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 month’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 month:
- Investment: A $1 million follow-on investment as part of a bridge to Series B funding round.
- Investor(s): HAVAÍC (as lead investor, from its African Innovation Fund 3).
- Sector/Focus: Sportstech. The company provides data and tracking technology for global sports leagues, including the NFL and the English Premier League.
- Country of Operation: South Africa.
- Purpose: To support the company’s continued international expansion and financial growth.
- Investment: A strategic investment of an undisclosed amount.
- Investor(s): 216 Capital.
- Sector/Focus: AI / B2B SaaS. The company is developing a “Sales Performance OS,” an AI-native platform that acts as an intelligent co-pilot to optimize sales team interactions and performance.
- Country of Operation: France and Tunisia.
- Purpose: To accelerate innovation, consolidate its technology, and support its international deployment.
- Investment: A strategic investment of Rs 5,000,000 ($108K)
- Investor(s): Seed Capital.
- Sector/Focus: Adtech. The company provides a local online advertising solution connecting advertisers with audiences on a network of exclusively Mauritian websites, aiming to keep digital ad spend within the local economy.
- Country of Operation: Mauritius.
- Purpose: To improve its technology, grow its team, strengthen its market share, and prepare for regional expansion.
Justyol
- Investment: A $1 million funding and financing package, comprised of $400,000 in equity and $600,000 in inventory financing.
- Investor(s): An unnamed angel investor (equity) and Turkey’s Danis Group (inventory financing).
- Sector/Focus: E-commerce. A cross-border fashion marketplace that connects Turkish suppliers with consumers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
- Country of Operation: Morocco.
- Purpose: To deepen its presence in Morocco, strengthen logistics, support regional expansion, and prepare for a Series A funding round.
JOBO Interim
- Investment: An undisclosed investment amount.
- Investor: Saviu Ventures.
- Sector/Focus: HR Tech / Recruitment. A platform specializing in temporary staffing solutions for industrial, agro-industrial, and construction sectors, with a focus on formalizing blue-collar work.
- Country of Operation: Côte d’Ivoire.
- Purpose: To support its growth and mission to bridge the gap between job seekers and employers in Francophone West Africa.
PowerLabs
- Investment: An undisclosed investment amount.
- Investor: Catalyst Fund
- Sector/Focus: Energy Tech / AI. An energy platform whose flagship product, “Pai,” uses AI and IoT data to help businesses manage their diverse power systems, optimize costs, and automatically switch between grid, generator, and renewable sources.
- Country of Operation: Nigeria.
- Purpose: To support its mission of building an inclusive energy platform that reduces reliance on diesel generators and enhances energy resilience for businesses.
Agriarche LLC
- Investment: An undisclosed investment amount.
- Investor: Sahara Impact Ventures.
- Sector/Focus: Agritech. A company building a digitally enabled agricultural value chain with its proprietary platform, “Kasuwa,” which connects farmers, aggregators, and processors while providing real-time market insights.
- Country of Operation: Nigeria.
- Purpose: To scale its network of localized aggregation hubs, expand its export operations, grow its consumer brand (“Mitera”), and enhance its smart, bundled solutions for farmers.
- Investment: $3.5 million in a late seed funding round.
- Investor(s): Newfund Capital (lead), Orange Ventures, CDG Invest (via the 212Founders program), LoftyInc Capital, and Axian Group.
- Sector/Focus: Cybersecurity / AI. The company offers a “Zero Trust” platform enhanced by agent-based AI to provide proactive and automated solutions.
- Country of Operation: France and Tunisia.
- Purpose: To industrialize its agent-based AI technology and accelerate commercial expansion, particularly in Europe and Africa.
- Investment: $1 million Seed round.
- Investor: HAVAĺC (lead investor).
- Sector/Focus: Fintech. A platform digitising fare collection in South Africa’s minibus taxi industry through smartphone payments and physical cards.
- Country of Operation: South Africa.
- Purpose: To support its mission of modernising fare collection and improving safety and efficiency for commuters, drivers, and taxi owners.
- Investment: An undisclosed investment amount.
- Investor: EdVentures.
- Sector/Focus: Edtech / AI. A platform that uses AI to transform traditional curricula and training materials into interactive digital content.
- Country of Operation: Egypt.
- Purpose: To support its growth strategy, focusing on expansion into the Saudi market and the broader Gulf region.
- Investment: $250,000 (Equity)
- Investor: Morgan Stanley (through its Inclusive and Sustainable Ventures Program).
- Sector/Focus: Mobility / Fintech. A digital platform for booking and managing transport.
- Country of Operation: Kenya.
- Purpose: To gain access to mentoring and growth resources as part of a five-month accelerator program.
- Investment: $250,000 (Equity)
- Investor: Morgan Stanley (through its Inclusive and Sustainable Ventures Program).
- Sector/Focus: Healthtech. A virtual hospital platform providing a range of healthcare services.
- Country of Operation: Nigeria.
- Purpose: To gain access to mentoring and growth resources as part of a five-month accelerator program.
- Investment: $2.1 million pre-seed round.
- Investor: Bowery Capital (lead), Y Combinator, Commerce Ventures, and Transpose Platform VC.
- Sector/Focus: AI / Fintech. Develops an AI “agent coworker” to automate back-office operations like compliance, quality assurance, and dispute resolution for financial services firms.
- Country of Operation: Nigeria / UK / USA.
- Purpose: To expand its engineering team and add new features like fraud investigation, audit preparation, and regulatory reporting to its platform.
- Investment: $2.1 million Seed round.
- Investor: Co-founder Mohamed El Ghissani shared with Launch Base Africa in a private statement that the names of the local investors and business angels will remain undisclosed for strategic reasons.
- Sector/Focus: Super App. A platform offering on-demand delivery, quick commerce, and payment services, aiming to become Morocco’s first super app.
- Country of Operation: Morocco.
- Purpose: To expand to over 10 major cities, grow its product offerings (Marketplace, Wallet, BNPL), and scale its logistics infrastructure.
- Investment: $13.3 million in addition to the amount we earlier reported.
- Investor: Octopus Energy, British International Investment, and Norfund.
- Sector/Focus: Cleantech / Energy. A company providing innovative portable battery technology to expand clean energy access for off-grid communities.
- Country of Operation: Africa.
- Purpose: To scale its business model and expand clean energy access across off-grid communities in Africa.
- Investment: An undisclosed investment amount.
- Investor: Mohamed Abou El Naga Nagaty.
- Sector/Focus: AI / Customer Experience. An AI-powered platform for managing customer experiences and digital conversations across channels like social media, messaging apps, and websites.
- Country of Operation: Egypt.
- Purpose: To accelerate regional and international expansion plans, particularly in the Middle East and Europe, and strengthen its market position.
- Investment: An undisclosed loan.
- Investor(s): Norfund (the Norwegian government’s investment fund).
- Sector/Focus: Plastic Recycling. The investment supports the establishment of high-capacity recycling facilities for PET plastic in Ghana and Nigeria.
- Country of Operation: Ghana and Nigeria.
- Purpose: To reduce plastic waste, create jobs, and cut greenhouse gas emissions by replacing virgin plastic with recycled materials. The investment also aims to develop and strengthen plastic waste collection chains.
- Investment: $1.23 million in debt financing.
- Investor(s): Spark+ Africa Fund.
- Sector/Focus: Clean Energy / Cleantech. The company is a Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) distributor providing clean cooking solutions through a hybrid model and a Pay-As-You-Go smart metering platform called “EaziGas.”
- Country of Operation: Ghana.
- Purpose: To support its expansion under Ghana’s Cylinder Recirculation Model (CRM) and accelerate the country’s transition to cleaner cooking fuels.