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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
- GAFI launched a Technology Hub in Nasr City to help Egyptian startups scale globally with coordinated support from FRA, ETA, and Elevate Lab partners.
- CI20 signed a strategic partnership with UNDP to strengthen Côte d’Ivoire’s startup ecosystem through skills innovation and high-growth support.
- Moniepoint launched Moniebook for Nigerian SMEs, adding POS and bookkeeping tools tested by 4,000 users to expand beyond payments.
- Paymob and RTG formed a partnership merging payments with AI-powered digital experiences to accelerate SME digitization and support Vision 2030.
- Taager expanded into Morocco launching in Casablanca to offer its end to end e-commerce platform for young entrepreneurs across MENA.
💸 Top Funding Rounds
- SwiftVEE secured $10.1 million to expand its livestock marketplace into fintech, insurance, and data tools through its regional auction network.
- Immobazyme obtained $1.45 million to expand its Cape Town facility and advance precision fermentation therapeutics for African biotech capacity.
- Zazu raised $1 million to launch its SME financial OS in South Africa and Morocco targeting the funding gap with integrated banking automation.
- Black Swan won $50,000 and an Absa pilot after taking first place in the 2025 MEST Africa Challenge to scale its data driven credit intelligence platform.
- Rology secured a growth round from global health investors to scale its FDA-cleared AI teleradiology platform across MEA and expand diagnostic access.
💰️ Notable Exits
- Bolttech acquired Kenya-based mTek to expand its African footprint and strengthen global embedded insurance capabilities, leveraging mTek’s digital platform while keeping its leadership to drive regional growth.
🏦 About Investors
- I&P closed a $47.6 million first round for its IPAE 3 fund to finance Africa’s missing middle with climate and gender aligned impact investments.
- Proparco provided a $1.7 million ARIZ PRIME guarantee to Teranga Capital to expand financing for high-impact Senegalese SMEs.
- The African Cities Innovation Fund launched to offer up to $75,000 for collaborative urban innovations supporting locally led solutions across Africa.
- Five35 Ventures secured an anchor investment to scale its female-focused early-stage portfolio and deepen backing for high traction women led startups.
- Renew Capital opened its North and West Africa HQ in Morocco with Technopark to advance South South cooperation and support entrepreneurs.
🚀Startup of the Week
Introducing our Startup of the Week 🏆
SwiftVEE
South African agritech disruptor SwiftVEE, founded in 2017 in Cape Town by Russel Luck, has rapidly evolved from a pioneering online livestock auction platform into a fast-scaling marketplace powering over $100 million in annual GMV across Southern Africa. The company recently closed a $10.1 million Series A round co-led by HAVAÍC and Exeo Capital, with former Old Mutual CEO Iain Williamson joining the investor group, reinforcing its push into integrated financial services. Led by CEO Russel Luck and COO Christine van Breda, SwiftVEE is now embedding fintech, insurance, and data solutions directly into agricultural trade, positioning itself as a transformative force modernizing Africa’s livestock economy and expanding financial access for farmers.
💼 Investor of the Week
Introducing our Investor of the Week 🏆
Investisseurs & Partenaires
Impact investment group Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P), founded in 2002, has become one of Africa’s most established backers of the “missing middle,” financing SMEs overlooked by traditional private equity. The firm recently closed $47.6 million for the first round of its new fund IPAE 3, backed by the European Investment Bank, BOAD, Bpifrance, and Proparco’s FISEA initiative, underscoring strong confidence in its strategy. Led by Sébastien Boyé and Jérémy Hajdenberg, I&P blends capital with hands-on support while driving gender-lens and climate-focused investments. Its mission remains to empower African entrepreneurs to build sustainable, high-growth companies shaping the continent’s economic future.
🤑Opportunity Radar
Call for Applications: The HAX Program
The HAX Program, run by SOSV, is a global accelerator for hard-tech startups building solutions in hardware, climate tech, health tech, industrial tech, energy, and AI. Founders gain access to investment, hands-on engineering resources, a world-class mentor network, and long-term venture support through SOSV’s multi-stage platform. The program targets pre-seed hard-tech teams with early prototypes and strong customer insight. Apply now to join a globally diverse community and accelerate your path from prototype to scale.
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