startup, has launched a blockchain-powered PoS payment gateway. This will speed up payments and cut chargeback fraud by sending money directly, all within the Central Bank’s rules.
South Africa’s Revio, a payment-as-a-service startup, has rebranded to Precium after its global expansion plans “exceeded expectations”. The startup is helping merchants save money, avoid risk, and grow faster.

Schneider Electric, a global energy management company, has launched a microgrid solution called Villaya Flex to serve off-grid communities in Nigeria. This is part of the company’s Access to Energy (A2E) programme focused on providing universal access to sustainable energy solutions.
Nigerian fintech startups will have to spend up to $1 million verifying the 1.5 million POS agents operating in the country, due to new central bank rules. The new rules require them to physically verify the addresses of POS agents.

LAfricaMobile, an Ivory Coast-based cloud communications startup, has raised $4.6 million in Series A funding. The company helps clients run big mobile campaigns on SMS, WhatsApp, etc. and will use this funding to expand faster across French-speaking Africa.
South Africa’s 4Di Capital plans to raise a third fund for making Series A investments. The VC firm raised $25 million for its last fund and has made 10 investments, most of which are in early-stage startups.
Moroccan agri-tech startup, Yola Fresh, has raised a $7 million pre-Series A round led by Al Mada Ventures. The raise will help them expand their logistics, improve their tech and reach more customers as they connect farmers with retailers and food service companies.

Selcom Tanzania, a fintech service provider, has acquired Access Microfinance Bank in a deal that has made it one of the biggest microfinance banks in Tanzania. Selcom plans to merge tech with banking to offer consumers direct better financial services.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has invested €25 million ($27 million) into Amethis Fund III, a pan-African fund providing private equity growth capital to mid-sized companies. The fund will invest in African companies bringing healthcare, logistics, and manufacturing to low- and middle-income communities.

Applications are open for the 4th Edition of Egypt’s Entrepreneurship Awards (EEA). The awards are given to innovative Egyptian startups across 14 categories. Apply here before July 4th.
Nigeria’s Co-Creation Hub (CCHub) has launched a market entry programme called “Let’s Build, Africa” to empower African startups with the tools and connections to enter new markets within the continent. Applications are currently open here.

And that's a wrap for this week!

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