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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 Bank of Ghana suspended five remittance operators including Taptap Send, Remit Choice, and Afriex for one month over regulatory breaches.
- Raise Africa shut down after 7 years, migrating customers to Carta as co-founder Marvin Coleby joins the U.S. equity giant.
- TymeBank partnered with South Africa’s Home Affairs to roll out Smart ID and passport services starting in Johannesburg, then scaling via 1,450 kiosks.
- CBE issued new rules for payment institutions setting board standards, introducing fit-and-proper tests, and granting a one-year compliance window.
- TradeHub shut down after failing to find product-market fit, returning remaining funds of its $1.4 million raise to investors.
💸 Top Funding Rounds
- Intella closed a $12.5 million Series A led by Prosus to scale Arabic-first AI speech tech across 25 dialects and expand in MENA with Ziila and intellaCX.
- The Invigilator raised $11 million led by Kaltroco to expand AI-powered proctoring tools, scale global teams, and strengthen education partnerships.
- Babban Gona secured $7.5 million debt from British International Investment to expand support for smallholder farmers in Northern Nigeria.
- MOPO obtained $6.7 million from Norfund to scale its solar battery rental hubs across six Sub-Saharan markets, replacing costly petrol generators.
- Justyol raised $1 million to expand cross-border e-commerce logistics and product offerings across North Africa.
💰️ Notable Exits
- Ora Technologies moved to acquire Cathedis linking digital payments with last-mile logistics to strengthen Morocco’s e-commerce reach, pending regulatory approval, and promising integrated checkout-to-doorstep services.
🏦 About Investors
- Oxford Saïd hosted the Africa Venture Finance Programme bringing 40+ African VC managers for skills peer learning and strategic dialogue with strong focus on inclusion and capital access.
- Tanzania Startup Association signed a three-year MoU with Africapital to expand non-bank financing and incubation programs offering revenue-based and flexible instruments to support local startups.
📋️ Curated Lists
Morocco’s fintech scene is gaining momentum with startups reshaping payments, credit, wallets, and loyalty solutions, supported by regulatory tailwinds and stronger compliance frameworks. Key players to watch in 2025 include Alya driving BNPL adoption, Chari expanding SME digitization with Visa, Inyad equipping merchants with digital tools, JORO Cash and ORA offering wallet-based transfers, PayTic automating financial infrastructure, Talaty enabling AI-powered lending, Tookeez aggregating loyalty programs, and WafR leveraging shop networks for fintech distribution. The year ahead will bring more consolidation, cross-border expansion, and interoperability as Bank Al-Maghrib oversight and PAPSS integration strengthen Morocco’s fintech ecosystem. Read the full article here to learn more about each of these startups.
🚀Startup of the Week
Introducing our Startup of the Week 🏆
PalmPay
PalmPay, founded in Lagos in 2018, has grown from a simple mobile wallet into one of Africa’s fastest-rising fintech platforms, now employing over 1,000 people and processing millions of daily transactions. The company has expanded its services to include savings, loans, debit cards, USSD access, merchant solutions, POS networks, and payment APIs, while pursuing regional growth across Africa and Asia. Backed by $140 million in funding from investors such as Transsion, AfricInvest, and GIC, PalmPay is profitable and preparing a $50–100 million Series B to accelerate expansion. Led by CEO Chika Nwosu and CMO Sofia Zab, it recently partnered with AfriGo to issue 5 million cards, reinforcing its mission to drive financial inclusion and cement its role as a pan-African fintech powerhouse.
💼 Investor of the Week
Introducing our Investor of the Week 🏆
Afrimobility
Afrimobility, founded in 2020 and backed by Morocco’s AKWA Group, is a corporate venture capital firm investing in early-stage, tech-driven startups across Africa, Europe, and North America. With ticket sizes between $100,000 and $500,000, it has built a 25+ company portfolio in HealthTech, GreenTech, Fintech, Smart Cities, and mobility, while securing exits like KIFAL Auto and CoinAfrique. Recent moves include a landmark investment in Oxford-based Quantum Dice, marking Morocco’s first VC bet on quantum tech, alongside stakes in startups like Chari, CloudFret, and Cathedis. Led by General Manager Moulay Hafid Amrani and Deputy CEO Youssef Loudyi, Afrimobility couples capital with AKWA’s corporate reach, positioning itself as a bridge between Moroccan entrepreneurship and global frontier technologies.
🤑Opportunity Radar
Google for Startups Accelerator: South Africa Cohort 2025
Applications are now open for the Google for Startups Accelerator: South Africa Cohort 2025, a three-month hybrid program running from September to December 2025. Tailored for Seed to Series A tech startups, it offers $57,300 in funding, equity-free support, expert mentorship, and access to Google Cloud credits and global networks. With applications closing on September 10, 2025, this opportunity is designed for South African founders building scalable, AI-driven solutions. Apply now to secure your spot and scale with Google’s resources.
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