Global Tech - Afrikan Heroes

Zimbabweans, South Africans, Benefits As Sasai Remit Partners Qoki Zindlovukazi For Cross Border Payment Channel

April 12, 2022

Darlington Mandivenga, Sasai Fintech CEO

Sasai Remit, one of Africa’s leading digital money transfer providers and a business of Cassava Technologies, a leading pan-African technology group, has announced a partnership with Qoki Zindlovukazi, United Kingdom-based women’s networking and empowerment organisation. The partnership has enabled both organisations to empower thousands of Zimbabweans to use a safe and secure fintech platform to seamlessly transfer funds to family and friends in South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Qoki Zindlovukazi was formed in 2016 and now boasts over 10,000 members scattered across the world and has invested over US$8 million into various sectors of the economy since 2017 including farming, health, energy and property sectors in Zimbabwe and in South Africa. Since its establishment Qoki has developed housing stands in Bulawayo and constructed houses in Zimbabwe and South Africa. The organisation is currently involved in several projects, including borehole drilling in Matabeleland and the Midlands, construction of a school and a clinic in Bulawayo, as well as setting up a tomato canning factory in South Africa. In addition Qoki has also ventured into trucking and logistics, and supported a solar and geyser project in Matabeleland and Midlands provinces. At the height of COVID-19 pandemic, the organisation donated personal protective equipment to Mpilo and Thorngrove Hospitals.

Sasai Remit is a subsidiary of Sasai Fintech, a business of Cassava Technologies, a leading pan-African technology group licensed in the UK and South Africa, allowing migrants to remit to Africa and the rest of the world. Our Multi-Channel service encompasses digital money transfers (mobile app, web, USSD) from the UK and South Africa to a wide range of destinations across Africa and Asia.

According to Darlington Mandivenga, Sasai Fintech CEO, “We want to introduce our convenient and inclusive transfer service to more users, and we are excited to partner with Qoki as an initiative that will help us realise this objective. This partnership is a testament to our continued commitment to bringing a safer and more accessible platform to people working across the world to send money back to their loved ones or invest in their home countries. As a business of Cassava Technologies, we always endeavour to ensure that our initiatives enable social mobility and the economic prosperity of individuals and businesses across the continent through increased access to the internet and technology”.

The partnership is expected to facilitate faster, simpler and secure cross-border payments for Qoki members when sending money and making payments to Zimbabwe or South Africa. It will also provide an effective and practical alternative to the traditional ways of managing remittances. Market analysts said the partnership between Qoki and Sasai Remit offers a much-needed solution to increase access to and use of remittances received by households for greater financial inclusion and investment opportunities. Statistics from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe show that diaspora remittances surged from about US$$1 billion in 2020 to US$1.4 billion in 2021 as the country hit a record high foreign currency inflows of US$9.7 billion during the same period.

Sithule Tshuma, who founded Qoki to bring diaspora-based Zimbabwean women from Matabeleland and Midlands together and invest back home, said her organisation is honoured to partner with such an important and ambitious digital money transfer provider as Sasai Remit. “The partnership with Sasai Remit makes it easy for our members living in different countries abroad to send money to their families. They don’t have to wait for hours in the agency offices anymore because the mobile application makes the transfer instantly”.

Qoki held its inaugural business conference on 9 April 2022 in Birmingham, UK. Its primary aim was to inspire both emerging and experienced business people to explore new business investment opportunities. The day-long conference sponsored by Sasai Remit featured an exciting list of notable speakers who have made it in the business world.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Musk Posts Poll for Edit Button on Twitter

April 5, 2022

Tesla CEO Elon Musk posted a Twitter poll on Monday, asking users if they wanted an edit button. The poll comes after Musk disclosed a 9.2% stake in Twitter earlier in the day, worth nearly US$3-billion, that made him the social media platform’s largest shareholder.

“Do you want an edit button?” Musk asked in the tweet.

Replying to Musk’s poll, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal tweeted that the consequences of the poll will be important. “Please vote carefully,” he said.

