This Week in African Tech 🌍

Another e-commerce startup bites the dust 🪦

Caleb Maru
May 19, 2024

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Copia Global might be going under. The Kenyan B2C e-commerce startup has two million customers and $123 million in funding but is considering laying off over 1,000 employees and shutting down. Economic uncertainties and cost-cutting are to blame, but this comes after it raised a $20 million Series C extension round in December 2023.

Flutterwave got hacked in April and ₦11 billion ($7.3 million) was transferred to different customer accounts. This is the fourth breach to hit the fintech company in the past 13 months, but new bank regulations will allow it to recover lost funds.
Internet services are back up in East Africa after four days of being down due to cable cuts. The damage happened to two submarine internet cables connecting South Africa and Kenya, which have now been repaired.
Jumia’s search for profitability continues. It’s merging its three Nigerian warehouses into one depot. The company lost $8.3 million in Q1 2024 compared to $28.4 million in Q1 last year. The CEO also said that the average order value has increased in all its markets.
Moniepoint, OmniRetail, M-Kopa, and other African startups made the Financial Times list of the top 100 fastest-growing companies in Africa. Tens of tech startups made the list overall - most of them in fintech.
Nigeria is launching a tech hub in Silicon Valley. Nigeria’s minister for digital economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, announced the creation of the Nigerian Startup House on Tuesday. He expects the hub to improve Nigeria’s global tech presence and attract foreign investment.

Dr. Bosun Tijani, Nigeria’s communications minister. Source: TechCabal

D.Light, a solar power provider based in Uganda, has secured $3.4 million in grants from Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) and Energising Development (EnDev). The funds will help it deliver subsidised solar home systems to refugees displaced by conflicts in South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, most of whom are now living in camps across Northern and Western Uganda.

Sam Goldman and Ned Tozun, founders of D.Light Solar. Source: Smart Villages

Global non-profit, Accion, has launched a $152 million fund to back companies using technology to provide small businesses globally with access to financial services. They’re focusing on emerging markets like Africa and South America.
Egyptian fintech, Mnzl, has raised $3.5 million in seed funding from Ingressive Capital, P1 Ventures, and Localglobe. MNZL allows users to transform their assets like homes and cars into liquidity for their projects and needs. It plans to expand its technology to more Egyptians.
Maad, a B2B e-commerce startup based in Senegal has raised $3.2 million in debt and equity funding from Ventures Platform, Oui Capital, Launch Africa, and others. Maad helps informal retailers source fast-moving consumer goods directly from suppliers and will use this funding to expand deeper into Francophone Africa.

Spiro, an India-based EV company, has secured $50 million in debt financing from AfreximBank to expand its electric vehicle offerings in Africa. Spiro operates in Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Kenya, Uganda, and Ghana. The funds will be used to increase its motorbike fleet and battery-swapping stations across different markets.

Are you coming to Afrotech Fest? It’s a festival to celebrate Africa’s tech ecosystem, and it’s happening on the 1st of June in London. It’s for everyone - Founders, Operators, Investors, Ecosystem players, or if you're just curious about tech. Tickets are moving fast - grab them here.

Google has officially opened applications for its Google for Startups Accelerator Africa program's eighth cohort. It’s a three-month, equity-free virtual program that provides African startups with mentorship, technical resources and access to a global network of experts and investors. Applications are open from April 29 to May 20. Apply here.
Digify Africa has opened applications for the Digify Pro Online digital entrepreneurship program. This is in partnership with Meta and the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation (MSDF). Applications are open here until June 2nd.

And that's a wrap for this week!

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