This Week in African Tech 🌍

Plus, two Tech Safari events for founders 🚀

Caleb Maru
July 30, 2023

Welcome to Tech Safari!

Your tour guide on African Tech 🧭

Hello to the 130 new folks who have joined the Safari since the last edition.

If you haven't subscribed, join 11,880 smart folks curious about Tech in Africa.

Morning! Welcome to This Week in African Tech.

To our homies in Tanzania 🇹🇿

I’m thinking of checking out Dar Es Salaam and traveling Zanzibar in a few weeks, and doing a deep dive into the country on Tech Safari.

So, a few questions:

Who should I chat with to learn about Tanzania’s tech ecosystem - from a startup, venture capital, and government perspective (specifically Silicon Zanzibar)?
Would you attend a Tech Safari Mixer (or maybe pub night) in Dar Es Salaam or Fumba town?
- And if yes, where should I host it?

Can you help? Shoot me an email 💌

Alright, into the edition!

Kenyan E-Commerce Platform Copia lays off 350 employees on its path to profitability. The company has had three rounds of layoffs as part of its cost-cutting restructuring. They’ve now laid off 700 people in 2023.
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) clears fintech firms Bamboo, Rivevest, Chaka, and 437 others to use their bank accounts. Their accounts were frozen in 2021 for operating without an asset management license.
Big network outage hits Kenya, taking down Gov't E-Services, M-pesa, mobile apps, and banking systems. A Sudanese hacker group has claimed responsibility, citing Kenya's meddling in Sudan’s affairs.

Zuri Health, a Kenyan health tech startup, has raised undisclosed funding from Five35 Ventures. Zuri provides mobile-first, on-demand healthcare services.
Clafiya, a Nigerian health tech startup, raises $610,000 in pre-seed funding for its expansion. Clafiya provides virtual and in-person healthcare services like consultations, diagnostic tests, and care navigation.
Aifluence, the Kenyan AI Influencer Marketing Platform, just won the 2023 Visa Everywhere Initiative in Kenya. They bagged $20,000 USD and are heading to the Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa (CEMEA) regional finals.
Kenyan agritech Farm Works has raised $4.1 million in pre-series A funding led by Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund, with participation from Livelihood Impact Fund, and Vested World. Farm Works is connecting farmers to inputs and markets for their produce.
Young African Catalysts is now part of Techstars Toronto and has rebranded as CatalyzU. They join 23 other startups from Canada and emerging markets in this cohort. Check out their programs for African Tech Talent here.

African founders! How good is your pitching game? Join our Pitch Deck Review Session next week with Raise. You'll get to connect with top investors like Janade Du Plessis from Launch Africa Ventures and Lisa Illingworth, the Commercial Director at Raise. Save your spot here.

Calling all founders and curious minds! Smile ID and I are putting on a KYC 101 with Mark Straub, the CEO of Smile ID. We’ll explore the current state of KYC in Africa, how you can fraud-proof your business and how to access $6,000 worth of Smile ID Credits. Save your spot here

Are you a pre-series A fintech in Africa? The Africa Fintech Summit is currently accepting applications for its sixth AlphaExpo Micro-Accelerator cohort. Participants will join a Pitch Competition on Friday, November 3.

PS - do you have any news, announcements, or opportunities I should know about? Email me and if they’re a fit, I’ll feature them 👌🏾

And that's a wrap for this week! We will be back with a feature story later this week.

Did we miss anything? Or just want to say hey? I'd love to hear from you! You can

And if you don't already, make sure to sign up to get this in your inbox next week

And remember - it just takes just three referrals to join our WhatsApp community 👇🏾

Catch you soon!

👋🏾 Caleb