On 1 April, Twitter had tweeted a message on its official account, saying it was working on the long-awaited “edit” feature. When asked if the tweet was a joke, the company had then said: “We cannot confirm or deny but we may edit our statement later.”

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Airtel Africa Plans To Rid Self of Towers to Cut Costs

March 30, 2022

One of the leading telecoms firms in Africa, Middle East and India, Airtel says its African arm will stop investing in new tower infrastructure in Kenya, and other markets across the continent, as it prepares to sell most of its already-existing infrastructure assets.

This is in efforts to reduce ownership of infrastructure as Airtel Africa looks towards leasing instead, according to Business Daily Africa.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), which is funding Airtel Africa, stated in an investment disclosure that Airtel is looking to focus on a cost-saving “asset-light business model” and has “divested most of its telecommunications tower portfolio” with the telecom operator now apparently in the final stages of divesting the majority of its remaining tower portfolio to other tower companies.

“Airtel Africa currently maintains a limited number of strategic tower sites (approximately 2,500) across its business, and presently has no foreseeable plans to materially expand its owned towers portfolio,” IFC said.

IFC also reports that Airtel Africa is currently in talks with independent telecom tower companies in order to secure the leasing of space on the existing infrastructure of these companies and for the construction of new towers specific to Airtel’s business requirements, which would make the telco an “anchor tenant.”

The news of Airtel Africa divesting in infrastructure comes after reports earlier in March that its Nigerian arm – Airtel Nigeria – had upgraded all of its 2G and 3G cell sites in the West African country to 4G technology.

At the time, Surendran Chemmenkotil, CEO and MD of Airtel Nigeria, said the operator was committed to delivering mobile broadband to the whole country, including even remote locations, as he says that connectivity has a direct correlation with “boosting the nation’s GDP.”

It is not yet known whether Airtel Nigeria will be included in the company’s market-wide divesting plan, or if the company will keep its existing Nigerian cell sites among its 2,500 sites.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Why Telegram became the go-to app for Ukrainians

March 29, 2022

Mamoun Alazab is an Associate Professor, Charles Darwin University

By Mamoun Alazab

For weeks, Russia’s military assault on Ukraine has been complemented by full-fledged information warfare. The Kremlin has propagandised Russian state media, and is trying to control the narrative online, too.

We’ve seen a bombardment of “imposter content” circulating – including fake news reports and deepfake videos – while Ukranians and the rest of the world have scrambled to find ways to tell the real story of the invasion.

The instant messaging app Telegram has surfaced as one of the most important channels through which to do so. But what is it about Telegram that has millions flocking to it amid the chaos?

What is Telegram?

Telegram is one of the most popular social apps in Ukraine and Russia, and has been since before the invasion began. It’s a free cloud-based app that allows users to send and receive messages, calls, photos, videos, audio and other files.

The platform was first created in 2013 by Russian-born tech entrepreneur Pavel Durov – a figure who has butted heads with the increasingly authoritarian Russian state on numerous occasions.

Now Telegram is providing some clarity in a foggy environment of (mostly Russian) disinformation. It has even been a go-to point of contact for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Telegram has several key features that make it an appealing option for communications relating to the war.

It facilitates public and private groups of up to 200 000 users (where individuals can send messages and interact), and channels (which allow one-way broadcasting to channel subscribers).

Through these groups and channels, organisations can reach hundreds of thousands of people with messages and audio/video live-streaming – all of which is encrypted and stored on the Telegram “cloud”.

However, while both public and private communications on Telegram are encrypted, the default encryption setting is not end-to-end encryption, and instead happens on a client/server basis.

The data is stored (albeit in an encrypted form) in the cloud and distributed across multiple data centres throughout the world. These data centres are controlled by legal entities in various jurisdictions, and subject to the laws of those jurisdictions. This data could be decrypted, although doing so would be difficult.

‘Secret chat’

But Telegram does offer another layer of security through its “secret chat” feature. When this is enabled, the communication between two users becomes end-to-end encrypted. This data isn’t stored anywhere apart from the sender’s and receiver’s device. Not even Telegram can access it. Users can also set a “self-destruct” timer on secret chats. Once the timer ends, the communication disappears forever.

