African startups continue their expansion journeys across the continent and beyond. The latest to join the bandwagon is Kenya’s M-Kopa which has expanded to Nigeria by virtue of the recent appointment of Babajide Duroshola, as the General Manager leading the Nigerian expansion.
Since its inception in 2011, M-Kopa has evolved from a pioneer in pay-as-you-go (PAYG) solar power to include smartphone financing in 2019, providing over 1 million PAYG solar systems and 500 000 smartphones to customers in Kenya, Uganda, and Nigeria, with over 75 percent of M-Kopa users owning a smartphone device for the first time.
“As the Country General Manager, I will be in charge of overseeing M-Kopa’s operations in Nigeria and leading a rapidly growing team of 50 people. My role will also include scaling operations across Nigeria; already, we have started operations in Lagos and Oyo state and will continue to expand across the country,” he said in a statement.
“Nigeria has a population of over 200-million, many of whom are on 2G/3G networks. Through our partnerships with OEMs and MNOs such as Samsung and Airtel, we are best positioned to offer underbanked customers affordable ownership of quality 4G smartphones by offering them the ability to pay on the go,” Duroshola said about his role in the expansion.
Also joining M-Kopa in the expansion journey is Egypt-based life science venture Nawah Scientific which has gone to Jordan.
In a second pre-Series A round managed by Egypt Ventures in January, Nawah Scientific raised $1 million in a mix of stock and debt, with participation from Alexandria Fund (AF), Cairo Angels, Alex Angels, HULT Alumni Angels, and foreign angel investors.
Nawah was founded by Omar Sakr in 2015 with the goal of empowering scientific research and scientists by allowing them to conduct higher-quality research regardless of their location. Nawah’s in-house scientists carry out the required tests and then return the lab results online after receiving requests through the company’s digital platform.
“With a very vibrant and strong scientific ecosystem, Jordan was the must-go option for Nawah” Nawah’s founder Dr. Omar Sakr said. “Despite the relatively smaller size of Jordan to other MENA countries, Jordanian scientists are way ahead of others on so many fronts, and Jordanian universities are the cornerstone behind this significant impact. Yet, there is much more to achieve and Nawah is coming to Jordan to help make this happen.” This is not Nawah’s first time doing business in Jordan. In fact, collaboration with Jordanian universities and scientists has been established since 2018 remotely through Nawah’s hub in Cairo.
Read also: GreenHouse Lab Launches Pan-African Fintech Accelerator
The table below shows that more Nigerian startups are expanding than their counterparts across Africa, with Ethiopia increasingly becoming the newest market of interest for the startups. Also leading other sectors are fintech and ride-hailing.
| S/N | AFRICAN STARTUP | SECTOR | BASE COUNTRY OF OPERATIONS | COUNTRY EXPANDED INTO IN 2021 (AS AT JULY 22ND) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | mPharma | Healthtech | Ghana | Ethiopia |
| 2 | Aza Finance | Fintech | Kenya | South Africa |
| 3 | Gozem | Ride-hailing | Togo | Gabon |
| 4 | Andela | Edtech | New York, USA | Latin, South America |
| 5 | SWVL | Ride-hailing | Egypt | Saudi Arabia |
| 6 | GOMYCODE | Edtech | Tunisia | Morocco; Senegal |
| 7 | FairMoney | Fintech | Nigeria | India |
| 8 | Autochek | Car listing | Nigeria | Ghana |
| 9 | Daystar Power | Solar energy | Nigeria | Togo |
| 10 | ZeePay | Fintech | Ghana | Zambia |
| 11 | Catch | Ride-hailing | Ethiopia | Kenya |
| 12 | AURA | Security | South Africa | Kenya |
| 13 | Paystack | Fintech | Nigeria | South Africa |
| 14 | Flutterwave | Fintech | Nigeria | Ethiopia |
| 15 | Termii | Communications-as-a-service | Nigeria | Cote D’ivoire |
| 16 | Little Cab | Ride-hailing | Kenya | Ethiopia |
| 17 | Helium Health | Healthtech | Nigeria | Kenya |
| 18 | M-KOPA | PAYG solar | Kenya | Nigeria |
| 19 | Nawah Scientific | Life Science | Egypt | Jordan |
| 20 | Odiggo | Auto tech | Egypt | Dubai |
African startups expansion African startups expansion
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer