This Week in African Tech 🌍

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Happy Monday!

A big week in startups. Companies like Marketforce and Interswitch are feeling the heat, while funds like Norrsken22 and Novastar have landed fresh capital to invest in startups.

On the Tech Safari Side - we will be in Kigali this week taking over Norrsken’s Africa Week for an afternoon, with a lineup of my favourite community builders.

And next week, I’m teaming up with three exciting companies to watch in African tech: Paystack, Leta, and Shop Zetu.

We’ll be talking about the future of e-commerce and how to scale an e-commerce company. RSVP to attend here.

Alright, let’s dive into the edition!

Tech Roundup

• Kenya opens its first smartphone factory to make low-cost phones. The factory is set to produce up to 3 million 4G-enabled phones a year priced from as low as $50.

• MarketForce, the Kenyan B2B e-commerce startup, shuts down in Tanzania, Nigeria, and Rwanda. The company is now concentrating its efforts on Kenya and Uganda.

• Nigerian fintech Interswitch allegedly loses ₦30 billion ($38 million) to fraud. They’re now seeking to freeze accounts in 54 banks connected to the fraud.

• Paystack, Nigeria’s fintech, gets operating licenses in Egypt and Rwanda. They're teaming up with local companies in Cote d'Ivoire to expand there as well.

Deal Roundup

• Norrsken22 has successfully closed its fundraise at $205 million to invest in growth-stage companies across Africa. Their growth portfolio includes companies like TymeBank, Sabi, Smile Identity, Autochek, and Shara. Given the funding gap for growth-stage companies in Africa, we think this is a big win 🏆.

• Novastar Ventures partners with Japanese finance conglomerate, SBI Holdings, who will invest $80 million into Novastar’s future funds. This comes as Novastar is raising a $200 million third fund: The Africa People + Planet Fund.

• Maisha Meds, a Kenyan digital health startup that lets pharmacists and clinicians in rural areas buy medicine affordably, raises $5.25 million from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

• Almouneer, the Egyptian health tech startup supporting patients with chronic diseases, raises $3.6 million. The round was led by Global Ventures, Wrightwood Investments, Proparco, and Digital Africa through the Bridge Fund.

• African mobile video network, StarNews Mobile, raises $3 million in pre-Series A. Janngo Capital, an Africa-focused venture capital firm, led the round.

• Tunisian fintech, My Easy Transfer, a remittance platform between Tunisia and Europe, raises $420,000 from 216 Capital.

• Nigeria's AFEX, a commodities trading platform in Africa that supports smallholder farmers, has raised $26.5 million from British International Investment (BII).

• South African insurtech startup, Inclusivity Solutions raises $1.5 million to expand across Africa. The round was led by Goodwell Investments.

Events + Opportunities

• Our friends at Zindi are running a 2-day Data Science Retreat for tech leaders and executives in Dar Es Salaam. Get insights from Zindi, CareerLauncher, and IIT experts on how to leverage data science, Machine Learning, and AI for better decision-making. Register here.

• Startups in Kenya - Latitude59 are calling for early-stage startups for the Latitude Pitch Competition on December 6th.

  • Finalists will have the chance to come to Estonia with me next year and pitch live at Latitude59 🎉 

  • Apply here, or shoot me an email if you have any questions.

• Founders! Google Cloud is hosting a Lagos Founder's Story event with the CEO and Co-founder of PiggyVest, Somto Ifezue. Come and network with startup ecosystem leaders on the 9th of November. Register here

• Apply now for the 2nd edition of ELEVATE an investor readiness program. Run by GOGLA and GET.invest the program seeks to help African off-grid solar companies. Apply here before 19th November.

And that's a wrap for this week!

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