💰Intella bags $12.5M

In partnership with

Keep This Stock Ticker on Your Watchlist

They’re a private company, but Pacaso just reserved the Nasdaq ticker “$PCSO.”

No surprise the same firms that backed Uber, eBay, and Venmo already invested in Pacaso. What is unique is Pacaso is giving the same opportunity to everyday investors. And 10,000+ people have already joined them.

Created a former Zillow exec who sold his first venture for $120M, Pacaso brings co-ownership to the $1.3T vacation home industry.

They’ve generated $1B+ worth of luxury home transactions across 2,000+ owners. That’s good for more than $110M in gross profit since inception, including 41% YoY growth last year alone.

And you can join them today for just $2.90/share. But don’t wait too long. Invest in Pacaso before the opportunity ends September 18.

Invest While You Still Can

_{Paid advertisement for Pacaso’s Regulation A offering. Read the offering circular at invest.pacaso.com. Reserving a ticker symbol is not a guarantee that the company will go public. Listing on the NASDAQ is subject to approvals.}

⟹ 🚀 STARTUPS WATCH 🚀 ⟸

Here are the 3 top startups in the African ecosystem I think you need to know:

Fido powers inclusive digital banking for Africa’s underserved, delivering instant credit, savings, and financial tools to the 350M+ adults locked out of traditional finance. With machine learning-driven credit models and mobile-first onboarding, Fido offers 24/7 access via smartphone or USSD — no paperwork, no long queues, and no hidden fees.

By introducing the Fido Score, a proprietary financial identity system, Fido empowers users to build creditworthiness from scratch — even without a formal banking history. From side hustlers to first-time borrowers, Fido is quietly rewriting the rules of access, giving everyday Africans the tools to manage money, unlock opportunity, and thrive financially on their own terms.

⟹ 💼 💰️ VENTURE CAPITAL WATCH 💼 💰️ ⟸

🚀 This Week in African VC: AI Defenses, BNPL Rails & MENA Expansion

3️⃣ | $90M Climate Fund: Acumen doubles down on Africa’s green startups 🌱

Impact investor Acumen has secured $90M for KawiSafi Fund II, with $40M already committed and capital already flowing, including an $11M Series A co-investment into Koolboks (solar-powered freezers). The fund targets startups enabling clean energy access, efficient cooking, and climate resilience across the continent.

📊 LP Signal: Backed by the African Development Bank and Green Climate Fund, KawiSafi is now the largest climate-tech-focused fund active in African early-stage markets.

🔍 Investor Insight: Cleantech no longer means slow returns. Infra-light, D2C climate plays are attracting fast capital and mission-aligned exits.

2️⃣ | 🛒 Justyol lands $1M to expand cross-border e-commerce in MENA 🇲🇦

Moroccan startup Justyol raised $1M (equity + inventory financing) to bridge Turkish fashion and North African consumers. Backed by Danis Group, the platform is building a regional e-com stack across logistics, fulfillment, and payments.

📈 Market Signal: With a Series A in sight, Justyol is quietly becoming the Jumia for Turkish fashion, proving there’s room for niche marketplaces with local depth.

💡 Investor Insight: Regional platforms with hyper-specific supply chains (Turkey → MENA) and cash conversion cycles are gaining favor — especially when bundled with fintech or logistics control.

1️⃣ | Arabic AI & BNPL Rails: Intella and Float double down on vertical SaaS 🇪🇬🇿🇦

🎓 Egypt’s Intella has raised a $12.5M Series A (led by Prosus) to expand its speech AI stack. With 95.73% ASR accuracy and LLM agent Ziila, it’s already powering CX in Arabic-speaking markets.

💳 Meanwhile, South Africa’s Float raised $2.6M to scale its card-linked BNPL platform. With 2,000+ merchants and industry-leading AOVs (~$570), it’s turning legacy credit rails into flexible fintech tools.

🔍 Investor Insight: Whether it’s ASR for MENA call centers or embedded credit in SA retail, vertical AI and fintech infra remain the most fundable African SaaS plays.

👀 Investor Spotlight: Roselake Ventures  👀

📍Hong Kong 🇭🇰 | Est. 2021

Roselake Ventures is a cross-border early-stage VC firm with a sharp focus on emerging markets — especially Africa. Though based in Asia, they’ve quickly built a reputation as one of the few global funds consistently writing checks for African founders solving real-world problems across fintech, logistics, e-commerce, and digital infrastructure.

🧠 Thesis:

Roselake backs tech-enabled startups building for underserved markets across Africa, with a bias toward infrastructure-light, high-frequency use cases. They’re founder-first, market-sharp, and bullish on the intersection of African consumer growth, digital rails, and scalable operations.

🌍 Geographic Focus:

Pan-African 🌍 | With select presence in Hong Kong, China, Canada, and the U.S.

💸 Check Size & Stage:

• Pre-seed to Series A

• Typical ticket size: $100K – $1M

• Favors B2B2C models, localized platforms, and digitally-native brands with global potential

🔗 Approach:

• Operates like a venture studio — hands-on support across go-to-market, partnerships, ops, and capital access

• Deep networks in both African and Asian venture ecosystems

• Current portfolio includes: Ayagigs, Dukka, Treepz, Qwili, Kyshi, Duhqa, Chargel, Pattern, and more.

💡 Vibe:

Global lens. Local hustle. No fluff.

Roselake isn’t just dropping logos on pitch decks — they’re in the trenches with founders redefining what it means to scale in Africa. Think of them as a bridge between Asia’s speed and Africa’s scale.

⟹ 📺️ MEDIA WATCH 📺️  ⟸

Here are the 5 key things in the news this week that you need to know:

1. Morocco’s Nucleon Security raises $3.5m to scale Zero Trust AI across Africa - Techcabal

2. SA ed-tech startup The Invigilator raises $11m funding round - Disrupt Africa

3. Acumen’s new $90 million Kawisafi fund to back African climate-tech startups  - Techcabal

4. Moroccan super-app ORA Technologies acquires logistics startup Cathedis - Disrupt Africa

5. SA digital tax startup TaxTim acquired by private consortium - Disrupt Africa

And that’s your weekly dosage of the African startup ecosystem; thanks for reading.

Have a lovely week ahead.

Gitonga, the Stoic Founder at StartupHub.Africa 🚀

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