The year 2021 seems to be the year for Middle East and African (MEA) startups.
Several multi-million-dollar announcements have been made since the start of the year and are continuing strong in Q4 2021.
In this article, we’re going to highlight the top funding rounds across the African continent.
Although Egypt is a major contender in the African continent, we’ve covered Egypt in-depth along with the GCC separately.
Learn more in Meet the MENA Region’s Top-Funded Startups in Q3 & Q4 2021
Data compiled by Disrupt Africa indicates that over 300 African tech startups raised a combined $1.1+ billion in the first 8 months of 2021.
Nigerian, Egyptian, and South African startups were the top 3 in terms of highest funding rounds.
Now let’s look at how African startups fared in 2021.
VC funding highlights in Africa in Q3 2021
In the African continent, many startups have received funding over the course of 2021.
Excluding North African countries, South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria were the top 3 contenders in VC funding rounds.
Ranked by country, here’s a quick overview of the startups that received the highest funding between July and September this year.
Kenya
In Kenya, 5 startups across fintech and green tech raised the largest funding rounds in Q3 2021.
Guidewheel
Manufacturing technology startup Guidewheel raised $8 million in a series A round to support its expansion into the United States. This brings the startup’s total funding since its launch in 2018 to $12 million. Guidewheel, which originally started out as Safi in Kenya, offers cloud-powered factory operations and helps factories digitize their operations.
Around 30% of the company’s operations remain in Nairobi, Kenya, however the majority of its operations are in the US, for which it raising the funding round.
Guidewheel’s “plug-and-play platform clips onto any machine on the factory floor, delivering real-time visibility that reduces lost production and improves performance,” notes Disrupt Africa.
Solarise Africa
Energy leasing firm Solarise Africa got EUR 5 million ($5.9 million) in debt financing from Trine, a Swedish impact investment platform.
Solarise Africa, which focuses on commercial and industrial clients (C&I), will use the funds to bolster its presence and operations across the African continent.
“The funds, which will be disbursed across multiple tranches, will advance investments in food security, renewable energy, urban development, and manufacturing and production in South Africa, Kenya, Ghana and Rwanda. The first disbursement will finance five solar projects in South Africa and Kenya,” reports Disrupt Africa.
In 2020, the Kenyan-based energy company raised $10 million in a Series B round.
Wapi Pay
Fintech startup Wapi Pay secured $2.2 million in pre-seed funding to expand its presence, drive growth, and get operating licenses across Africa.
Launched in 2019, Wapi Pay now has offices in Nairobi, Singapore and Tianjin (China). The company offers digital wallets to partners and customers, convenient global payments, and delivers platform-to-platform integrations.
MarketForce
B2B retail distribution platform MarketForce succeeded in raising $2 million in a pre-Series A round. It will use the funds to expand its operations into the Nigerian market and scale its B2B wholesale e-commerce marketplace RejaReja platform.
MarketForce helps consumer brands deliver goods and services to both retailers and consumers “by bridging the information gap in last mile distribution,” according to Disrupt Africa. The company, which previously raised $350,000 in May 2020, also helps maximize the efficiency of the sales and distribution value chain.
AIfluence
Advertising technology (ad-tech) startup AIfluence raised $1 million in seed funding to bolster its AI-powered marketing platform and expand across the African continent.
The company is looking to increase its operations in the Middle East and Asia by the end of the year.
AIfluence’s platform helps advertisers collaborate with micro and nano influencers, create peer-to-peer conversations, and increase conversions.
South Africa
Yoco
The largest funding round in South Africa in Q3 2021 went to fintech and software startup Yoco, which raised $83 million in a Series C funding round to develop its platform and fuel its global expansion.
The South African startup helps small businesses accept cart payments both online and in-store, as well as get access to loans, and manage day-to-day activities.
Yoco previously raised $16 million in a Series B round in 2018, bringing its total funding rounds to-date to $107 million.
The startup, which is looking to expand into Africa and the Middle East, has set a target of reaching 1 million merchants within the coming 4 years.
Naked
Not the name you’d expect for an insurance technology (insurtech) startup, Naked successfully raised $11 million in a Series A round, led by Naspers Foundry.
Naked will use the funds to grow its platform which provides insurance covers for cars, homes, standalone items, and more.
The South African company, which was launched in 2018, uses AI and automation to offer a new kind of insurance experience.
Nigeria
Agricorp
Agritech startup Agricorp has succeeded in raising $17.5 million in a Series A round to boost its expansion and production to 7,000 metric tons.
The Nigerian agritech, which was founded in 2018, is looking to become the largest spices exporter in the African continent. It also supports smallholder farmers with training on good agronomic practices.