Telegram claims to be even more secure than similar apps such as WhatsApp and Line.

One feature that differentiates it from WhatsApp is anonymous forwarding. When this is enabled, any message forwarded by a user is no longer traceable back to them. The message includes their display name in plain, unlinked text, but this display name can easily be changed or deleted.

Also, while users do need a phone number to create a Telegram account, the number doesn’t have to remain linked to the account (whereas a phone number will always remain linked to a WhatsApp account).

Telegram has a history of being leveraged as a protest tool in times of conflict and oppression.

In 2020, people in Belarus opposing the Russian-supported authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko used the platform to organise a mass protest of around 100 000 people.

It’s likely similar actions have taken place in the context of the war on Ukraine. President Zelenskyy has openly used Telegram to urge men to take up arms and resist the invasion.

Many Russians have also turned to the app for independent information, following the Kremlin’s clampdown on free media. Russian journalist Ilya Varlamov used Telegram to live-stream the invasion, and has acquired 1.3 million subscribers since the war began.

According to Time, there has been a 48% increase in the number of Russian subscribers on Telegram since 24 February when Russia’s invasion began. Presumably the bulk of these people are looking for independent news. Western outlets including the Guardian, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post have also joined.

Telegram is also valuable for Ukraine’s military, as it can help circumvent Russian surveillance and conduct intelligence operations. Russia’s penetration of Ukraine’s telecommunications networks has been pervasive during the invasion.

As is the case with any powerful technology, the privacy afforded by Telegram is also a problem in the wrong hands.

Telegram has a record of refusing calls to moderate content, perhaps due to Durov’s libertarian view of how such technologies should be governed.

The Russian government is running Telegram channels for state-affiliated media, including Sputnik and RT, and has encouraged users to turn to the app for pro-Kremlin content. Meanwhile, Russian bot accounts are spreading disinformation, often by posing as fake “war correspondents” supporting the Kremlin’s narrative.

Historically, Telegram has been profiled for all the wrong reasons. End-to-end encryption has enabled illegal activity on the app (including by extremist groups such as the Islamic State).

One study found the number of Telegram groups or channels shared in dark web cybercrime and hacking forums increased from 172 035 in 2020, to more than one million in 2021.

Telegram provides criminals and hackers the same opportunities as the dark web, VPNs and proxy servers: all of these tools make it difficult to trace the location of a cybercriminal, and therefore hinder efforts to gather intelligence.

For example, the private Telegram channel “combolist” – on which hackers sold and circulated large amounts of stolen data – had more than 47 000 users before it was taken down.

And last year, a US non-profit group sued Apple and demanded it remove Telegram from its app store (just as it removed Parler) for failing to prevent violent content spreading after the 6 January 2021 Capitol attack. Telegram remains available on both the Apple and Google app stores.

Telegram has a record of refusing calls to moderate content (perhaps due to Durov’s libertarian view of how such technologies should be governed). Moreover, the way the platform is built means there is a limit to how much it can be moderated. In many cases, Telegram won’t be aware of illegal activity until it is notified.

And with end-to-end encryption, it’s difficult to know just how much harmful content is making the rounds. Telegram can only intervene in a limited number of cases, and with narrow capacity.

Still, it seems mounting threats and legal concerns have started to chip away at Durov’s resolve.

A ban on Telegram was enacted by Brazil’s Supreme Court last Friday, in a bid to stop fake news spreading ahead of Brazil’s October elections.

Lifeline

The ban was lifted two days later, after Durov took actions to comply with the court’s requirements. He deleted posts by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, removed one supporter account and promised the monitoring of others.

Similarly, Germany threatened to shut down Telegram in February to prevent “hate and incitement” from far-right groups and Covid conspiracists. It’s reported more than 60 channels were removed in response.

