While the spotlight often shines on headline-grabbing mega-rounds, the bedrock of Africa’s rapidly growing startup ecosystem lies in the consistent flow of smaller (or missed bigger rounds), yet equally vital, investments. This week’s edition of the African Startup Deal Tracker delves into these under-the-radar transactions, encompassing pre-seed funding, angel investments, and strategic acquisitions that collectively paint a picture of sustained growth and investor confidence across the continent. These deals, spanning diverse sectors from agri-tech to legal tech, highlight the ingenuity of African startup founders and the breadth of opportunities being seized.

Here’s a closer look at the notable under-the-radar investment activity we’re tracking this week:

BEE 

• Investment: An undisclosed investment.
• Investor: Fuzé by Digital Africa.
• Sector/Focus: Fintech / Mobility. The company provides a tech-driven leasing model that offers motorcycles and smartphones to commercial drivers on flexible and accessible payment plans.
• Country of Operation: Cameroon.
• Purpose: To scale operations within Cameroon and to prepare for future expansion into the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Côte d’Ivoire.

MoneyBadger

• Investment: $400,000 (R7 million) in a pre-seed round.
• Investor(s): P1 Ventures (lead investor) and crypto-native angel investors.
• Sector/Focus: Fintech / Cryptocurrency. A startup providing Bitcoin payment infrastructure, primarily using the Lightning Network, for customers to make payments at retail outlets.
• Country of Operation: South Africa.
• Purpose: To scale adoption of its payment infrastructure and expand its merchant footprint through partnerships with major payment providers, e-commerce platforms, and national QR code networks.

EATO

• Investment: An undisclosed funding round.
• Investor(s): Nubia Capital.
• Sector/Focus: Foodtech / AI / Fintech. An AI-powered digital marketplace connecting African food entrepreneurs with global consumers and financing. It combines media, e-commerce (meal kits, grocery delivery), and a proprietary data system to help SMEs build digital credit profiles.
• Country of Operation: Ghana
• Purpose: To accelerate its mission to build the digital infrastructure for Africa’s food economy, making African food businesses discoverable, trusted, and tradable on a global scale.

PocketLawyers

• Investment: An undisclosed investment.
• Investor(s): Nubia Capital.
• Sector/Focus: Legal Tech / AI. An AI-powered platform (PocketAI) that automates legal research, document drafting, invoicing, and case management for businesses and legal professionals.
• Country of Operation: Nigeria.
• Purpose: To expand its AI-powered legal tools across Africa and scale its reach, with the goal of providing the infrastructure to formalize African SMEs.

enee.io

• Investment: $250,000.
• Investor: All On.
• Sector/Focus: Energy Tech / Clean Tech. The firm specializes in advanced energy monitoring systems and intelligent software to help users manage energy consumption, enhance the efficiency of renewable energy systems, and reduce wastage.
• Country of Operation: Nigeria (for sales operations).
• Purpose: To scale its sales operations in Nigeria, helping more businesses and communities transition from inadequate grid supply and expensive diesel to more reliable, data-driven energy systems.