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Welcome to another edition of 🔍 Startup Researcher - Africa, your essential digest delivering the latest news and premium insights on startups and venture capital across the region 🌍
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📰 Important News
- Kenya’s Finance Bill 2025 proposed taxing stock options and scrapping incentives, alarming startups and investors.
- Healthtech startup Medsaf has shut down after raising $7 million due to FX issues, investor exits, debts, and a failed acquisition.
- Fincra got a Payment System Provider license in Tanzania, boosting regulated local and cross-border fintech services.
- Twiga paused Nairobi operations to relocate and adopt a leaner model after restructuring and investor pressure to cut costs.
- Ghana’s Central Bank is set to announce digital lending rules by Aug 2025 to curb hidden fees, enforce transparency, and cap bad loans.
💸 Top Funding Rounds
- PalmPay is raising a $50 million – $100 million Series B to grow in Africa and Asia, backed by 35 million users and a profitable hybrid fintech model.
- Expensya founders launched Thunder Code with $9 million in seed funding to disrupt QA, using fast and scalable AI-powered testing agents.
- Kumulus Water landed $3.5 million to scale its devices turning air into clean drinking water across EMEA regions.
- Nigerian solar startup Salpha Energy closed $1.3 million in funding to expand local assembly and boost off-grid power access.
- OceansMall got $150,000 from GBHub Africa to grow its cold chain and Pinwheel platform for reducing fish spoilage in Ghana.
💰️ Notable Exits
- Moniepoint received approval to acquire 78% of Kenya’s Sumac Microfinance Bank facilitating rapid entry into Kenya’s fintech market and expanding its pan-African presence.
- dLocal is set to acquire African fintech AZA Finance to strengthen cross-border payment services and expand digital payment infrastructure across emerging markets.
🏦 About Investors
- Technopark Morocco partnered with Plug and Play to launch an acceleration program supporting startups aligned with Morocco Digital 2030 and global scaling ambitions.
- Egypt has launched a national VC-reporting standard with MSMEDA, the World Bank, and top VCs to boost transparency and attract global startup investment.
🚀 Startup of the Week
Introducing our Startup of the Week 🏆
PalmPay
PalmPay is a fast-growing African fintech company headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria, founded in 2018 to provide accessible digital financial services for the underbanked. With 35 million registered users and 15 million daily transactions, the company has built a profitable business through a hybrid model that combines a popular mobile app with a vast offline agent and merchant network. Now in advanced talks to raise $50 – $100 million in Series B funding, PalmPay plans to deepen its presence in Nigeria, expand across Africa and Asia, and scale its business services and international partnerships.
💼 Investor of the Week
Introducing our Investor of the Week 🏆
Plug and Play
Plug and Play is a leading global innovation platform based in Silicon Valley, renowned for accelerating top startups like Google, Dropbox, and PayPal, and operating in over 50 countries across sectors such as fintech, health, and sustainability. In a strategic move to expand its footprint in Africa, Plug and Play has partnered with Technopark Morocco to launch an acceleration program supporting high-potential Moroccan startups. Backed by the Moroccan government and aligned with the Morocco Digital 2030 vision, the initiative offers access to world-class mentorship, funding opportunities, and global networks, aiming to position Morocco as a rising regional tech hub.
🤑 Opportunity Radar
Call for Applications: Techstars New York City Accelerator
Apply to the Techstars New York City Accelerator by June 11th, 2025 to join one of the most founder-focused programs in the world. This in-person accelerator kicks off in September 2025 in the heart of NYC—home to leading hospitals, financial institutions, enterprise buyers, and media powerhouses. With a personalized approach, hands-on support, and access to a global network of 4,800+ startups, Techstars NYC is ideal for early-stage founders building in AI/ML, fintech, health, climate, enterprise SaaS, and beyond. Don't miss the chance to grow your startup in one of the world’s most dynamic ecosystems.
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