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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 Central Bank is reforming lending by tying rates to KESONIA benchmark, boosting transparency fairness and monetary policy impact.
- Nigeria Data Protection Commission launched a sectoral probe into fintech insurers and pension firms demanding compliance or sanctions.
- The London Stock Exchange is courting African firms with new rules and investor access as it competes with Nasdaq and NYSE.
- Bank of Ghana designated Digital Credit Services as a Non-Bank Financial Service to regulate digital lending and strengthen consumer protection.
- eBee Africa laid off most staff and is scaling back e-bike operations in Kenya after weak demand and high costs stalled adoption.
💸 Top Funding Rounds
- Poa Internet secured $4 million in debt from Finnfund with Nokia to expand affordable broadband and close Kenya’s digital divide.
- Munify, the Egyptian fintech, joined Y Combinator Summer 2025 and raised $3 million in seed funding to make remittances faster, cheaper, and simpler.
- TRANSFORM by Unilever, the UK Government and EY awarded $663,000 to five East African enterprises advancing the circular economy and livelihoods.
💰️ Notable Exits
- AfriCar Group acquired Côte d’Ivoire’s Koto.ci to grow its pan African auto ecosystem, serve 15M users, and accelerate EV adoption.
📋️ Curated Lists
Morocco’s healthtech sector is rapidly advancing as startups leverage AI, cloud platforms, and digital tools to close gaps in healthcare access and quality. Aorto Medical is developing regenerative cardiology devices, while Blink Pharma digitizes pharmaceutical supply chains. Click Doc expands telemedicine across Africa, and DataPathology scales AI-driven cancer diagnostics. DeepEcho brings FDA-cleared prenatal ultrasound tools, PocketDoc supports professionals with mobile resources, and SehaLink streamlines the patient journey. Sobrus grows its cloud-based management solutions internationally, while Wenaya offers holistic wellness care. Dive into the full article to see how these ventures are transforming healthcare and positioning Morocco as a rising leader in Africa’s digital health revolution.
🚀Startup of the Week
Introducing our Startup of the Week 🏆
Nile
Founded in 2021 by Louis de Kock, Eugene Roodt, and Rick Kleinhans, Centurion-based Nile is transforming African agriculture through a technology-driven B2B marketplace that streamlines food trading, logistics, and farm supply access by eliminating middlemen and enabling secure, transparent transactions. Backed by major investors including Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund, Naspers Foundry, FMO, and AfricInvest, the company has raised approximately $17 million to date, including a $11.3 million Series A in July 2025. With its integrated trade, transact, and logistics platform, strategic talent expansion, and strong presence at industry events such as NAMPO Harvest Day, Nile is rapidly scaling across the continent and positioning itself as Africa’s leading agritech platform, empowering farmers with fairer prices, efficient market access, and data-driven input financing.
💼 Investor of the Week
Introducing our Investor of the Week 🏆
Baobab Network
Founded in 2016, The Baobab Network is one of Africa’s most active early-stage investors, supporting 65+ startups across a dozen countries with $100k investments for 12.5% equity. Headquartered in Nairobi and led by Managing Partners Niama El Bassunie and Art Chupeau, the firm blends a 12-week accelerator with long-term portfolio support, offering mentorship, global networks, and co-investment opportunities. Its diverse portfolio spans fintech, logistics, edtech, proptech, and identity verification, with notable companies like Terminal Africa, Lemonade Payments, and Morocco’s VOVE ID.
🤑Opportunity Radar
Call for applications: Water Innovation Challenge 2025
Applications are now open for the Water Innovation Challenge 2025, a global competition seeking groundbreaking solutions in sustainable water management, brine treatment, and salt valorization. Powered by RootCamp in partnership with K+S, the program provides innovators with direct industry access, pilot funding, and long-term scale-up opportunities with a global leader in mineral resources. The challenge welcomes startups, SMEs, and research institutions across Africa to apply. Applications close on September 7, 2025, with pitches running from October to November. If you’re building the future of water innovation, apply now.
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