African startups Archives - Page 2 of 7

10 Ventures Announced for the Africa Tech Summit Nairobi 2024 Investment Showcase

16Jan

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Events, Kenya News, Startups

10 Ventures Announced for the Africa Tech Summit Nairobi 2024 Investment Showcase

Africa Tech Summit Nairobi has announced ten African tech ventures that will showcase their solutions to a diverse audience of industry experts, investors and fellow innovators on February 14th and 15th. While African startup funding declined in 2023, the investment showcase continues to foster collaborations and stimulate investment opportunities to bridge the funding gap in the ecosystem. According to data from Africa: The Big Deal, African startup funding experienced a 39 percent decline, falling to $2.9bn in 2023 from $4.6bn recorded in the previous year. The 250+ entries received from various countries across Africa, including Kenya, Egypt, Tanzania, Nigeria, Ghana, South Sudan, Malawi, Angola, Morocco, Botswana, Benin, Congo, Uganda, South Africa, Sierra Leone and more, highlight t...

Africa’s most active startup investor, Techstars, Announces 12 new investments through its Africa- focused program in partnership with ARM Labs

15Dec

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Startups

Africa’s most active startup investor, Techstars, Announces 12 new investments through its Africa- focused program in partnership with ARM Labs

Techstars, the most active startup investor in Africa, has announced its second cohort of 12 companies to participate in its pan-African accelerator program in partnership with Lagos-based innovation program, ARM Labs. Following a successful inaugural program, the ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator will build upon its commitment to helping entrepreneurs that are changing Africa and the world. The 2023 cohort, selected from over a thousand applications, delivers tech-enabled solutions across various verticals in Sub-Saharan Africa. The sourcing and selection was led by Managing Director for the accelerator, Oyin Solebo. It culminated in a screening committee joined by fellow directors at Techstars, executive leaders at ARM - Jumoke Ogundare, Sadiq Mohammed, Wale Odutola, Uche Azubuike a...

Global Startup Awards Africa Announces 16 Category Winners Innovating for a Global Africa at the history-making Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

31Oct

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Egypt News, Ethiopia News, Kenya News, Nigeria News, Startups

Global Startup Awards Africa Announces 16 Category Winners Innovating for a Global Africa at the history-making Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

The Global Startup Awards Africa (GSA) Africa, in collaboration with the Global Innovation Initiative Group (GIIG), the Ethiopian Ministry of Labour and Skills (MOLS), the Ethiopian Ministry of Innovation and Technology (MInT) with the support of the Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI) Ethiopia, revealed the names of 16 category winners at the GSA Africa Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The GSA Africa awards began in 2021, a journey that has led to over 15,000 African innovators nominated from 54 countries, support of 300 jury members, ambassadors, and hundreds of innovation hubs across the continent. Jo Griffiths, co-founder of the GSA Africa and GIIG, highlighted, “The Global Startup Awards Africa aims to raise the visibility of African innovation as a unifying mechanism that...

19Sep

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Nigeria News, Startups

29 African Startups in Healthcare Supply Chain Selected to Receive Funding and Impact Support from the Gates Foundation, MSD, and More

The pan-African Investing in Innovation (i3 program) is funded by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and sponsored by Cencora (formerly AmerisourceBergen), Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD), Microsoft and Chemonics to invest in Africa’s most promising early to growth-stage start-ups in health care supply chains. The second cohort comprises 29 startups chosen from 10 African countries. Notably, 38% of these startups are led by women, and 17% operate within Francophone Africa. Selected startups will receive a $50,000 grant and access to market opportunities to foster growth-focused partnerships with donors, industry, and institutional stakeholders. Investing in Innovation Africa (i3), a pan-African initiative for start-ups building the future of healthcare supply chains, has...

Investing in Innovation Africa announces its second call for applications to support African startups in healthcare supply chains

25Apr

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Medicine, Startups

Investing in Innovation Africa announces its second call for applications to support African startups in healthcare supply chains

Applications are open for early and growth-stage health tech innovators Investing in Innovation Africa (i3), a pan-African initiative for start-ups building the future of healthcare supply chains, is calling for leading innovators to join its second cohort. Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and sponsored by AmerisourceBergen, Merck Sharpe & Dohme (MSD), Microsoft and Chemonics, i3 is supporting the commercialization of 60 promising early- and growth-stage companies. The programme connects African-led supply chain innovators to donors, industry, and government partners, to power start-ups’ growth and impact. Selected start-ups receive targeted introductions to customers to support commercialization and impact, a $50,000 grant, and tailored investment readiness support....

29Mar

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Startups

Africa itself shares the hallmarks of a tech startup which bodes well for its global competitiveness

By Joshua Raphael, Founder & CEO of Parket It is widely accepted that Africa’s potential is likely to be unleashed through widespread and sustained digital transformation. In other words, technology, and the innovative solving of complex problems, will catapult the continent into global competitiveness. This is not just theoretical, it is likely, and this is because Africa itself shares the hallmarks of a tech startup. Comparing a continent to a startup may, at first glance, seem odd, until we look at what most startups have in common: while they all need inspiration and perspiration to succeed, there is an element of desperation. This desperation is not of the negative variety, rather it is the jet fuel of innovation. Consider an average startup. One may argue that about 10% of its...

Flat6Labs Launches New US$95M Venture Capital Fund to Expand its Impact in Africa

14Mar

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Startups

Flat6Labs Launches New US$95M Venture Capital Fund to Expand its Impact in Africa

Flat6Labs (www.Flat6Labs.com), MENA’s leading seed investor, has announced the launch of a new US$95 million Seed Fund to nurture the growth and development of early-stage tech startups on the African continent. Flat6Labs has a proven track record in carefully vetting out and investing in promising startups in North Africa since it was founded 12 years ago, with more than US$16M invested in startups, and over US$191M raised in follow-on funding while creating more than 2,500 direct jobs and 80,000 indirect jobs through its first two funds in Egypt and Tunisia. Headquartered in Egypt, the Africa Seed Fund (ASF) will focus on three main investment territories in Africa: North Africa, West Africa, and East Africa. Flat6Labs will be extending its reach into several new territories including N...

MultiChoice Africa Accelerator Programme set to boost prosperity of African small and medium-sized businesses (SMME)

28Feb

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Angola News, Ethiopia News, Ghana News, Kenya News, Nigeria News, Republic of Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Senegal News, South Africa News, Startups, Zambia News

MultiChoice Africa Accelerator Programme set to boost prosperity of African small and medium-sized businesses (SMME)

MultiChoice shortlists 11 start-ups to pitch for international funding and take their small businesses to the next level At a time when unemployment challenges and economic instability are high, small and medium-sized businesses (SMMEs) are proving to be the engines of economic growth and job creation throughout the African continent. In recognition of the critical role SMMEs play, MultiChoice launched the MultiChoice Africa Accelerator programme which trained 29 businesses across 9 African countries in key entrepreneurial skills. As the second leg of the programme, a panel of experts has selected 11 of the most promising small businesses and invited them to pitch to prospective international investors in Dubai. “There’s no denying the impact African SMMEs have on job creation and econ...

From failing at university to scaling SA’s top venture builder in four years – these two young entrepreneurs are on a mission to help 1-million people build good tech

13Feb

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

South Africa News, Startups

From failing at university to scaling SA’s top venture builder in four years – these two young entrepreneurs are on a mission to help 1-million people build good tech

One of the most hotly debated topics in African innovation is South Africa’s claim to be the “Tech Capital” of the continent. Home to more than 490 startups and a combined US$1-billion (or R17.6-billion) in funding[1], South Africa is an undisputed leader on the continent. But in 2023, that reputation is slipping, as Nigeria takes the title of ‘Best Funded’ (US$2-billion) and as Egypt’s pool of startups crosses the 560-mark. Regardless of South Africa’s status, startups play an important role in driving inclusive and sustainable development. They create jobs, stimulate new skills, attract investment, and most importantly, foster new ideas with the potential to make life better for both people and the planet. But all of this is at risk if startups are not given the support they need to bui...

GSA Africa winners to hit the global stage in Copenhagen, next cohort encouraged to submit applications

4Feb

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Startups

GSA Africa winners to hit the global stage in Copenhagen, next cohort encouraged to submit applications

Winners of last year’s African Startup Awards will be enroute to Copenhagen, Denmark, this March to showcase their solutions to some of the world’s top startups, venture capitalists, and ecosystem enablers at the Global Startup Awards (GSA) Grand Finale. In the meantime, innovators looking to be a part of the next delegation are encouraged to apply to the 2022/23 season of GSA Africa – the largest independent startup ecosystem competition on the continent on a mission to find, fund, and scale the most innovative companies in Africa. Applications are free and close on 26 February 2023. Among others, this year’s competition is looking for innovations in agriculture, climate, commerce, education, healthcare, and mobility & logistics, with a particular interest in startups championing We...