Startup Researcher - Africa: Week 29, 2025

Stay ahead of Africa’s grind‑forward innovation scene with this week’s Startup Researcher Africa. We unpack headline‑worthy moves in fintech, policy, funding, and exits so founders, investors, and operators can make sharper bets in real time.

Key Moments:
00:20 Important News
01:20 Top Funding Rounds
02:05 Notable Exits
02:30 About Investors
03:10 Startup of the Week
03:45 Investor of the Week
04:30 Opportunity Radar

Africa’s fintech footprint keeps expanding as ten names, including OPay and PiggyVest, break into CNBC’s global top 300—a milestone that signals growing global competitiveness. Ethiopia finally ratifies its first Startup Law, unlocking long‑awaited legal clarity, tax breaks, and a national fund‑of‑funds to drag red‑tape hurdles into the modern era. We also break down boardroom drama at truQ after CEO Williams Fatayo steps aside, and dive into Kenya’s BNPL shake‑up as Wabeh pauses merchant activity under default pressure. On the blockchain front, SuiHub Lagos launches to arm African devs with fresh tooling and mentorship.

Funding momentum stays hot: Rwazi tops the charts with a USD 12 million Series A to scale its real‑time market‑insights engine across 190+ markets. Moroccan super‑app ORA Technologies bags USD 7.5 million to stitch payments, e‑commerce, and logistics into one friction‑free experience. Egypt’s PALM secures a seven‑figure pre‑seed to build goal‑based savings for the mass market, MoneyBadger pulls in USD 400k to spread Lightning‑powered Bitcoin payments, and EATO clinches undisclosed capital to plug African food SMEs into global buyers.

Exits get interesting too. Engage Capital bids USD 24.5 million for the core assets of collapsed Kenyan BNPL player Lipa Later, testing a playbook for distressed fintech turnarounds. Tactful AI’s founders reclaim their customer‑experience platform from Dstny to regain product speed and regional control.

Investor news features Village Capital’s new USD 4 million facility for ecosystem‑led bets in Ghana, Nigeria, and Tanzania, plus a Technopark Maroc‑Azur Innovation Fund tie‑up to supercharge Moroccan deal flow. Operations‑driven VC A15 touts a 10x DPI from Fund I.

Startup of the Week, Nowlun, offers an AI‑powered freight marketplace that compresses quote comparisons, tracking, and customs into one dashboard after extending its seed round to USD 2.3 million. Investor Spotlight lands on LoftyInc Capital Management, fresh off a USD 43 million first close to bridge Series A gaps across Africa’s deep‑tech frontier.

Opportunities close fast: apply to the DTTT Accelerate Founders Programme by 31 July 2025 if you are building at the crossroads of tourism and tech.