Cyril Shonibare, Principal at TLCOM—one of Africa’s largest early-stage VC funds—sits down with Launch Base Africa to discuss the firm’s deployment strategy, the collapse of open banking pioneer Okra, and hard-won lessons in early-stage African venture capital.
From rural Kenya to the Earthshot shortlist: Pula CEO Thomas Njeru reveals to Launch Base Africa how the profitable agtech reached 24 million farmers and why impact and profitability are not mutually exclusive.
World Bank gives first-stage programme top marks as new catalytic vehicle targets 2.5bn dirhams for digital ventures - but exit routes remain the missing piece
An analysis of disclosed funding rounds in 2026 shows that despite the proliferation of mega-syndicates, only a handful of investors repeatedly co-invest together.
A Toyota-backed fund, an Abu Dhabi sovereign investor and a Hong Kong merchant bank sat at the centre of August's largest African-linked funding round. None of them was there by accident.
A little over a year ago, Moniepoint pushed back publicly against a Launch Base Africa report detailing heavy losses at its newly launched UK operation, calling the figures overstated.
Deal gives the crypto exchange an owned settlement layer across developed–emerging market corridors - but proposed South African rules may restrict the very activity it enables.
While greenfield setups remain the main vehicle for corporate expansion in Egypt's tech export sector, cross-border M&A is emerging as an alternative for North American buyers seeking rapid scale.
The central bank’s open-banking framework was designed to level the playing field, but initial rollouts have concentrated rail control among legacy institutions—forcing agile startups to rent the very infrastructure meant to liberate them.
An analysis of disclosed funding rounds in 2026 shows that despite the proliferation of mega-syndicates, only a handful of investors repeatedly co-invest together.
The i3 initiative, launched in 2022, is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation alongside corporate sponsors including MSD, Cencora, Sanofi, Boehringer Ingelheim, HELP Logistics, and Endless Health.
