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This Week in African Tech 🌍

This Week in African Tech 🌍

GoMetro raises $11 million, Sky Garden makes a come back

December 04, 2023

Welcome to Tech Safari!

Your tour guide on African Tech 🧭

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

If you haven't subscribed, join 17,299 smart folks curious about Tech in Africa.

Happy Monday!

Last week we missed our weekly roundup, so this edition has the last two weeks of African Tech. There is a lot to catch up on.

Before we dive in - Founders in Nairobi, I’m hosting a workshop next week called Seed to Scale: Raising a Series A in Africa.

This session is for founders who want to scale to Series A, and we will hear from experts in scaling, equity management and fundraising.

It’s an in-person workshop and part of Latitude59 on Wednesday, 6th December.

We only have 50 spots, you can register for it here.

Alright, let’s dive in.

Tech Roundup

LemFI, a fintech handling remittances in Africa, shuts down in Ghana. This follows Ghana’s crackdown on remittance providers not approved to run in the country.
Kenyan e-commerce startup Sky Garden is back. After almost shutting down last year, they’re relaunching under Lipa Later, a Kenyan digital credit fintech. Lipa Later says they’ve pumped in $1.5 million to get Sky Garden up and running again.
Startups in Kenya are set to get tax breaks. Speaking at the Kenya Innovation Week, president Ruto confirmed a new startup law that’s easy on taxes, set to be passed next year.
Our friend and media founder Fatu Ogwuche has launched a new show for African tech personalities - Backstories with Fatu. It premiered last Tuesday on her YouTube channel: Big Tech this Week. Catch it here
Zazuu, a cross-border payment startup for Africa, shuts down, citing lack of funding. This comes after raising over $2 million in funding from investors such as Launch Africa and Founders Factory last year.
Nigeria’s retail startup Alerzo lays off more than 100 employees. This comes eight months after a previous layoff that affected 400 people. .
Nigeria’s first digital publisher, Okada Books, shuts down after ten years. The online book platform has helped over 8,000 writers become authors for free, and has over 20,000 books available for download. They have not given a specific reason for closing.
Ghana’s insuretech startup Brolly, teams up with Bolt to insurer Bolt drivers in Ghana. The startup has flexible car insurance products, letting drivers pay daily or weekly.

Deal Round Up

GoMetro, South Africa’s fleet management startup, raises a $11.4 million series A round. The round was led by Zenobē and FutureGrowth Asset Managers , with participation from other investors
Tunisia’s retail tech startup Winshot raises six-figure funding from 216 Capital, a Tunis-based VC firm. The startup helps retail businesses digitize operations and become more efficient
EchoVC, a VC firm backing minority African founders, launches a new $2.5m fund. Dubbed EchoVC Eco Pilot Fund I, it will back pre-seed startups in climate, energy, agriculture, and mobility.
Saviu Ventures, a leading VC firm in Francophone Africa, has raised $13 million for its second fund- Saviu II. Following its first close, Saviu II has already made a few investments, including in Cameroon’s Waspito, Senegal’s Rubyx, and Kenya’s Workpay
Pricepally, Nigeria’s food ecommerce startup, raises $1.3 million in seed funding. The round was led by Samurai Incubate, SOSV, ELEA, Hi2 Global, Chui Ventures, and former Unilever West Africa MD David Mureithi.
Kenya's Aquarech, a fish farming startup, raises $1.7 million to grow its team. The round was led by Aqua-Spark, Acumen, Katapult, and Mercy Corps Ventures.
Morocco’s Chari, focusing on B2B e-commerce and fintech, raises undisclosed funding from UM6P Ventures. The funding will help grow their platform, which links small retailers in Morocco and Tunisia to big local manufactures.
Cameroonian healthtech Waspito raises $2.5 million in seed funding to expand across Francophone Africa. The round was led by DP World via Newtown Partners, Saviu Ventures, AAIC Investment, Axian Ventures, and CFAO’s Health54.
Egypt's WayUp Sports, a specialized e-commerce platform for sports gear, raises undisclosed seed funding. The round was led by Beltone Venture Capital, Index Sports Fund, and other angel investors.
Nigerian venture capital firm, Aduna Capital, is launching a $20 million fund. They're allocating 55.5% of investments to Northern Nigerian startups, with the rest for other Nigerian and African regions. Half of the supported startups will be female-led.
Events and Opportunities
- Nairobi! Latitude59 x Kenya Edition is finally here. This Wednesday, we’re celebrating Nairobi’s ecosystem and hearing from a world-class lineup of speakers. Grab your ticket here
- Techies! Servercore has a free webinar for founders and anyone who runs a business online. Join them tomorrow and learn how to use the cloud to solve business problems, handle personal data legally, and prevent downtimes during high-traffic periods. Register here
- Hey founders! Applications are still open for the Africa Tech Summit investment showcase. The annual event is going to Nairobi next year, on February 14-15. Apply here before December 19 to pitch your startup in front of Africa’s biggest tech audience.
- Building a social enterprise for low-income communities in Africa? Apply for the FINCA Ventures Prize, offering grants up to US$70,000 for Africa-focused poverty solutions. Apply here
- Eyeing a career in cyber security? Apply to the CyberGirls Fellowship to get your career started next year. CyberGirls is a 1-year program that trains and mentors African girls and women aged 18-28 in cyber security. Apply here
- Looking to attend some cool tech events this December? Tech Connect Africa is bringing a bunch of tech conferences and dinners to South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya. Grab your tickets here.
- Building an Agri-tech startup in Africa? Join the African Agritech scale-up program by Endeavor, AfricaGrow, and FMO, the dutch development bank for businesses. The program will run through out 2024. Apply here by December 30th.
- Growth-stage startups! Join the HealthTech Hub Africa (HTHA) accelerator to grow your health-focused startup with a hybrid program happening in Kigali, Rwanda. Apply here before 11th December.