The Startup Map Blog
Insights, stories, and playbooks for the African tech ecosystem.
African Startup Funding 2025: The 91 Rounds Behind the $3.4 Billion Comeback
A historical record of African startup funding in 2025: 91 documented rounds month by month — from Optasia's $345M IPO and M-KOPA's $166M Series F to $500K agritech debt deals — plus what the comeback year really taught the ecosystem.
Top Agritech Startups in Africa 2026: The 12 That Actually Raised Funding This Year
African agritech raised just $200K in January 2026 — then the rebound began. The top agritech startups in Africa that closed funding this year, from a $91M Moroccan agro-industrial raise to precision-farming AI in Tunisia.
Logidoo Raises from Mercy Corps Ventures to Build Francophone Africa's Logistics Corridors
Senegal's Logidoo has raised from Mercy Corps Ventures to strengthen cross-border logistics corridors across Francophone Africa. Inside the deal and the platform.
Tunisia's RoboCare Raises from 216 Capital to Scale AI Precision Farming
Tunisian agritech RoboCare has secured investment from 216 Capital to expand its AI-driven precision-farming platform across Africa and the Middle East.
AgriDex: The Solana-Backed Marketplace Bringing African Agriculture On-Chain
AgriDex is a Solana-based marketplace tokenizing agricultural trade, backed by Launch Africa Ventures and others. It has processed $9M+ in stablecoin trades across African markets.
Agriarche Wins ₦2.5B Cascador Facility to Scale Northern Nigeria's Grain Supply Chain
Agriarche secured a ₦2.5 billion (~$1.7M) credit facility — the largest award at Cascador Pitch Day 2026 — to scale its traceable grain supply chain across Northern Nigeria.
Koolboks Secures ₦2B from Cascador to Scale Pay-As-You-Go Solar Refrigeration
Nigeria's Koolboks won ₦2 billion (~$1.46M) plus Best Pitch at Cascador Pitch Day 2026 to scale IoT-enabled, pay-as-you-go solar refrigeration across Africa.
Powerstove Wins $1.2M Cascador Backing for IoT Clean Cookstoves in Nigeria
Nigeria's Powerstove won ~$1.2M and the Best Impact Prize at Cascador Pitch Day 2026 for its IoT-enabled clean cookstoves and carbon-credit model.
UrbanFarm Africa: E Squared Backs South Africa's All-Female Hydro-Coop Agritech Pilot
E Squared Investments is backing UrbanFarm Africa's Hydro-Coop pilot in Diepsloot, Johannesburg — a solar-powered, youth- and women-led micro-farming model.
Africa Feed & Food Raises $91M: Inside Morocco's Biggest Agri-Industrial Deal of 2026
Morocco's Africa Feed & Food (AFF) has raised MAD 850 million (~$91M) from RMBV and Proparco to expand milling and animal feed. Inside the largest African agritech raise of 2026.
Sistema.bio Raises $53M for FarmCarbon to Fund Biodigesters Across Africa
Nairobi-hubbed Sistema.bio has closed $53M for FarmCarbon, a climate-finance fund backing 90,000+ biodigesters for smallholder farmers. Backers include BII, BNP Paribas AM and Shell Foundation.
Breadfast Raises $50M Pre-Series C as Egypt's E-Grocery Leader Eyes Africa & IPO
Cairo's Breadfast has raised $50M in a pre-Series C backed by Mubadala, IFC, Y Combinator and Saudi's Olayan family — scaling its e-grocery supply chain ahead of a planned IPO.
Lovegrass Ethiopia Secures $5M from BII to Scale Teff Processing and Exports
British International Investment has committed $5M to Lovegrass Ethiopia, the Addis Ababa food company turning the ancient grain teff into export-ready products. Inside the deal.
30 African Startups That Raised Funding in 2026 (So Far)
African startups raised $1.44B in H1 2026. Here are 30 companies that closed rounds this year — from Spiro's $270M EV mega-deal to pre-seeds in Lagos, Cairo and Casablanca — with amounts, investors and what each deal signals.
