According to the 2021 Global Startup Ecosystem Report by Startup Genome, Africa’s startup ecosystem is currently valued at $6.6 billion, with Cape Town, Lagos, Johannesburg, Nairobi and Accra named as the leading regions for startup growth on the continent
There are plenty of game-changing startups bubbling up across the continent – here are four making waves in their respective industries.
Edukoya (Nigeria – Edtech)
Edukoya is a free learning app that helps students master key subjects and prepare for school and university entrance exams – aiming to democratise access to high-quality education in Africa.
It connects African students with digital curriculum content and on-demand teachers for real-time online learning and gives students in-depth insights with topic wise scores, time spent per question and competitive stats. This helps students identify their strengths and areas for improvement.
Edukoya only launched in beta in December 2021 before announcing a $3.5 million pre-seed funding round that allowed it to swiftly transition to live within months, backed by Target Global and a group of African and European-based angels.
Flow (South Africa – Proptech)
Flow is democratising the real estate industry’s dinosaur operating model – meaning that the biggest personal transaction an individual will likely complete in their lifetime has a trusted partner at its centre. The face of technology can still be human – and Flow makes sure that estate agents are central to these massive transactions, to guide and support buyers.
Flow connects estate agents to fast-evolving, hyper-connected consumers who are spending more time on digital channels. The real estate industry was being left behind in the world of online transactions because of their complex and expensive nature – it’s a massively-fragmented space. The platform also works for buyers, giving them the opportunity to experience buying a property in the way they are now used to performing transactions – online, with trust, transparency and efficiency.
Using social media to sell and rent property is a totally new concept in the country. FlowFuel has grown its user base by 10x, and the team has seen 10x growth in property-related social spend during the last 12 months – and expect that trend to continue. Thousands of agents are now relying on Flow for their leads – some, as many as 90 per cent of leads.
Flow also extends the benefit of online visibility to trusted partners of agents, who can use their platform to direct buyers and sellers to experts in the rest of the property ecosystem – mortgage originators, conveyancing and transferring attorneys, insurers and the like.
Lami (Kenya – Insurtech)
Kenyan startup Lami was established to revolutionise insurance for underwriters and businesses in Africa, via a single platform. Launched in 2018, Lami enables partner businesses to offer simple and seamless digital insurance to their users, via the Lami API. Their vision is to democratise financial products and services by empowering their partners with an innovative technology platform that enables the distribution, servicing, and exceptional growth of sophisticated financial products for very large customer bases.
Lami joined Catalyst Fund’s fintech accelerator and secured $1.8 million in seed funding last year – and has its eyes on growth with plans for expansion of both its workforce and footprint in 2022.
Floatpays (South Africa – Fintech)
Floatpays helps employers enhance their employee value proposition by helping them build financial wellness through on-demand earned wage access, savings, financial education and practical tools to better manage their personal finances.
Financially stressed employees lose more work time, are less engaged and less productive than those who are financially well. Adding a free benefit like Floatpays can help employees build their financial wellness, ensuring that employers attract, retain and engage the best people for their business.
Photo credit: Ivan Samkov (pexels.com)