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Wave Secures $137M 💰💰
Wave secures $137M in debt 💰 | 🍽 Chowdeck acquires Mira | Lesaka buys Bank Zero 🏦 | Liquify raises $1.5M 💰 | Sabi Lays off 20% | PaidHR raises $1.8M 💰 |
Gitonga Mwaura
July 02, 2025
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Hello, and hope you have a fantastic week!
Welcome to the latest edition of The Startups Chronicle, proudly brought to you by Startup Hub Africa 🚀—your go-to source for funding moves, strategic shifts, and market signals across the continent’s startup frontier.
The most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can be great in whatever they want to do.
Here’s what’s happened in Africa’s tech scene in the first week of June:
💸 Wave secures $137M in debt to scale mobile money
Africa’s top YC-backed startup is back with a non-dilutive flex: a $137M debt raise to fuel mobile money expansion. Led by RMB and global DFIs, it’s a bet on low-fee, high-volume inclusion—and a reminder that Francophone Africa still has its fintech king.
🏦 Lesaka buys Bank Zero to become a licensed digital bank
The $56M Lesaka–Bank Zero merger could reshape South Africa’s banking turf. Lesaka moves beyond fintech into full deposit-taking territory, armed with Bank Zero’s modern rails. If approved, expect a tougher race for TymeBank, Kuda, and anyone eyeing digital finance in the region.
🍽 Chowdeck acquires Mira to go full-stack in foodtech
Nigeria’s Chowdeck just swallowed Mira, a PoS startup for restaurants. This combo isn’t about delivery anymore—it’s Chowdeck building the full operating system for Africa’s hospitality sector. From ordering to payments to kitchen ops, they want to own it all.
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🚀 Liquify raises $1.5M to close Africa’s $120B trade finance gap
Ghanaian startup Liquify wants to turn unpaid invoices into same-day working capital for SME exporters. With backing from Future Africa and Launch Africa, plus a growing pool of global capital, they’re building an invoice-backed finance marketplace for the continent.
🔁 Sabi pivots hard to traceable commodities, lays off 50
Nigeria’s Sabi is shedding its merchant-facing tools to go all-in on TRACE, a blockchain-powered supply chain platform for exports. With demand surging for ESG-grade sourcing, Sabi’s chasing a higher-value game—but the pivot cost 20% of its workforce. A brutal but focused move.
🧾 PaidHR raises $1.8M to rewire HR and payroll for Africa
From 49-currency payroll to embedded USD savings, Nigeria’s PaidHR is building the backend for pan-African HR. Backed by Accion Venture Lab and Zedcrest, the $1.8M round will scale ops and double down on financial wellness for Africa’s workforce.
From remittances to commodities to foodtech infrastructure, African startups are betting on control, compliance, and full-stack platforms.
The era of API wrappers is giving way to real, vertical depth.
⟹ 🚀 STARTUPS WATCH 🚀 ⟸
Here are the 3 top startups in the African ecosystem I think you need to know:
 | 🌟 Name ➜ Yassir 🏭️ Industry ➜ Transportation 📆 Founded ➜ 2016 📍 Location ➜ Algiers, Algeria 🇩🇿 💰️ Funding Raised ➜ $217M 🧑🤝🧑 No. Of Employees ➜ 4000+ 👥 Founders
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Yassir, founded in Algeria in 2016, has evolved into a dominant multi-service platform, redefining mobility and commerce across Africa.
With over 8 million downloads and operations in 45+ cities, it began as a ride-hailing service and quickly expanded into e-commerce and last-mile delivery.
Backed by Y Combinator and having raised $130M in Series B funding, Yassir is now building a Super App—integrating payments, savings, and credit to power a truly digital economy.
 | 🌟 Name ➜ Roam Electric 🏭️ Industry ➜ Manufacturing 📆 Founded ➜ 2017 📍 Location ➜ Nairobi, Kenya 🇰🇪 💰️ Funding Raised ➜ $24M 🧑🤝🧑 No. Of Employees ➜ 201-500 👥 Founders
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Roam is reshaping Africa’s transport landscape with affordable, low-emission electric motorcycles and buses tailored for the continent’s needs. With over 90% fewer emissions for bikes and 80% for buses, Roam is tackling climate change head-on through clean mobility.
Operating from East Africa’s largest EV motorcycle plant, its flagship products—Roam Air (motorcycles) and Roam Transit (buses)—are built for impact, durability, and affordability. Beyond vehicles, Roam offers charging infrastructure (Roam Energy & Charging) and fleet software (Roam Canopy), creating an end-to-end ecosystem for electric mobility.
With a mission-driven team and eyes on global expansion, Roam is driving a cleaner, more efficient future for transport across emerging markets.
 | 🌟 Name ➜ Rensource Energy 🏭️ Industry ➜ Energy 📆 Founded ➜ 2016 📍 Location ➜ Lagos, Nigeria 🇳🇬 💰️ Funding Raised ➜ $24M 🧑🤝🧑 No. Of Employees ➜ 151 - 200 👥 Founders
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Rensource Energy is transforming access to reliable power in Nigeria and West Africa through a Power-as-a-Service model. By deploying solar-hybrid systems at customer sites, it offers businesses a fully managed clean energy solution, bundling power generation, financing, and payment collection into one seamless service.
Focused on distributed renewable energy, Rensource helps commercial and industrial clients reduce costs, boost reliability, and go green without upfront investment. Its model positions Nigeria as a potential leader in decentralized clean energy across the continent.
⟹ 💼 💰️ VENTURE CAPITAL WATCH 💼 💰️ ⟸
🚀 Here are the 3 key plays this past week in the VC Space:
3️⃣ Liquify raises $1.5M to fix Africa’s $120B trade finance gap
Ghana-based Liquify is building the invoice-financing rails for Africa’s export economy, and it just closed a $1.5M seed round from Future Africa, Launch Africa, and others. Its AI-powered platform turns 30-90 day invoice delays into same-day working capital.
SME exporters upload invoices → Liquify runs KYC/AML and credit checks → Capital flows in, fast.
The result? Over $4M financed already, and plans to scale across Francophone and Anglophone Africa.
A clean fintech wedge into an overlooked but massive B2B market.
2️⃣ Wave secures $137M debt to double down on mobile money
Africa’s mobile money unicorn raised a massive $137M debt round from RMB, BII, Finnfund, and Norfund — and didn’t give up a single share of equity.
Wave’s playbook? Free deposits, 1% transfer fees, 20M+ users, and the continent’s only YC Top 50 startup two years running.
With fresh funds, they’re entering Central Africa, ramping up distribution, and tightening their grip on Francophone markets.
🤔 Debt over equity? It’s a power move, and a signal that sustainable fintech scale is now fundable at serious volume.
1️⃣ Lesaka acquires Bank Zero in $56M deal to become a full-stack digital bank
This is big: Nasdaq-listed Lesaka just agreed to acquire South Africa’s digital-only Bank Zero, unlocking a full banking license, lowering funding costs, and taking direct control of deposits.
The merger combines Lesaka’s distribution engine with Bank Zero’s digital infrastructure. It’s the latest sign that fintechs are done building around the banks — they’re becoming the bank.
Traditional players like TymeBank and Kuda should take note. 👀
Pending regulatory approval, this move reshapes South Africa’s digital banking landscape and marks a rare fintech-to-bank transformation on the continent.
💡 Investor takeaway:
VC activity this week wasn’t just about capital; it was about infrastructure.
From banking licenses to trade finance to mobile wallets, Africa’s most serious plays are stacking distribution + compliance + capital into full-stack growth engines.
👀 Investor Spotlight: Lotus Capital 👀
Lotus Capital is Nigeria’s pioneer in Islamic finance and a leading ethical asset manager. Since 2004, they’ve delivered Shariah-compliant investment solutions across asset management, wealth advisory, and capital markets — managing 3 mutual funds listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
🧠 Thesis:
Build long-term, sustainable wealth the Halal way — by investing in fundamentally sound, ethically aligned companies and sukuk-backed fixed-income products.
🌍 Geographic Focus:
Primarily Nigeria 🇳🇬 with growing pan-African relevance through the rise of Islamic finance.
💸 Check Size & Instruments:
Focus on compliant fixed-income and equity instruments, including Sukuk, Islamic mutual funds, and non-interest contracts.
🔗 Approach:
• Deep due diligence and contract visibility
• Values-led investment aligned with Maqasid al-Shariah
• Serving both retail and institutional investors with transparency
💡 Vibe:
Faith-driven, fundamentals-first.
Lotus is quietly powering an ethical wealth movement — one sukuk, one screened equity at a time.
⟹ 📺️ MEDIA WATCH 📺️ ⟸
Here are the 5 key things in the news this week that you need to know:
Ghanaian invoice financing startup Liquify raises oversubscribed $1.5m seed round - Disrupt Africa
Wave raises $137 million in debt to expand mobile money services across Africa - Techcabal
Nigerian on-demand delivery startup Chowdeck acquires PoS platform Mira - Disrupt Africa
Lesaka goes shopping and acquires Bank Zero - Techcabal
Nigeria’s PaidHR raises $1.8m seed round to develop product, expand presence - Disrupt Africa
And that’s your weekly dosage of the African startup ecosystem; thanks for reading.
Do enjoy the rest of your week.
Gitonga, the Stoic Founder at StartupHub.Africa 🚀
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