Spiro Raises $270 Million: Inside Africa's Biggest EV Funding Round of 2026
Electric-mobility company Spiro just closed a $270M round — one of the largest clean-tech raises in African history. Who invested, what it means for battery-swapping, and why capital is flowing to infrastructure in 2026.
AethexAI Raises $3M to Build Voice AI for African Languages
Nairobi's AethexAI has raised a $3M pre-seed led by Ventures Platform to build voice AI infrastructure for African languages. Inside the deal and why deep tech is the new frontier.
Daya Raises $2.4M to Scale Stablecoin Payments Across Africa
Daya has raised a $2.4M pre-seed led by Hivemind Capital to build a stablecoin-powered financial operating system for African enterprises. Here's the deal and why it matters.
Sika Financial Raises $2M for Africa's Cross-Border Settlement Rails
Ghana- and Nigeria-based Sika Financial Group has raised $2M from Aruwa Capital to build multi-currency clearing and settlement infrastructure. Inside the deal.
Breaze Delivery Raises R20M to Scale Township E-Commerce Logistics
South Africa's Breaze Delivery has raised R20M (~$1.23M) from Knife Capital and Kalon Venture Partners to scale township e-commerce logistics ahead of a Series A.
Eja-Ice Raises $1M to Bring Solar Cold-Chain to Off-Grid Nigeria
Nigeria's Eja-Ice has raised $1M from All On to scale off-grid, zero-diesel solar cold-chain — freezers, cold rooms and clean cooling mobility. Inside the deal.
Midddleman Raises Seed Round to Embed Finance in Africa's Supply Chains
Lagos-based Midddleman Technologies has raised a seed round from Microtraction, Voltron Capital and DFS Lab to embed finance in legacy FMCG distribution. Inside the deal.
Tibu Health Lands Proparco Financing to Expand Kenya's Minute Clinics
Kenya's Tibu Health has secured a financing facility from Proparco via Digital Africa's Bridge Fund to expand its embedded 'Minute Clinics'. Inside the deal.
Roam Secures Green-Bond Funding for 235 Electric Motorcycles in Kenya
Kenya's Roam has secured $200K+ in green-bond match funding from CEI Africa to finance 235 electric motorcycles for boda-boda riders. Inside the blended-finance deal.
Swapinga Raises Strategic Equity to Finance Rwanda's Electric Boda-Bodas
Rwanda's Swapinga has raised strategic equity from Africa Equity Group to help banks underwrite EV loans for gig drivers and fleet operators. Inside the deal.
Yamify Raises Pre-Seed to Build the 'Heroku for AI' in Africa
Pan-African deep-tech startup Yamify has raised pre-seed funding from Launch Africa Ventures to let developers deploy GPU-backed AI apps locally in under a minute.
Top Startups to Watch in 2026: The Mid-Year Check
11 startups worth paying attention to right now — from a $6.6B Swedish vibe-coding tool to a bootstrapped AI design app with 60,000 users and zero VC. The mid-year list nobody else is publishing.
The Most Promising African Startups of 2026: A Mid-Year Check
250,000 users across 180 countries, zero venture capital. Meet the bootstrapped wildcard — and seven other African startups that actually raised, shipped and scaled in H1 2026.
Fintech Events in South Africa 2026: The Complete Conference Guide
Seven fintech conferences worth putting in your 2026 calendar — from Johannesburg payments expos to Cape Town investor summits.
FinTech Summit Africa 2026: Our Johannesburg Fintech Guide
Startup Map Africa is an official media partner. Our guide to the agenda, 12 themes, Startup World Cup pitch competition, and how to register.
Beyond the Pitch: Why the Silicon Savannah Needs 'Gardeners,' Not Just Stars
Last Friday, I joined the Kenya roadshow for IMELP Edition 3. It was a deep dive into the "plumbing" of the African tech ecosystem.