African startups are making significant progress. In this context, the digital economy platform FollowICT highlights the top startup news across Africa over the past week.
– Nigerian-founded LemFi secures investment from Tether to power stablecoin remittances across Africa and Asia
Nigerian-founded cross-border payments platform LemFi has secured a strategic investment from Tether, the world’s largest stablecoin issuer. The new investment will help LemFi accelerate the adoption of stablecoin-powered remittances across emerging markets.
Tether, issuer of USD₮, the world’s most widely used stablecoin, announced the investment without disclosing the financial terms. The investment signals a broader convergence between traditional FinTech and digital assets, accelerating the use of stablecoin-powered solutions in emerging markets.
At the heart of the partnership is a technical overhaul of how LemFi settles cross-border payments. Tether’s investment will support LemFi’s integration of USD₮ as a settlement layer across its key corridors, replacing multi-day SWIFT chains with near-instant, low-cost settlement across Africa and Asia.
Tether says it will also help accelerate LemFi’s stablecoin infrastructure, which will progressively extend across its broader product suite to deliver stable, transparent, and accessible financial services to customers on both sides of the corridor.
– Checker Raises USD 8 M To Build Stablecoin Liquidity Infrastructure For African Banks
Checker, a global infrastructure network unifying digital asset markets, has raised USD 8 M in funding to expand stablecoin-powered financial services for banks and neobanks across Africa and other emerging markets.
The round was led by Al Mada Ventures alongside Galaxy Ventures and Framework Ventures, with backing from investors including DFS Lab and angel investors such as Iyin Aboyeji and Gwera Kiwana.
Founded by Jack Chong and Justin McMahan, Checker provides a single API that connects financial institutions to global stablecoin liquidity, FX, treasury, and cross-border payments infrastructure. The company says it has processed USD 3 B in annualized volume across 75 currencies.
– UK launches pan-African founder support programme at London Tech Week
The UK’s Department for Business and Trade – Africa is backing the launch of the UK–Africa Ecosystem Week, the UK’s first coordinated, pan-African support programme delivered during London Tech Week.
Powered by the UK–Africa Sandbox and Ventures 54 in partnership with the UK Department for Business & Trade (DBT), the UK South Africa Tech Hub, the UK Nigeria Tech Hub, London & Partners and the Mayor of London’s office, the initiative marks a new phase in the UK’s emergence as a global launchpad for African technology companies.
The UK-Africa Ecosystem Week introduces a fully-structured approach to participation at London Tech Week, one of the world’s largest annual technology gatherings, attracting over 100,000 attendees across more than 500 events. Founders will be able to benefit from a curated, week-long experience designed to help them access and navigate opportunities more effectively and achieve their business growth goals.
The initiative provides a coordinated support layer across the week, including curated sessions, concierge support, dedicated workspaces and a flagship UK–Africa Ecosystem Day bringing together key market entry stakeholders and the wider UK-Africa tech ecosystem to support African Founders and Delegations in London that week.
– France’s Mistral AI partners with Kenya’s Qhala to launch AI Accelerator Bootcamp for African founders
French AI powerhouse Mistral AI has signed a landmark memorandum of understanding with Nairobi-based digital transformation firm Qhala to develop context-aware artificial intelligence solutions tailored for African markets. The partnership will see Mistral AI launch a flagship programme aimed at nurturing the continent’s next generation of AI-driven startups.
The deal arrives in the wake of a similar landmark agreement between Nairobi-based technology venture WildMango and OpenAI in April. The deal, according to WildMango, aims to put OpenAI’s frontier models within reach of African businesses, developers, and institutions. The partnership between Mistral AI and Qhala seems like a strategic step forward in Africa’s AI ambitions.
The partnership, formalised at the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, was announced by Mohamed Zouari, Mistral AI’s Head of Revenue for the Middle East and Africa, on LinkedIn. According to Zouari, the collaboration will focus on expanding Mistral AI’s footprint across the African continent through locally grounded AI development.
At the heart of the deal is the launch of the Mistral Accelerator Bootcamp, an intensive, end-to-end venture-building programme that will bring together founders and builders from across the continent. According to Qhala, participants will receive hands-on technical onboarding on Mistral’s frontier AI models, mentorship support, and a structured pathway into an incubation programme for the most promising ventures.
The collaboration also includes the development of proprietary, context-aware AI solutions for Kenya and the broader East African region, as well as technical onboarding and venture-building support for startups. The partnership further involves French Tech Nairobi as a co-signatory of the MoU.