Yellow Card
Yellow Card, a cryptocurrency exchange, has raised $15 million in a Series A round to expand across the continent and grow its team.
The Nigerian startup facilitates the process for anyone in Africa to buy cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and others using mobile money, cards, cash, or via bank transfers.
Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Yellow Card, which is present in 12 African countries, has seen its customers grow by 30x.
Releaf
Nigeria’s Releaf raised $4.2 million in equity and grant funding to scale its tech solutions for the oil palm sector.
Established in 2017, agritech startup Releaf provides hardware and software solutions to support the industrialization of food processing in Africa.
The agritech startup was part of Y Combinator’s accelerator program in Silicon Valley in 2017.
Prospa
Fintech startup Prospa raised $3.8 million in pre-seeding funding to grow its team, develop new products, and increase customer acquisition.
Launched in 2019, the Nigerian fintech offers banking and software solutions to micro-businesses by allowing them to open fully operational bank accounts within 5 minutes.
It also provides them with a suite of supporting services such as invoicing, inventory management, payroll for employees, an e-commerce platform, and analytics dashboard.
Senegal
We don’t hear lots of news about Senegal, hence this entry here.
Senegal’s Yobante Express, an online delivery marketplace that connects couriers with retailers has raised $1.2 million.
Yobante Express, which was founded in 2018 and offers domestic, cross-border, and last-mile delivery services, helps sellers and customers deliver products faster and 40% more affordably than its local competitors.
The Senegalese startup currently operates out of Senegal along with 5 other markets in Africa, namely: South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Ghana.
Nigerian startup acquires UAE healthcare firm
In terms of acquisitions, the most notable came in Q4 2021 where Nigeria-based Helium Health acquired Meddy, a UAE-based healthcare startup.
The Nigerian company said that its acquisition of Meddy will enable its expansion into Asian and Arab countries, especially the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar.
The value of the deal was not disclosed.
African startups continue with mega funding rounds in Q4
The African continent continued its strong performance in Q4 2021 with several startups raising millions.
Nigerian healthcare startups, in particular, seem to be on fire as they continue attracting millions in financing.
Here are some of the highlights from Q4:
- Kenya-based B2B e-commerce platform Twiga raised the highest funding round in Q4 with a $50 million Series C round. Twiga said it will use the financing to “scale its affordable food solutions across Africa.” Twiga is one of the highest-funded startups in Africa, with total funding exceeding $134 million since its launch in 2014.
- South African fintech Ozow raised $48 million in a Series B round to enhance its product offerings and bolster its expansion.
- Autochek, a Nigerian auto-tech startup, raised $13.1 million in a seed round in October this year. The funding round will help Autochek enhance its auto-loan processing platform and grow its present in West Africa, it said.
- Mono, a Nigerian fintech, raised $15 million in a Series A round to focus on its expansion.
- Nigeria’s B2B fintech startup Verto raised $10 million in a Series funding round to boost its geographical footprint.
- Rwanda’s electric motorcycle startup Ampersand raised $9 million in a loan facility from the United States’ International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to bolster its presence in Rwanda and neighboring Kenya.
- Asante, a Kenyan fintech startup, raised $7.5 million in a Series A round to increase its credit offerings across Africa.
- Kenya’s Opibus, an electric mobility startup, raised $7.5 million in equity and grant funding to bolster its manufacturing operations for buses and electric motorcycles.
- Nigeria’s DrugStoc, e-health startup, raised $4.4 million in a Series A round to provide access to quality medication and sustainable supply chain financing for healthcare providers in Sub-Saharan Africa.
- South Africa’s AURA, a security and medical response marketplace, raised $4 million in a Series A round to boost is global footprint.
- Nigerian fintech and lending startup Payhippo raised $3 million in a seed round to boost tech capabilities as it aims to support capital-seeking Nigerian SMEs.
- Nigeria-based Sendbox, an e-commerce fulfillment startup raised a seed round of $1.8 million.
Closing remarks
Startups in the African continent, including North African counterparts, are making strides this year. They started 2021 strong and are likely to close it on an equally strong note.
This is evidenced by the mega funding deals uncovered in the final months of the year – with more coming to light every day!
Fintech, agritech, and healthcare appear to be the top sectors attracting investments. In terms of countries, it’s no surprise that Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa are the top contenders.
If you’re an African startup that’s looking to raise a funding round, you’ll need to get several financial documents in order.
Your financial plan, including your cash flow plan, your financial model, business plan, and investor pitch deck in top shape to get investors interested in investing in your business.
Need help with these documents? Get in touch with the Stride team.