It seems Telegram finds itself between a rock and a hard place. It’s limited, by design, in how much it can filter content. Yet despite the social and enforcement challenges, it continues to be a lifeline for those resisting the Russian invasion.The Conversation

Mamoun Alazab is an Associate Professor, and Kate Macfarlane, senior lecturer in Southeast Asian studies, Charles Darwin University.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

SAP, Constellation Makes Top Software Brands List

February 14, 2022

Of the 15 top spots for top software brands globally, the United States took 11, accounting for 90% of the combined brand value in the ranking. However, some brands outside the US that scales the huddle have been commended for standing out. The highest ranked brand from outside the US is Germany’s SAP, with a brand value of US$18.3 billion, which claims 3rd place behind Microsoft and Oracle, valued at US$29.1 billion.

In line with the trend in the industry, SAP shifted its focus away from the traditional on-premise licensing business model to a subscription-based cloud offering – RISE with SAP – which resulted in strong growth across its cloud portfolio in the third quarter of 2021. However, competitor Salesforce has continued to close the gap on the German brand, with just US$400 million now separating the two. Following year-on-year brand value growth of 36%, the brand is now worth US$17.9 billion.

Constellation Software is the fastest-growing brand in the ranking, with its brand value increasing by 48% year on year to US$4.0 billion – which has seen it claim 8th place among the top 15. The Toronto-based brand has also recorded fastest growth when considering a broader two-year timeframe of the global digital transformation spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, with its brand value gaining an eyewatering 112% since 2020.

Constellation Software specializes in acquiring, managing, and building vertical market software businesses, which sees it operate in a number of niche sectors. Acquisitions made last year saw the Toronto-based brand’s revenues increase by almost 30% in the third quarter of 2021 compared to the same period in 2020. With additional acquisitions in the pipeline, and the creation of a US$200 million venture fund which will focus on start-ups, the impressive growth looks set to continue in the future.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Microsoft Named World’s Most Valuable Software Brand

Microsoft has been named the most valuable software brand of 2022, according to the latest report by leading brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance. With a brand value of US$184.2 billion, Microsoft is leagues ahead of the rest of the world’s top 15 most valuable software brands featured in the study, and accounts for 61% of the total brand value in the ranking.

Every year, Brand Finance puts 5,000 of the biggest brands to the test, and publishes nearly 100 reports, ranking brands across all sectors and countries. For the first time, the world’s top 15 most valuable and strongest software brands are included in a separate industry ranking – the Brand Finance Software 15 2022.

Microsoft’s decision to pivot towards cloud computing has paid dividends throughout the pandemic, with the brand perfectly positioned to help businesses successfully navigate the abrupt shift to remote working. This year saw year-on-year revenue increase, with an impressive 22% growth for Office 365 Commercial being one of the key drivers.

David Haigh, Chairman & CEO of Brand Finance

Microsoft’s CEO, Satya Nadella, who spearheaded this transformation, was also named the top brand guardian in the Brand Finance Brand Guardianship Index 2022, which ranks the world’s top 250 Chief Executives according to how well they manage and grow their company’s brand. Mr. Nadella has been credited with overhauling Microsoft’s fortunes by changing its culture towards one of teamwork, innovation, inclusivity, and instilling a growth mindset throughout the business.

Speaking on the development, David Haigh, Chairman & CEO of Brand Finance, said that “Ultimately, the role of a brand guardian is to build brand and business value. Our ranking recognises those who are building business value in a sustainable manner, by balancing the needs of all stakeholders – employees, investors, and the wider society.”

Apart from calculating brand value, Brand Finance also determines the relative strength of brands through a balanced scorecard of metrics evaluating marketing investment, stakeholder equity, and business performance. Certified by ISO 20671, Brand Finance’s assessment of stakeholder equity incorporates original market research data from over 100,000 respondents in more than 35 countries and across nearly 30 sectors.

According to these criteria, Microsoft is also the strongest software brand in the world, with a Brand Strength IndexTM score of 87.4 out of 100 and a corresponding AAA brand rating. Last year, Microsoft announced a five-year commitment to help bridge the disability divide through the continued development of more accessible technology, as well as building a more inclusive workplace within the company itself.

