🦄 Unicorn Moniepoint🦄

In partnership with

⟹ 🚀 STARTUPS WATCH 🚀 ⟸

Here are the 5 top startups in the African eco-system we think you need to know:

Yoco is an African technology company dedicated to helping entrepreneurs thrive by providing accessible payment solutions. With over 200,000 small businesses using its mobile card readers, Point of Sale App, and Business Portal, Yoco simplifies the payment process, enabling merchants to accept card payments seamlessly, both in-person and online.

Having raised over $100 million from prominent investors, Yoco aims to break down barriers to commerce and create opportunities for growth across the continent. By processing more than $2 billion annually, Yoco is not just facilitating transactions—it's fueling economic growth and job creation in Africa. When small businesses succeed, the entire economy benefits.

Konga is a comprehensive online shopping platform that offers a diverse range of products, including clothing, home appliances, electronics, groceries, and more. With innovative payment options like Cash on Delivery and debit card transactions, Konga is at the forefront of transforming the retail landscape in Nigeria.

Driven by a mission to be the engine of commerce in Africa, Konga prioritizes customer satisfaction and service excellence, making it a trusted household name. The company prides itself on its open-door policy and collaborative work environment, where employee feedback is valued and encourages continuous evolution. With a vision to connect Africans through technology and commerce, Konga is not just facilitating online shopping; it's fostering economic growth and a vibrant digital marketplace across the continent. 🌍🛒

Based in Egypt, Breadfast offers a seamless shopping experience for a wide range of products, including bakery items, groceries, fruits, vegetables, and household necessities. With instant same-day delivery available 24/7, customers enjoy fresh items sourced daily, eliminating the hassle of freezing or defrosting.

Currently serving Cairo, Giza, and Alexandria, and expanding across the MENA region, Breadfast is revolutionizing convenience in grocery shopping, one delivery at a time. 🥦📦

⟹ 💼 💰️ VENTURE CAPITAL WATCH 💼 💰️ ⟸

In this week’s VC Watch, we saw the birth of a new unicorn in the African startup ecosystem, a milestone worthy of celebration. 🎉 🎉 🎉 

This past week, African fintech Moniepoint raised $110 million in a Series C round led by Development Partners International (DPI), with Google’s Africa Investment Fund joining as a new backer, alongside Verod Capital and existing investor Lightrock. Founded in 2015, Moniepoint has now achieved unicorn status with a valuation exceeding $1 billion. Originally focused on payment infrastructure for banks, the fintech pivoted to business banking for SMBs, offering loans, payment cards, and management tools. As Nigeria’s largest POS merchant acquirer, processing over $17 billion in monthly transactions, Moniepoint will use the new funding to expand across Africa and enhance its digital payments and banking services.

South Africa-founded golf management startup Tagmarshal has raised a multi-million dollar Series A round to fuel its expansion in staff, technology, and client acquisition. Now based in the U.S., Tagmarshal leads in on-course optimization tech, providing golf courses with real-time operational insights to enhance player experience, manage pace, and increase revenue. Partnering with over 40 of the top 100 U.S. courses, Tagmarshal has achieved 57% revenue growth this year, driven by a rising demand for tech-driven solutions in golf. CEO Bodo Sieber sees this investment as a vote of confidence to continue scaling and innovating.

Moroccan cross-border logistics startup Colis has raised $300,000 in pre-seed funding from Witamax to strengthen its presence in Morocco and expand into West Africa. Founded in 2022 by Issam Darui, Colis enables parcel delivery between Morocco and six European countries, with over 55,000 deliveries completed to date. Previously backed by The Baobab Network and the Plug and Play Morocco accelerator, Colis aims to become a key logistics player connecting Africa and Europe, focusing on innovative tech solutions for the sector’s evolving needs.

African VC firm Janngo Capital has closed its second fund at €73 million (about $78 million), surpassing its initial target by 20%. Supported by investors like AfDB, EIB, and DFC, the "gender-equal" VC prioritizes diverse founders, with women-led startups comprising 56% of its portfolio. Janngo plans to back 25-40 startups across healthcare, logistics, fintech, and more, with investment sizes ranging from €50,000 to €5 million. Notable exits include Expensya, acquired by Medius, and Sabi, which generates $1 billion in annual GMV. This fund aims to build on Janngo’s vision of empowering African tech with both local and global LP support.

👀 This week’s featured investor is AV Ventures. 👀

AV Ventures is the investment management subsidiary of ACDI/VOCA, focused on bridging the financing gap for "missing middle" small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Africa and Central Asia. Established in 2016, AV Ventures provides patient, flexible capital to agribusinesses and SMEs that support smallholder farmers and community development, aiming to build sustainable and inclusive supply chains.

Through pilot funds in Ghana, Kenya, and Central Asia, AV Ventures empowers SMEs to access resources typically unavailable to them, offering both financing and technical assistance. With a commitment to generating social and economic impact, AV Ventures enables growth opportunities for business owners and farmer communities alike. 🌱💡

Their mission? To create markets where communities can succeed, fostering economic resilience and sustainable agriculture across developing regions.

⟹ 📺️ MEDIA WATCH 📺️  ⟸

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

1. Google and DPI back African fintech Moniepoint in $110M round - TechCrunch

2. African ‘gender equal’ VC Janngo Capital closes second fund at $78M - TechCrunch

3. Moroccan logistics startup Colis secures $300k pre-seed funding - Disrupt Africa

4. Techstars Lagos shuts down after two years and 24 investments - Techcabal

5. Ghanaian retail-tech startup Tendo acquires counterpart Shopa - Disrupt Africa

And that’s your weekly dosage of the African startup ecosystem! If you have any comments or feedback, just respond to this email. We are always looking to hear from our community.

Thanks for reading. See you next week.

Gitonga, the Stoic Founder at StartupHub.Africa 🚀

^{_{Be a friend, tell a friend something nice, it might change their life.}}