Startups in Africa are beginning to prove that they are the next big thing. Every part of the world has undergone a lot of changes and evolved from one form to another for as long as anyone can remember, and it is undeniable that there’s an obvious difference between the earlier primitive days and the present 21st century and a lot of these changes ride on the wave of technology.
The impact of technology is so far-reaching that there’s hardly any part of society it hasn’t affected. Technology has greatly improved learning, communication, work efficiency, business growth/expansion, security, health sectors, and much more across the world. It has also bridged the gap that previously existed among the nations and societies of the world till it became the global village it is now.
Types Of Tech Startups In Africa
Today, at the heart of all of these technological advancements are tech startups and these are companies that make it their business to push technological products and services, whether completely new or modified and evolved, to the forefront of the global market.
These tech startups spring up constantly across the world and are estimated to be over 1.35 million technology-related startups, although several of these have had to shut down. Although tech startups have technology in common they have different categories based on the unique services they provide. These categories are:
- Consumer Software Startups
These tech startups are companies that provide and deliver technology products and services to people using software and programs that are accessed through computers and mobile devices. Examples of companies like these are social media apps. These startups could also range from sole operators to multinationals and are called Enterprise software startups such as Slack.
- Consumer Hardware Startups
These tech startups are companies whose services are aimed at providing physical electronic products and services to individuals. Some of these hardware startups also provide software to improve the product experience. Examples of these companies are electronic fitness products such as Fitbit. They could also differ in size from small businesses to multinationals.
For all the categories of tech startups Africa has proven to be a gold mine for them and this is due to the growing population of youths and young adults as well as the increasing internet penetration on the continent and, for fact, statistics show that Africa is the fastest-growing continent for tech guys.
Tech Startups In Africa
There are hundreds of emerging and thriving tech startups across the African continent that provide innovative solutions to several of the problems faced in African countries and these tech startups in Africa could belong to different industries ranging from health, finance, software, insurance, agriculture, e-commerce, banking, energy, automotive, education and much more.
Some of these tech startups in Africa include:
Chaka
Chaka is a digital Nigerian platform solely dedicated to letting users invest, build and manage an impressive financial portfolio and it was founded by Tosin Osibodu.
Chaka was launched in 2019, in Nigeria, with its main aim being to allow Nigerians to invest in accessible foreign stock markets like NASDAQ (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) and NYSE (New York Stock Exchange).
Chaka has achieved a considerable deal in closing the investment barriers that formerly existed between Africa and the world and opening up even more opportunities to invest.
Flutterwave
Flutterwave is a digital Nigerian platform that allows users to build a customized payment service through APIs. It provides an online payment facility for vendors and merchants across the African continent.
Flutterwave was founded in 2016 by Iyinoluwa Aboyeji and Olugbenga Agboola and has operations in 11 African countries. The Fintech company has made waves and history by being the first African tech startup to become a unicorn. It achieved this status by raising funds of over US$170 million which raised its value to US$1 billion.
Flutterwave has several investors some of which include Y-Combinator, Visa Ventures, Mastercard, Avenir Growth Capital, and Tiger Global Management.
RapidDeploy
RapidDeploy is an innovative South African tech company founded in 2013 by Brett Meyerowitz, Steven Raucher. The company, since its inception, has gotten adequate funding and investments and has raised more than US$41 million.
The aim of the company is to provide a software as a service(SaaS) solution to emergency concerns in the country. The company found a way to decrease the response time of emergency dispatch officers from the emergency department so that the emergency officers can get to scenes where they’re needed faster and save more lives.
Mobiz
Mobiz is a South African startup that was founded in 2014 by Clark Lin, Greg Chen, and Keelan Naidoo and has its headquarters in Cape Town.
What the Mobiz tech company seeks to achieve is to provide a marketing space that helps businesses reach out to tens, hundreds, and thousands of potential customers.
Using Mobiz, businesses are able to send out personalized messages to attract them and in the long run, strengthen the company’s marketing strategies. Mobiz has not done badly with this tech solution and has drummed up startup funding and investment reaching US$ 2million.
M-Kopa
M-Kopa is a Kenyan startup that has made an impressive impact within the country. It was founded in 2011 by a group of people- Chad Larson, Jesse Moore, and Nick Hughes and the company has its headquarters in Nairobi.
The vision and purpose for establishing M-Kopa as a tech company was to find solutions to the energy and lack of energy concerns within the country. These solutions were specifically proffered to help the low-income earners, who couldn’t afford to explore other options and provide for their access to the energy solutions that were perfectly affordable for them. To achieve this M-Kopa provides a ‘pay as you go’ option to consumers off the energy grid.
M-Kopa has been able to drum up a good number of investors since its inception and has raised funds of over US$188.6 million in the run to provide energy for disadvantaged and low-earning individuals.
Twiga Foods
Twiga Foods is an online commercial and agricultural startup that was founded in 2013 by Grant Brooke and Peter Njonjo and has its headquarters in Nairobi.
Twiga Foods provides a digital space for agriculturists and manufacturers to connect with retailers and consumers in different locations. The company provides services that connect businesses with each other such that everyone has a market for their products. What this does is ensure that there are minimal food losses and inefficiencies in supply chains. The company also provides a mobile, cashless payment system that makes conducting business easier from wherever you are.
Twiga Foods has had over 23 interested investors, one of which is another Kenyan startup-Goldman Sachs, and has raised more than US$107.1 million in startup funding.
Jamii Africa
Jamii Africa is a micro-insurance health startup in Africa that was founded in 2015 in Tanzania by Lilian Makoi. The health startup was founded to provide health insurance for the country’s low-income earners through their mobile phones.
Jamii Africa has a mobile policy management platform that functions as the administrator of an insurance policy and gives insured individuals access to affordable insurance starting at the rate of US$1 on a monthly basis.
The health startups in Africa are an admirable and innovative effort to secure the health and lives of Tanzanian low-income earners, seeing as up to 40 million of the citizens fall in this category as they earn less than US$70 a month.
Jamii Africa has partnered with several high-profile businesses like Vodacom and Jubilee Insurance and they have worked tirelessly to provide insurance for the low-income earners thereby proffering solutions to the high rate of maternal deaths, home births, and avoidable deaths among this category of people. Jamii Africa has raised over US$2.75 million for this cause.
More Tips….
The African tech startups space is on a steady increase and not only do these tech startups proffer solutions to important concerns within the continent, but they also make a profit while doing so.
Also, hundreds of more startups spring up on a regular basis in a bid to meet one need or the other in various African countries and this will not change any time soon.
As a result of this steady increase in the startup space more investors are drawn to Africa and these innovative startups.
Whether you’re an individual looking to make positive change in your country or you’re an investor looking for innovation you can support, you’re going to need legal advice and support.
Shikana Group is a legal and investment firm located in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and is suited to meeting your legal needs whatever they might be. The firm boasts of a highly experienced and brilliant team whose job is to look out for your needs and ensure you get the best end of any deal you might be entering.
Shikana Group is very versatile, provides services in various industries ranging from banking to real estate, mining, tech space, and many more, and is not limited by distance as they provide their services across Africa.
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