According to Lorenzo Coruzzi, Associate at Brand Finance, “Microsoft played a key role in the world’s transition to the new normal, and as one of the world’s most valuable brands, its innovative mindset and financial muscle stand it in great stead to dominate the sector for the foreseeable future.”

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Fintech Startups Gulped 50% of African Tech’s $2bn Funding in 2021

February 12, 2022

African-tech-startup-funding-rises-51-to-195M-in-2017

There seems to be a preference for Africa’s fintech sector by investors and the markets alike as it gulped half of the more than US$2 billion raised by tech startups on the continent being sucked into the space.

This is according to the seventh edition of our African Tech Startups Funding Report, which is available free to all as part of an open-sourcing initiative in partnership with Novastar Ventures, MFS Africa, Quona Capital, 4Di Capital, MEST Africa and Future Africa, 564 African tech startups raised a combined US$2,148,517,500 in 2021.

More so than ever before, fintech is the most popular sector for investments. An extraordinary year saw new unicorns minted, round size records tumble, and fintech startups break the US$1 billion funding barrier, something the African tech space as a whole only managed for the first time in 2021.

Fintech companies raised US$1,038,456,500, up 547.7 per cent on US$160,319,065 in 2020. This took fintech’s share of total funding to just shy of the 50 per cent mark, a significant increase on 2020, when it accounted for less than a quarter.

These impressive figures were driven primarily by Nigeria, which saw major rounds for the likes of Flutterwave (US$170 million), Kuda (US$25 million and US$55 million), Moove (US$63.2 million) and FairMoney (US$42 million), and accounted for more than half of fintech investment. Egypt’s MNT-Halan (US$120 million) and South Africa’s Yoco (US$83 million) also contributed significantly.

The relentless growth of Africa’s fintech space should not, however, detract from positive developments elsewhere. Non-fintech startups still raised over US$1 billion between them in 2021, with many sectors more than doubling the amount of funding secured the previous year. E-commerce and retail-tech saw total funding leap 271.5 per cent to US$326,156,000, transport investment grew 102.4 per cent to US$105,445,000, logistics saw an increase of 134 per cent to US$86,751,000, and ed-tech funding jumped 516.3 per cent to US$81,030,000. So while fintech shone the brightest, it was an impressive year all round.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

World Bank Supports South Africa’s Digital Entrepreneurs With $10m Investment

The International Financial Corporation (IFC) , a member of the World Bank group, has invested US$10 million in Knife Fund III, a new fund managed by Cape Town-based venture capital firm Knife Capital.

IFC is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets, while Knife Capital is a venture capital investment manager that accelerates the international expansion of African innovation-driven businesses by leveraging knowledge, networks, and funding.

Adamou Labara, IFC’s country manager for South Africa

Knife aims to raise US$50 million for Fund III, which will primarily target investments at the Series B stage. Fund III follows Knife Fund II, which was launched in 2016, and Fund I, which was launched in 2010. IFC’s US$10 million investment will provide financial support to tech startups in high-growth sectors in South Africa with strong potential for expansion across Africa and internationally, including enterprise technology, software, health-tech, and fintech.

“We are excited to welcome IFC as an investor to our new Fund III and sincerely appreciate the endorsement that comes with the commitment,” said Andrea Bohmert, partner at Knife Capital. “With the first close of Fund III, we are finally able to support entrepreneurs on the next stage of the scale-up journey and thereby address a significant gap that currently exists in the African entrepreneurial ecosystem.”

Adamou Labara, IFC’s country manager for South Africa, said increasing access to venture capital promoted digital entrepreneurship and innovative tech solutions that enable better delivery of vital services such as healthcare, fintech, and logistics.

“By supporting funds such as Knife III, IFC can help more startups and digital entrepreneurs innovate and expand in South Africa and beyond,” he said.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Oracle Launches $1 Million To Invest In Startups In Africa

February 4, 2022

Oracle has announced support of USD one million for tech startups in Africa that will help accelerate their digital initiatives with the latest cloud technologies and business resources. Led by Oracle for Startups, Oracle will provide extra resources and support to technology startups across Africa over the next two years.

