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.

Wahu Mobility

• Investment: An undisclosed investment amount.
• Investor(s): Sahara Impact Ventures.
• Sector/Focus: E-mobility / Clean Tech. The company designs and assembles electric bikes specifically for African road conditions and offers leasing options to help enterprises transition from petrol-powered to electric fleets.
• Country of Operation: Ghana.
• Purpose: To support its mission of providing efficient, sustainable, and affordable transport alternatives, integrating its model of local manufacturing, fleet management, and rider support.

Bluworks

• Investment: $1 million in seed funding.
• Investor(s): Enza Capital, A15, and Beltone Venture Capital (lead investors), with participation from Acasia Ventures and strategic angel investors.
• Sector/Focus: HR-tech / Workforce Management. A platform designed to digitize the full lifecycle of frontline, informal, and shift-based workers (scheduling, attendance, payroll, compliance), replacing fragmented manual systems.
• Country of Operation: Egypt (with plans for MENA expansion).
• Purpose: To accelerate growth across Egypt, expand regionally into the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) markets, reach more SMEs, and strengthen the platform by integrating advanced analytics and AI.

Genuka

• Investment: 17,000,000 CFA francs (approx. $30,000 / €26,000).
• Investor(s): Cameroon Angels Network (CAN).
• Sector/Focus: E-commerce / SME Tech. An all-in-one platform that helps microbusinesses and SMEs create online stores, manage sales and inventory, and automate customer relations.
• Country of Operation: Cameroon (with expansion plans for Central Africa).
• Purpose: To accelerate technological development, strengthen its market presence in Cameroon and Central Africa, and enhance support for local entrepreneurs.

Clarrio.ai (formerly Knowlepsy)

• Investment: An undisclosed investment amount (joined Launch Africa Ventures’ Fund II portfolio).
• Investor(s): Launch Africa Ventures.
• Sector/Focus: Healthtech / AI / Data Analytics. A multi-modal real-world data and predictive analytics platform for chronic diseases (e.g., epilepsy) that integrates physiological, behavioral, and environmental data to reduce hospitalizations and improve patient outcomes.
• Country of Operation: Tunisia (with a global outlook).
• Purpose: To build Africa’s first large-scale chronic disease dataset and scale its platform to serve hospitals, insurers, and pharmaceutical companies as a global “intelligence layer” for chronic disease care.

Jackfruit Network

• Investment: $5 million facility (structured using commercial capital and a bank guarantee).
• Investor(s): TLG Capital (provided commercial capital) and IDP Foundation (provided a Morgan Stanley bank guarantee).
• Sector/Focus: Education Finance / SME Lending. A lending platform that offers loans to low-cost private schools to help them operate and grow.
• Country of Operation: Kenya.
• Purpose: To scale its lending operations to low-cost private schools, utilizing a unique bespoke debt structure to bridge the SME financing gap and demonstrate investor confidence in the region.

Roam Electric Ltd

• Investment: Approximately $1.65 million raised across four bond issues (Issue 5: ~$381k, Issue 6: ~$635k, Issue 7: ~$254k, Issue 8: ~$381k).
• Investor(s): Retail impact investors (via the Lendahand Ethex platform) with match funding provided by CEI Africa for specific tranches.
• Sector/Focus: E-mobility / EV Manufacturing. The company designs and assembles electric motorcycles and buses locally, focusing on the “Roam Air” electric motorcycle for the East African market.
• Country of Operation: Kenya.
• Purpose: To finance the production and delivery of electric motorcycles. The funding enables the supply of hundreds of vehicles, reducing CO2 emissions by replacing petrol-driven alternatives and helping low-income groups via cost-saving electric rentals.

OnePower Benin

• Investment: Approximately $914,000 raised across two bond issues (Issue 1: ~$387k, Issue 2: ~$527k).
• Investor(s): Retail impact investors, with catalytic loans and grants from CEI Africa and UK Aid’s Transforming Energy Access program.
• Sector/Focus: Renewable Energy / Green Mini-Grids. A social enterprise developing and operating solar mini-grids to provide reliable electricity to off-grid rural communities.
• Country of Operation: Benin.
• Purpose: To construct Green Mini-Grids (GMGs) in villages such as Kotokpa and Aglamidjodji. The funds facilitate connections for households, schools, healthcare facilities, and small businesses, aiming to reach over 20,000 people.

Cinch Markets, Ltd.

• Investment: Undisclosed investment amount. The deal is described as a strategic capital injection combining financial backing with guidance.
• Investor(s): UM6P Ventures (the strategic investment arm of Mohammed VI Polytechnic University).
• Sector/Focus: Agritech / Sustainable Agriculture. The company operates a “mosaic farm” model, aggregating smallholder plots into larger, centrally managed farms to improve productivity, reduce risk for farmers, and secure contracts with large institutional buyers.
• Country of Operation: Kenya (headquartered) and Ghana.
• Purpose: To accelerate the company’s efforts to scale across Africa, deepen its presence in existing markets, develop new business lines (such as agroforestry), and prepare for a future Series A funding round by leveraging the strategic ecosystem support and resources of UM6P Ventures.

Altech Group SARL

• Investment: Approximately $1.27 million raised across two bond issues (Issue 8: ~$635k, Issue 9: ~$635k).
• Investor(s): Retail impact investors, supported by match funding from CEI Africa.
• Sector/Focus: Clean Energy / Solar Distribution. The company distributes solar lanterns and Solar Home Systems (SHS) using a Pay-As-You-Go model to replace kerosene and unsafe lighting sources.
• Country of Operation: Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
• Purpose: To purchase and distribute thousands of solar lanterns and home systems to off-grid families and those in conflict zones/refugee camps, improving energy access, educational outcomes, and safety.

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.