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.
6 African Startups Share $400,000 in Funding at the FINCA Ventures Prize Competition
Six African startups have won a combined $400,000 in funding at the 2026 FINCA Ventures Prize Competition, which supports entrepreneurs developing innovative solutions to economic and social challenges across the continent. The competition featured two categories: fintech for financial inclusion, and sustainable agriculture and food systems. Through the initiative, FINCA Ventures aims to help startups develop scalable business models that strengthen community resilience, improve access to essential services, and generate measurable social and economic impact.
Kenyan startups VunaPay and Kumbatia Seafood took first place in their respective categories, each receiving a $100,000 grant. Kenya’s nesti and Zimbabwe’s eAgro secured second place, earning $60,000 each, while ChatCash, a venture operating across Rwanda and Zimbabwe, and Kenya’s Pollen Patrollers received $40,000 each for third place. The competition attracted more than 700 applications, with six finalists selected to pitch their businesses to a panel of judges in San Francisco on October 6, 2026, at an event hosted by Cisco.
FINCA Ventures, the impact investment arm associated with FINCA, seeks to help early-stage businesses build credibility, gain traction, and attract additional investment as they scale. Andrée Simon, CEO of FINCA Global, said Africa’s future would be shaped by entrepreneurs who identify opportunities in markets affected by gaps in services and infrastructure. Now in its third year, the competition highlights growing investor interest in startups addressing challenges in financial inclusion, agriculture, and food security while building commercially viable businesses.
PIDG Leads $26 Million Series B Investment in Tanzania’s East Africa Foods
The Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), through its equity investment arm InfraCo, has led a $26 million Series B investment in Tanzanian agritech company East Africa Foods (EAF), as part of a broader $40 million fundraising round. Oikocredit and Dutch development bank FMO participated alongside existing investors ARAF, Goodwell, Africa Eats, and FINCA. The wider financing package also includes debt funding from the Schmidt Family Foundation and additional contributions from existing shareholders. EKTA Partners acted as the sole financial adviser to the transaction.
East Africa Foods connects smallholder farmers with urban markets by purchasing produce directly from more than 28,000 registered farmers and supplying over 10,000 retailers in cities. Its operations cover the entire agricultural supply chain, including aggregation, grading, storage, processing, and distribution. The company also sells directly to consumers through its Onja and Golden Banana brands. The new funding will support additional processing and storage capacity, logistics expansion, improvements to its digital platform, and entry into new markets, beginning with Kenya. EAF also plans to strengthen the software connecting farmers, company branches, and retailers.
The company aims to work with 100,000 smallholder farmers within the coming years, with women expected to account for approximately 45% of its farmer network, while reducing food waste across its operations by one-third. Founder and CEO Elia Timotheo said that roughly one-third of the produce grown by the company’s farmers never reaches consumers, highlighting infrastructure gaps rather than inadequate agricultural production as a key challenge. By investing in logistics, digital infrastructure, and climate-smart farming practices, East Africa Foods aims to improve supply chain efficiency and strengthen regional food security.
Kenyan Fintech Cloud9 Raises $500,000 from Alliance as Part of a $1 Million Pre-Seed Round
Cloud9, a Kenyan fintech startup developing digital banking and cross-border payment infrastructure for African businesses, has secured a $500,000 investment from New York-based crypto accelerator Alliance as part of its ongoing $1 million pre-seed round. The investment brings the company’s total funding to $1 million, following previous backing from Techstars NYC and strategic angel investors. The funding comes as Cloud9 seeks to expand its financial infrastructure services for businesses operating across African markets and international corridors.
Founded in 2025 by Tesh Mbaabu and Mesongo Sibuti, Cloud9 is headquartered in Nairobi and launched its services in early 2026. Its platform provides multi-currency accounts, international payments, payroll services, bulk payments, and cards. The company also uses stablecoins to settle cross-border transactions, aiming to simplify international money movement and address some of the challenges businesses face when managing payments across different currencies and markets.
Cloud9 has created more than 25,000 accounts, while its transaction volume is growing by over 15% week-on-week, according to the company. The new capital will support the expansion of payment corridors, product improvements, card services, and customer acquisition. Cloud9 has also acquired M-Tickets and social-commerce platform Chpter, signaling its ambition to broaden its product offering and strengthen its position in digital financial infrastructure. Its progress reflects the growing demand for financial technology that facilitates cross-border commerce and payments across Africa.