Jason Williamson, Vice President, Oracle for Startups

Cloud credits of up to USD 10,000 for 100 startups will be made available as part of this program. Hands-on technical support, executive mentoring, go-to-market resources, and customer engagements will also be offered to startups. Eligible African tech startups can find out more information and apply to this program by visiting the program website.

“At Oracle for Startups, we help startups grow from grassroots through scaling. Africa is a hotbed for tech entrepreneurs, and we have witnessed a 91 percent growth in enrolments from South African startups, and 39 percent growth from over 13 other African countries within the last year. The USD one million investment will further boost the efforts of tech entrepreneurs in Africa to utilise the latest digital technologies for the success of their startups,” said Jason Williamson, Vice President, Oracle for Startups.

A recent report from IDC notes the importance of corporations supporting startups to help further spur innovation, and had this to say about Oracle for Startups: “Highly valuable to the startup community. Not only do they provide technology support, but they also provide benefits aligned in business areas such as marketing, market access, business knowledge, and expertise.”

This program follows Oracle’s recent announcement of the opening of its first cloud region in Africa to meet the rapidly growing demand for enterprise cloud services on the continent. The Oracle Cloud Johannesburg Region will boost cloud adoption across Africa while also helping businesses achieve better performance and drive continuous innovation. The opening marks Oracle’s 37th cloud region worldwide with plans to have at least 44 cloud regions by the end of 2022, continuing one of the fastest expansions of any major cloud provider.

Target Global Makes First African Insurtech Investment, Leads $4m Pre-Seed In Nigeria’s Casava

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

Hope Rises as African Tech Startup Funding Passes $2bn Mark

February 2, 2022

The saying that Africa is the next big frontier market seems not to be patronizing as some critics would have many believe, at least not in the tech startup ecosystem where things are genuinely looking up for the continent. This is because investment into the African tech startup ecosystem almost trebled over the course of a record-breaking 2021 that saw total funding pass the US$2 billion mark for the first time.

This is according to the seventh edition of the annual African Tech Startups Funding Report released by startup news and research portal Disrupt Africa, which is available free to all as part of an open-sourcing initiative in partnership with Novastar Ventures, MFS Africa, Quona Capital, 4Di Capital, MEST Africa and Future Africa.

The report tells the story of an extraordinary 2021 in which more startups raised more funding than ever before, by quite some way. In all, 564 startups raised a combined US$2,038,627,500 in 2021. This represented incredible growth. The number of funded startups grew by 42.1 per cent to 397 in 2020, and the funding total was almost treble – up 190.6 per cent – the US$701,460,565 banked the previous year.

In all, the number of African startups securing investment has increased by 351.2 per cent since 2015. Though growth had slowed a little in 2020, partly due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, investors doubled down in 2021, with the number of different investors increasing by more than 100 per cent to 771 from 370 the previous year.

Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa and Kenya remain Africa’s “big four” from a funding perspective, securing a greater share of total funding between them than in 2020, yet Nigeria soared past all other countries to take top spot, with 161 startups raising a huge combined total of almost US$800 million.

Disrupt Africa co-founder Gabriella Mulligan

Though Nigeria and the rest of the “big four” remain clear leaders, there is still plenty of activity elsewhere on the continent, with startups backed in 24 African countries.

The fintech sector was, yet again, the most attractive to investors in 2020, with more startups securing funding than any other sector and a combined total that dwarfed all others. The sector broke the US$1 billion funding barrier, something the African tech space as a whole only managed for the first time in 2021, with fintech accounting for more than half of total investment.

Other sectors also had impressive years – notably e-commerce and retail-tech, e-health, logistics, ed-tech, energy, agri-tech and transport.

Aside from providing a full list of the funded startups, who invested in them, and, where possible, the amount raised, from the previous year, the annual reports also provide deep-dives into investment trends within key startup geographies and verticals, as well as data on African startup acquisitions.

