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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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đź“° Important News
- Nigeria launched “Build with AI” with Google and GOMYCODE to train 1,000 developers in generative AI, creating local solutions for global challenges.
- TymeBank challenged South Africa’s ID verification fee hike, engaging with the government to support financial inclusion.
- Nigeria’s FCCPC issued new lending rules with fines up to $62,500 or 1% of turnover to formalize the $2.1 billion market and protect consumers.
- ADX onboarded Thndr as GCC’s first remote retail trading member, enabling direct UAE market access and boosting cross-border investor participation.
- FIRS certified 16 firms for e-invoicing, with 1,000+ companies onboarded and a November deadline to boost tax efficiency.
đź’¸ Top Funding Rounds
- Chowdeck closed a $9 million Series A round to expand ultra-fast delivery across Nigeria and Ghana, aiming to grow groceries and sustain profitability.
- HoneyCoin secured $4.9 million to scale its global payments platform, bridging fiat and blockchain with stablecoin-powered solutions.
- Street Wallet raised $350,000 to expand cashless payments for South Africa’s informal traders with a QR system that works without smartphones.
- Yamify landed $100,000 in pre-seed funding to launch AI infrastructure with local billing and GPU clusters in African data centers, targeting 100,000 users.
- Hypeo AI secured funding from Renew Capital to expand AI-driven influencer marketing across Africa and the Middle East.
💰️ Notable Exits
- Nedbank acquired iKhokha for $92.4 million to strengthen SME digital payments, merging startup agility with big bank scale for market expansion.
- Ajua merged with Rate My Service to dominate Kenya’s customer experience market, serving 45 clients and planning Nigeria's re-entry with expanded solutions.
🏦 About Investors
- REdimension Capital closed a $13.8 million proptech & sustainability fund to drive innovation in South Africa’s real estate sector.
- TLcom Capital’s $5 million TAPSI fund deployed 50%, backing pre-seed startups to feed larger rounds from its $154 million TIDE Africa Fund.
- 500 Global launched the Nairobi Sustainable Innovation Program with Shell Foundation and UK support to fund seed-stage startups in key sectors.
📋️ Curated Lists
In 2025, Morocco’s agritech sector emerges as a hub of innovation, blending technology and sustainability to transform farming practices across the country and beyond. Startups such as Agri 4.0 with IoT-powered precision tools, DeepLeaf with AI crop diagnostics, Jodoor with hydroponic greenhouses, PCS Agri with smart agronomy devices, Sand to Green with regenerative agroforestry, SOWIT with AI-driven agrifinance, and YoLa Fresh with tech-enabled farmer-to-retailer networks showcase strong funding, expansion strategies, and impactful solutions. Dive into the full article to explore how these ventures are reshaping agriculture and driving Morocco’s leadership in Africa’s agritech future.
🚀 Startup of the Week
Introducing our Startup of the Week 🏆
Nawy
Founded in 2016 and headquartered in New Cairo, Egypt, Nawy was launched by CEO Mostafa El Beltagy, CMO Abdel-Azim Osman, CBDO Ahmed Rafea, CCO Aly Rafea, and COO Mohamed Abou Ghanima. The company is redefining real estate in MENA through a full-stack digital platform for property search, financing, co-investment, furnishing, and transaction management. Backed by $80 million, including a $75 million Series A in 2025 led by Partech Africa, Nawy expanded into the GCC by acquiring Dubai-based SmartCrowd, strengthening its position as a leading, vertically integrated proptech player in the region.
đź’Ľ Investor of the Week
Introducing our Investor of the Week 🏆
A15
Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Cairo, Egypt, A15 was established by Managing Partner Karim Beshara, alongside Principal Bassem Raafat and Investment Associate Ahmed Azzam, combining telecom, private equity, and strategy expertise with a mission to back “daring founders.” Focused on pre-seed to Series A, the firm blends early capital with hands-on operational support in product, hiring, and go-to-market, building companies rather than just funding them. With over 40 startups across 20+ MENA countries and eight strategic exits—including “dragon exits” TPAY Mobile and Connect Ads—A15 recently delivered a 10x DPI return on its first fund. In 2025, it added logistics player Nowlun and energy analytics startup Gail to its portfolio, reinforcing its position as one of the region’s most disciplined and founder-aligned early-stage VCs.
🤑 Opportunity Radar
Call for Applications: Energy Starter 2025 Track 2 Renewable Energy
Applications are now open for the EDP Energy Starter 2025 – Renewable Energy Track 2, a global open innovation program accelerating the deployment of clean energy technologies and maximizing renewable asset value. Open to startups and scaleups worldwide, the program offers fully funded pilot opportunities with EDP, direct access to decision-makers across 28 markets, global visibility, potential funding from EDP Ventures, and covered travel for an in-person bootcamp in Lisbon. Online evaluations run from September to October 2025, followed by the bootcamp on November 25–27. Applications close on August 22. If you’re building solutions in renewable energy, storage, emerging tech, or energy trading, apply now to shape the future of sustainable energy.
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