Our African Startup Deal Tracker keeps you informed about under-the-radar investments shaping Africa’s startup ecosystem. These deals are often unannounced, undisclosed, or overshadowed by high-profile funding rounds. In the African startup ecosystem, they may include quiet pre-seed investments, angel funding, or strategic acquisitions that don’t make headlines but significantly impact the market. Here are the latest deals we are tracking: 

Wami Agro Secures Acumen Backing to Cultivate Ghanaian Smallholder Farming

Deal Summary: Agritech startup Wami Agro has received investment from Acumen, through its Trellis initiative. The Ghana-based company focuses on providing bundled, tech-enabled solutions to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers.

Company Overview: Founded in March 2020 by Caleb Edwards and Jonah Jones Tuokpier, Wami Agro operates across six regions of Ghana, working with a network of over 14,000 farmers, a majority of whom are women. The company addresses key challenges faced by smallholder farmers — limited market access, lack of affordable credit, and inadequate access to information and climate-resilient practices. Wami Agro’s integrated approach encompasses:

• Wami Market: A logistics and aggregation platform (“Pukpara”) ensuring fair prices and market access for farmers’ produce (rice, maize, soya, sorghum) through its own truck fleet and warehouse network.
• Wami Credit: Digital credit scoring for Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) facilitating access to crucial inputs like seeds, fertilizers, and equipment.
• Wami Info: Capacity-building initiatives empowering farmers with knowledge and sustainable farming techniques.

Investment Rationale: Acumen’s investment aims to enable Wami Agro to scale operations, expand sourcing to neighboring countries like Sierra Leone and Burkina Faso, and further develop its “Pukpara” digital platform. The funding will support Wami Agro’s ambitious target to impact 100,000 farmers by 2027, driving income growth, productivity improvements, and enhanced climate resilience within Ghana’s crucial agricultural sector. Babatunde Usman, Investment Manager at Acumen’s West Africa team, highlighted Wami Agro’s innovative, technology-driven approach and commitment to smallholder farmers as key factors in the investment decision.

Impact: Wami Agro claims to have already achieved significant results, increasing farmer yields by an average of 44% and boosting incomes by 25–30% per planting season. This impact is particularly relevant in a context where a significant majority of Wami Agro’s farmers previously lived below the $3.65 per day poverty line.

Digital Africa Invests in Cameroonian Fintech Futa to Streamline Payroll and Micro-lending

Deal Summary: Cameroonian fintech startup Futa has secured investment from Digital Africa, a fund focused on supporting digital innovation across the continent. Futa’s platform targets micro and small businesses, automating payment processes and facilitating employee access to financial benefits.

Company Overview: Launched in 2022, Futa addresses the challenges faced by SMEs in managing payroll and providing financial services to their employees. The company’s three-sided platform connects employers, employees, and financial institutions, aiming to:

• Automate Payments: Simplify and streamline payroll processing for small businesses.
• Employee Financial Benefits: Enable employees to access microloans directly through payroll data.
• Financial Inclusion: Extend financial access to employees of SMEs who are often underserved by traditional financial institutions.

Investment Rationale: Digital Africa’s investment underscores the growing importance of fintech solutions tailored to the specific needs of African SMEs. Futa’s innovative use of payroll data to assess credit risk and facilitate micro-lending was cited as a key factor in the investment decision. The funding is expected to support Futa’s expansion across Francophone Africa, a region with significant potential for digital financial services.

Impact: Futa’s platform has the potential to significantly improve financial inclusion by providing access to credit for employees of SMEs who may lack traditional credit histories or collateral. By automating payroll and connecting businesses to financial institutions, Futa aims to drive efficiency and financial empowerment within the SME sector, a vital engine of African economies.

Baobab Network Backs Regulon to Simplify Fintech Compliance Across Africa and the UK

Deal Summary: Regtech startup Regulon has received investment from Baobab Network, a fund focused on early-stage African tech ventures. The fund invests around $100,000 in startups. Regulon’s AI-powered platform streamlines business onboarding and automates compliance processes for fintechs operating in Africa and the UK.

Company Overview: Regulon tackles the significant bottleneck of lengthy and costly customer onboarding processes faced by businesses, particularly fintechs. The platform offers:

• Automated Compliance Checks: AI-driven platform consolidating fragmented business verification data across Africa.
• Reusable Regulon ID: Enables businesses to create shareable company profiles, simplifying verification processes for service providers like fintechs.
• Reduced Onboarding Time and Costs: Claims to reduce onboarding times from weeks to seconds and costs by up to 90%.

Investment Rationale: Baobab Network’s investment highlights the increasing demand for robust and efficient compliance solutions within the rapidly growing African fintech sector. Regulon’s API-first solution addresses a crucial need in a market facing mounting regulatory pressures. The company is led by Yao Baku, a serial entrepreneur with a previous successful exit to Flutterwave, further bolstering investor confidence. The funding will support Regulon in becoming a critical compliance infrastructure provider for African fintechs.

Impact: Regulon promises to significantly reduce the operational burden and costs associated with compliance for fintechs, enabling faster growth and smoother operations. By streamlining onboarding and verification processes, Regulon aims to unlock efficiencies within the fintech ecosystem and foster greater trust and transparency.

Diabong Corp Secures Teranga Capital Funding to Advance Precision Manufacturing in Senegal

Deal Summary: Senegalese startup Diabong Corp, specializing in the production of high-precision mechanical parts, has received a 300 million CFA francs ($477,000) investment from impact investment firm Teranga Capital.

Company Overview: Founded in 2020 by Diawdine Diabong, a mechanical engineering graduate, Diabong Corp (formerly CNC Shape) is a pioneer in CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machining and 3D printing in Francophone Africa. Targeting both businesses (B2B) and individuals (B2C), the company offers a range of products and services focused on:

• CNC Machining: Manufacturing custom parts in various materials (steel, iron, copper, aluminum) with 10-thousandth of an inch precision, using numerically controlled machine tools.
• 3D Printing: Production of objects, spare parts, and prototypes through additive manufacturing.
• Reverse Engineering: Replication of existing machines, particularly for the agri-food sector.
• Training: Certification programs and courses in 3D printing and CNC machining for partner schools and technical centers.

Diabong Corp distinguishes itself through its expertise in additive manufacturing and high-precision CNC machining, alongside the use of innovative technologies such as reverse engineering and artificial intelligence. The company is actively involved in the Senegalese education sector, offering certified training in partnership with technical institutions.

Investment Rationale: Teranga Capital’s investment aims to accelerate Diabong Corp’s growth by strengthening its financial, technical, and human resources. The funds will enable the company to increase production capacity, pursue new market opportunities, and support job creation, particularly in technical education and training. Mohamed NGOM, Deputy Managing Director of Teranga Capital, emphasized Diabong Corp’s potential to transform the industrial sector through the combination of CNC machining and 3D printing, as well as Teranga Capital’s commitment to supporting innovative companies in sub-Saharan Africa.

Impact: This partnership will enable Diabong Corp to solidify its position as a leader in advanced manufacturing in Senegal and expand within the sub-region. The investment is also expected to foster the creation of skilled jobs and strengthen the technical training ecosystem in Senegal. Diawdine DIABONG, Founder and CEO of Diabong Corp, welcomed the partnership, stating it would allow his company to “leave its mark on a high-potential market.”

Cameroon Angels Network Invests in Reasy to Revolutionize Africa-China Trade Payments

Deal Summary: The Cameroon Angels Network (CAN) has invested €32,824.42 (21,500,000 CFA) in Reasy, a fintech and logistics platform aimed at simplifying cross-border payments and trade between Africa and China.

Company Overview: Reasy, short for “Rapid and Easy,” is a platform specifically designed to address the pain points faced by African importers trading with China. It tackles key challenges within the Africa-China trade corridor through:

• Supplier Verification: Tools and processes to help African importers verify the legitimacy and reliability of Chinese suppliers.
• Rapid Payments: Streamlined and efficient payment solutions to facilitate faster and more secure transactions.
• Shipping and Consolidation: Logistics services, including shipment consolidation, to optimize and simplify the shipping process from China to Africa.

Reasy positions itself as a one-stop platform to make Africa-China trade more accessible, efficient, and secure for African businesses.

Investment Rationale: The Cameroon Angels Network’s investment, their largest to date, underscores the growing investor interest in solutions that directly address trade inefficiencies within Africa. CAN’s lead investor, Joel Nana, emphasized Reasy’s innovative approach to bridging gaps in African trade and its potential to become a “game-changer” in the Africa-China corridor. The investment aims to enable Reasy to scale its operations, enhance its technology platform, and expand its reach to serve more importers across Africa. This deal also highlights a collaborative approach, aligning with investments from partners like Digital Africa and the Dakar Angels Network in strengthening Africa’s digital economy.

Deal Summary Table

To submit information on deals not listed, please contact us at support@launchbaseafrica.com

Editor’s Note:

Tracker closed for the week at 5:22 PM (GMT+1).