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:

Ridelink Inc.

• Investment: $1.1 million in an oversubscribed pre-seed round (final close)..
• Investor(s): Morgan Stanley Inclusive & Sustainable Ventures, Digital Africa’s Fuzé Fund, Orbit Ventures, Expert Dojo, and the Google Black Founders Fund.
• Sector/Focus: Logistics Tech / AI. An AI-powered, asset-light logistics marketplace that connects businesses to reliable transporters, aiming to digitize logistics, cut costs, and enable cross-border trade for SMEs.
• Country of Operation: Uganda.
• Purpose:  To reinforce its position as a global market-leading logistics marketplace, scale rapidly across key trade corridors, and continue integrating its AI and embedded finance technologies.

develoPPP Ventures Investments (Côte d’Ivoire)

• Investment: €100,000 in equity investment per company.
• Investor(s): develoPPP Ventures (funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, BMZ).
• Sector/Focus: Five high-potential startups in various sectors across Francophone Africa.
• Country of Operation: Côte d’Ivoire (and Francophone Africa).
• Purpose: To support business growth and help the companies scale their social and economic impact.
• Startups Funded (The Five Companies):
• Sikili (Recycling/E-commerce): Certified refurbished tech marketplace to reduce e-waste.
• Trenderz (Ad-Tech): Influence marketing platform connecting venues with creators.
• WARIBEI (FinTech): Connects merchants and banks through digital credit and procurement solutions.
• JOBO (Job-Tech/HR-Tech): Digitalizes temporary work and recruitment, promoting formal employment.
• djoli (AgriTech): Digital fresh produce supply platform for hospitality, connecting chefs directly to local producers.

Jobomax Homes

• Investment: A strategic investment of an undisclosed amount.
• Investor(s): Nimba Fund (managed by Niandan).
• Sector/Focus: Real Estate / Affordable Housing / Fintech. A homebuilder focused on delivering affordable housing solutions and developing housing finance structures for diaspora and local communities.
• Country of Operation: Guinea, Ghana, Cameroon, and Sierra Leone.
• Purpose: To accelerate the expansion of affordable housing and facilitate the creation of a local-currency housing finance structure in Guinea to increase access to homeownership.

WildyNess

• Investment: An undisclosed value in a pre-seed round.
• Investor(s): Bridging Angels (co-lead) and the African Diaspora Network (co-lead).
• Sector/Focus: Traveltech / Tourism. A B2B2C marketplace connecting conscious travelers with authentic local experiences and community-based tourism (CBT).
• Country of Operation: Tunisia.
• Purpose: To drive regional expansion into Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and the UAE, and to strengthen the startup’s technology infrastructure.

Solar Saver

• Investment: US$60 million equity round.
• Investor(s): Inspired Evolution’s Evolution III Fund (lead), FMO (the Dutch development bank), and Swedfund.
• Sector/Focus: Renewable Energy / Distributed Power. The company develops, owns, and operates small-scale solar and battery systems for businesses, using power purchase and rent-to-own contracts that require no upfront customer investment.
• Country of Operation: Southern Africa (specifically South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, and Zambia).
• Purpose: To support the large-scale deployment of its distributed solar and battery energy systems, helping SMEs overcome power shortages and high energy costs, and promoting fossil-free economic growth.

ICE Solar

• Investment: $250,000 follow-on investment.
• Investor(s): All On (impact investor).
• Sector/Focus: Clean Energy / Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS). Provides intelligent, pay-as-you-go solar and battery systems to SMEs, enabling them to transition from petrol generators to reliable, sustainable power.
• Country of Operation: Nigeria.
• Purpose: To expand the deployment of its intelligent solar and battery systems and help thousands of SMEs cut energy costs, boost productivity, and support Nigeria’s clean energy transition.

SolarX

• Investment: $17.4 million (€15 million) through a senior secured financing facility (debt investment).
• Investor(s): Afrigreen Debt Impact Fund (co-managed by Rgreen Invest and Echosys Invest).
• Sector/Focus: Solar Energy / Infrastructure. Develops and operates solar solutions (PV installations) for commercial and industrial (C&I) customers in West Africa, offering fully-funded solar services.
• Country of Operation: West Africa (specifically Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Mali, and Burkina Faso).
• Purpose: To enable the refinancing of SolarX’s existing assets and support investment into new power plants across its four core West African markets.

Spotter SARL

• Investment/Transaction: Joint acquisition of control by UM6P Ventures SA, involving the acquisition of 15% of its share capital and corresponding voting rights. (Amount undisclosed in the text).
• Investor(s): UM6P Ventures SA.
• Sector/Focus: Fintech / Payment Verification / Open Banking. Develops an API-driven platform for technological services, primarily focused on verifying the creditworthiness of payment methods (e.g., instant check verification) and building a risk decisioning model. It also plans to become a Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) provider.
• Country of Operation: Morocco (Casablanca).
• Purpose: To accelerate its development, leverage its digital infrastructure to help businesses in emerging markets grow securely, and establish itself as a partner of choice for financial institutions and businesses in its network.

Stream Pay Platforms Africa Inc.

• Investment: $500,000.
• Investor(s): Undisclosed. 
• Sector/Focus: Fintech / Digital Content. A platform specializing in online payment solutions for digital content platforms, designed to offer affordable micro-payment solutions and address high data costs for consumers in Africa.
• Country of Operation: Africa.
• Purpose: To accelerate growth and deployment of its digital content/payment platform.

Sawa Energy

• Investment: EUR 2.5 million (USD 2.9 million) in equity investment.
• Investor(s): ElectriFI initiative (EU-funded, channelled through its Uganda Country Window).
• Sector/Focus: Renewable Energy / Clean Tech. Provides fully-financed solar PV and battery storage systems to commercial and industrial (C&I) clients through long-term contracts.
• Country of Operation: Uganda and Rwanda.
• Purpose: To scale solar and energy storage solutions across the region, replacing polluting diesel generators with cleaner, cost-effective alternatives.