End of week roundup - Seedstars, Cardano, Access Bank, Africa's first metaverse & latest funding news: Issue 01.
Africa Tech Summit
Leading African Tech Event: ATS London Jun 5-6th '25 | Africa Money & DeFi Summit Sept 24-25th '25 | ATS Nairobi Feb 26
ECOSYSTEM NEWS
Seedstars launches its second emerging market seed-stage fund
Seedstars, a seed-stage venture fund invest in 100 pre-seed and seed-stage companies across Asia, Africa, MENA, and LATAM in the next 3 years. Via AppsAfrica Read more
How this tech giant is developing a more digital Africa
For Ola Williams, Microsoft Country Manager for Nigeria and Ghana, empowering women through tech training is furthering digital infrastructure development across the continent. Via CNN Watch Now
4 African startups selected for S22 batch of Y Combinator accelerator
Four African startups are among the initial 156 announced as participating in the S22 batch of the renowned Silicon Valley-based Y Combinator accelerator. Via Disrupt Africa Read more
MAX partners with Yamaha to expand operations across the continent
Max has announced a partnership with Yamaha’s Nigerian subsidiary, Moto Business Service Nigeria (MBSN), to finance and maintain over 50,000 vehicles over the next 2 years. Via Techcabal?Read more
MONEY & DEFI NEWS
African Metaverse Opens Up to the World
Africarare, Africa’s first metaverse has opened up to the world and is poised to unlock African creativity and connect Africa to the global digital economy. Plans have been announced for commercialisation of the 3D virtual reality experience, that is set in Ubuntuland, a virtual world that marries creativity, cryptocurrency, and commerce. Via Africa Money & DeFi News Read more
Cardano Accelerator Adaverse Invests in Afriguild’s Mission to Onboard Africans Into Web3
Adaverse announced its investment into a seed funding round for Afriguild, a blockchain gaming guild-turned DAO providing opportunities for Africans through gaming, education, and community building. Via Africa Money and DeFi News Read more
Nigeria’s Access Bank secures $280mln funding to support SMEs
International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), the US government’s development finance institution, signed a commitment letter for $280 million in financing for Nigeria’s Access Bank. Via Zawya Read More
A move away from traditional banking – a case for Decentralized Finance
Decentralized finance or ‘DeFi’, is more than the latest buzzword to enter the FinTech lexicon. Presently, most banking, lending, and trading is managed by centralized systems, operated by the traditional banks, exchanges, and financial regulators. Via Business Day Read more
Challenges And Opportunities For KYC In The Crypto Industry In Africa
Know your customer, (henceforth KYC) is a standard of rules about collecting and storing information about customers. This piece will delve into the importance of KYC, some challenges of KYC in Africa and opportunities for growth and better service. Via Forbes Read more
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FUNDING NEWS
Hashgreed raises $1M+ for NFT and Asset Tokenization expansion in Africa
Hashgreed, an African NFT marketplace, a multipurpose NFT and super dapp platform under the Krosscoin Ecosystem has recently raised $1M+ towards scaling across Nigeria and beyond. Via Africa Money & DeFi News Read more
Cartona, Egyptian B2B e-commerce platform, raises $12 million Series A round
Cartona, a B2B platform based in Egypt, has closed its $12 million Series A fundraise led by Silicon Badia. Via AppsAfrica Read More
Zedcrest launches $10 million ’emergency fund’ for African startups
Zedcrest Capital, a firm known for its debt and equity capital markets investments but who recently started dabbling into venture investments, has launched a $10 million fund for pre-Series A stage startups in Africa. Via TechCrunch Read More
Ubenwa raises $2.5 million to drive its mission to diagnose infants by interpreting their cries
Ubenwa, an innovative healthtech startup that leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning to diagnose infants within 0–6 months of age, has locked in $2.5 million in pre-seed funding. Via Techcabal Read More
South African startup Qwili gets $1.2M to scale its app and low-cost NFC-enabled smartphone
Qwili, a startup that provides a hybrid sales product to micro and small merchants in South Africa, has raised $1.2 million in seed funding a year after closing an undisclosed pre-seed round. Via TechCrunch Read More
EXPLORE. CONNECT. INVEST.
Join us in Ghana this September for Africa Money and DeFi Summit West Africa edition, where we connect industry leaders from the African fintech and crypto ecosystem with international players. Register today
OPPORTUNITIES
Open Call for Digital Entrepreneurs in Africa
Digital Square is pleased to announce its first call for digital entrepreneurs based in Africa interested in working in the health sector. Read more
‘Hack The Mara’ hackathon is now open to African creators and developers
In the Maasai Mara, landowners, wildlife, and tourism depend on one another for survival. The impact of COVID-19 has brought tourism to a standstill, jeopardising the revenue previously realised, and threatening to bring the ecosystem down. Read more
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