“Momentum has been building in the African tech space for quite some time now, and 2021 will be remembered as a watershed year. Breaking not just the US$1 billion but the US$2 billion mark, creating more unicorns, and about doubling the number of active investors – it was a very good 12 months indeed. It is still just a beginning, however, and there is plenty of room for more growth,” said Disrupt Africa co-founder Gabriella Mulligan.

Previously available for sale, the African Tech Startups Funding Report was until the last edition purchased each year by leading tech companies from Africa and the rest of the world, Big Four consulting firms, banking and fintech leaders, venture capital firms, supranational investors and international trade bodies. Now, however, Disrupt Africa releases the publication for free, making it accessible to those for whom the information is most valuable – African entrepreneurs.

This year it is doing this with the help of partners Novastar Ventures, MFS Africa, Quona Capital, 4Di Capital, MEST Africa and Future Africa, with whose support Disrupt Africa will be distributing the African Tech Startups Funding Report 2021 to as many ecosystem stakeholders as possible.

“For too long access to crucial industry data such as this has been out of reach for active or aspiring entrepreneurs, as they are usually priced out of access,” said Disrupt Africa co-founder Tom Jackson. “It is the Disrupt Africa ethos to make as much information freely accessible as possible, and we can’t thank our partners enough for helping us with the open-sourcing of this publication.”

“We have been investing in startups on the continent since 2014 and are encouraged by the tremendous growth of the venture ecosystem since then. Nevertheless, as startups move from proof-of-concept to scale, capital remains scarce. Disrupt Africa’s annual funding report is a critical resource for founders as they climb and navigate a capital ladder that still has missing rungs. We are delighted to partner with the team at Disrupt Africa to ensure their research is accessible to all entrepreneurs. The data and insights in the report are a vital resource, not just for charting the development of the venture ecosystem in Africa, but for supporting it,” said Steve Beck, managing director at Novastar Ventures.

MFS Africa founder and CEO Dare Okoudjou said the African tech ecosystem had experienced unprecedented growth, breaking records year after year.

“It’s the clearest indicator that we are reaching an exciting inflection point in our sector. In the last quarter of 2021, we raised US$100 million in Series funding to accelerate our growth as we make borders matter less. As such we understand the importance of the right funding to build the fundamental infrastructure needed to facilitate interoperability across payment schemes, borders, and currencies. Accurate and informative reports about the ecosystem raise the profile of our sector beyond Africa, and that interest helps to channel much-needed investments in impactful startups. We are absolutely thrilled to support Disrupt Africa on this important project,” he said.

“Quona Capital is proud to support this important work by Disrupt Africa,” said Johan Bosini, partner at Quona Capital. “We are seeing such incredible traction on many fronts of the venture ecosystem in Africa, with major milestones being achieved in large investment rounds and total quantum being invested in technology businesses across the major hubs in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Egypt. We all learn and benefit from this industry data, and we are delighted to be part of this important initiative.”

“Once again we are very happy to support this crucial initiative. It is publications like this that help all members of the African ecosystem to get a snapshot as to how and where the industry is moving, and therefore vital to all of our businesses and teams. We cannot thank Tom, Gabriella and the team enough for the effort in putting the report together,” said Anton van Vlaanderen, partner at 4Di Capital.

Ashwin Ravichandran, managing director of MEST Africa, said he was excited to partner Disrupt Africa on this initiative because of the “massive opportunities” it draws to the continent, thereby enabling innovators to do more.

“Because of the work of organisations like Disrupt Africa, there has been a promising and encouraging increase in the data and insights on investments in Africa. This data shines a light on Africa’s burgeoning tech ecosystem while pointing the various ecosystem players towards better and more innovative ways of supporting local businesses to thrive,” he said.

“Tom, Gabriella and the Disrupt Africa team are doing important work in ensuring we have the right data when it comes to measuring the success of the African tech ecosystem. Future Africa is happy to support the Disrupt team in making sure actionable data and insights are available to founders, operators and investors looking to build the future of Africa,” said Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, managing partner of Future Africa

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry