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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
- The central banks of Kenya and Rwanda signed the Kigali Declaration on Fintech License Passporting, allowing payment service providers to operate across both markets with a single license.
- Solution Innovation District and Dhahran Techno Valley Holding Company signed an MoU to foster innovation and economic growth.
- Ghana’s SEC admitted 11 crypto companies into a 12-month regulatory sandbox, the first step in regulating the virtual asset industry.
- LemFi registered with the Bank of Canada as a PSP, allowing it to offer secure and affordable remittance services from Canada to over 30 countries.
- Mambu's SaaS cloud banking platform enabled Nyla, Africa's first Islamic neobank, to launch Sharia-compliant digital services.
💸 Top Funding Rounds
- Lagos-based cybersecurity firm Cybervergent closed a $3 million seed round co-led by Ventures Platform and Atlantica Ventures.
- Orca Fraud secured $2.35 million in seed funding led by Norrsken22 to combat financial fraud across Africa.
- South African fintech NjiaPay raised $2.1 million in seed funding from Newion to expand its payment orchestration platform across Africa.
- South African AI research startup Yazi landed its first institutional round led by 3 Capital Ventures to expand its WhatsApp-based platform.
💰️ IPO and M&A Watch
- Converted acquired Mitcha to expand its AI commerce capabilities in Egypt across advertising, payments, and order data.
- North African superapp Yassir acquired the Uno hypermarket chain from Cevital to enter physical retail, rebranding the stores as Yassir Market.
- KCB Group is awaiting regulatory approval to acquire a stake in payments fintech Pesapal to expand its digital merchant services across East Africa.
🏦 About Investors
- Persistent launched a $70 million AfricaClimate Venture Fund, securing $52 million in its first close to back early-stage climate ventures across Africa.
- FSD Africa Investments and Allied Climate Partners made a combined $50 million anchor commitment to the African Transition Acceleration Fund.
🚀 Startup of the Week
Introducing our Startup of the Week 🏆
Cybervergent
Founded in Lagos in 2012 by Adetokunbo Omotosho, Cybervergent spent more than a decade building quietly before stepping into the spotlight with an AI-native platform that helped organizations manage cybersecurity, compliance, risk, and audit readiness in real time. Led by Omotosho as CEO, the company secured a $3 million seed round co-led by Ventures Platform and Atlantica Ventures, underscoring investor belief in both its traction and Africa’s growing digital trust market. Its latest move is to use the fresh capital to deepen expansion across Africa, enter the Middle East, and further automate its governance stack, positioning Cybervergent as a vital part of the digital infrastructure for a safer, more compliant digital economy.
💼 Investor of the Week
Introducing our Investor of the Week 🏆
Persistent
Founded in 2012, Persistent grew into one of Africa’s most distinctive climate investors: a venture capital platform and venture builder with a footprint across Africa and Europe, built around backing early-stage founders with more than just cash. Its latest move was the launch of the $70 million Persistent Africa Climate Venture Builder Fund, which reached a $52 million first close and drew anchor backing from FSD Africa Investments, the Nordic Development Fund, and AfDB SEFA. Led by managing partner Tobias Ruckstuhl alongside partners Wairimu Karanja and Toukam Ngoufanke, Persistent targeted pre-seed to Series A climate ventures across energy, agriculture, and resource transitions. With 23 investments and four exits, it carved out a pivotal role in building Africa’s low-carbon innovation ecosystem.
🤑 Opportunities Expiring Soon
Social Innovation Awards 2026
- 📢 Organizer: SAB Foundation
- 🗂️ Category: Award/Prize, Funding
- 🪜 Target Stages: Ideation, Pre-seed, Seed
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: Social & Governance, Health & Life Sciences, Infrastructure & Smart Cities, Energy & Environment, Finance & Insurance
- 📅 Application Deadline: March 16, 2026
Amazon Nova AI Hackathon
- 📢 Organizer: Amazon Web Services
- 🗂️ Category: Hackathon, Award/Prize
- 🪜 Target Stages: Stage Agnostic
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: AI & Data
- 📅 Application Deadline: March 17, 2026
Google for Startups Accelerator: Africa
- 📢 Organizer: Google for Startups
- 🗂️ Category: Accelerator, Training & Learning
- 🪜 Target Stages: Revenue-generating
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: Sector Agnostic
- 📅 Application Deadline: March 18, 2026
Eurostars Funding for International R&D Projects 2026
- 📢 Organizer: Eureka Network
- 🗂️ Category: Funding
- 🪜 Target Stages: Stage Agnostic
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: Sector Agnostic
- 📅 Application Deadline: March 19, 2026
Hack-Nation Global AI Hackathon
- 📢 Organizer: Hack Nation
- 🗂️ Category: Hackathon
- 🪜 Target Stages: Stage Agnostic
- 🏭 Focus Sectors: Sector Agnostic
- 📅 Application Deadline: March 21, 2026
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