Endeavor Catalyst Closes $320 Million Fund V, Backing Seven Nigerian Startups
Endeavor Catalyst has closed its fifth investment fund at $320 million, bringing its total assets under management to more than $850 million and expanding its capacity to back high-growth companies worldwide. The oversubscribed Fund V has already invested in 30 companies, deploying more than $55 million, with another $25 million to $30 million expected to be invested by the end of 2026. The fund focuses on supporting entrepreneurs building businesses with the potential to scale significantly across markets.
Endeavor Catalyst is the venture capital fund of Endeavor and invests exclusively in companies led by Endeavor Entrepreneurs, co-investing alongside established venture capital and growth equity firms. Across its five funds, the organization has backed 437 companies in 44 markets, including 83 businesses valued at $1 billion or more and 39 exits. Its investment model is designed to support ambitious founders while leveraging partnerships with other investors to help portfolio companies access capital and accelerate growth.
In Africa, Endeavor Catalyst has invested in 29 companies across five markets, including seven Nigerian startups: Flutterwave, Moniepoint, TradeDepot, LemFi, Zone, MAX, and Moove. Moove represents the fund’s latest Nigerian investment through Fund V. Endeavor Catalyst also reports that six of its African portfolio companies have achieved billion-dollar valuations. The new fund reinforces international investor interest in African startups that have demonstrated their ability to build scalable business models and attract successive rounds of financing.
3IF Ventures Makes Its First Investment in Kenyan InsurTech Turaco
Mauritius-based investment fund 3IF Ventures has made its first portfolio investment by backing Nairobi-based embedded insurance company Turaco. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The investment marks the beginning of the fund’s portfolio-building activities as it seeks to support technology-enabled businesses addressing Africa’s insurance protection gap and expanding access to financial protection across underserved markets.
Turaco operates in the embedded insurance sector, which integrates insurance coverage into other products, services, and customer journeys rather than relying solely on traditional insurance distribution channels. This approach can help make insurance more accessible to people and businesses that may otherwise face barriers to obtaining coverage. By investing in Turaco, 3IF Ventures is backing a technology-driven model designed to broaden insurance access and address persistent challenges related to affordability and distribution across African markets.
The fund invests in startups from pre-seed through Series B, typically providing between $250,000 and $750,000 at early stages, with investments exceeding $1 million possible at Series A and Series B. The investment also comes amid growing activity in Africa’s inclusive insurance financing market. In June 2026, the Inclusive Insurance Investment Fund reached a $12 million first close, backed by limited partners including FSD Africa Investments and ZEP-RE, with a target of reaching a final close of $30 million. These developments point to increasing interest in technology-enabled insurance solutions across the continent.
Moove Exits Nigeria, Its Founding Market, Despite Reaching a $2.1 Billion Valuation
Mobility fintech company Moove has announced that it will end operations in Nigeria, the market where it was founded in Lagos in 2020, following mounting challenges to its local business model. The company said it would transfer vehicles worth approximately NGN 35 billion, equivalent to around $22 million, to eligible Nigerian customers free of charge starting October 1, 2026. The decision follows Uber’s exit from Nigeria on September 2, which significantly disrupted the operating model underpinning Moove’s business in the country.
Moove built its Nigerian operations by financing vehicles for drivers working through Uber, with repayments linked to their daily earnings. Uber’s departure removed the company’s primary platform partner, undermining the revenue data and operating structure that supported loan repayments. Moove also faced a currency mismatch, as it borrowed in US dollars to purchase vehicles while drivers earned income in Nigerian naira. The pressure intensified following Nigeria’s 2023 fuel subsidy removal, which increased operating costs and squeezed drivers’ margins. The company had previously repossessed vehicles from drivers unable to meet their repayment obligations.
Despite leaving its home market, Moove has continued to expand internationally. The company reached a $2.1 billion valuation in August 2026 after raising $250 million in a Series C round led by Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala. Its annual recurring revenue increased from approximately $275 million in 2024 to $400 million in 2025, before reaching $420 million following acquisitions including Brazil’s Kovi and Tokyo Taxi in Japan. Now headquartered in Dubai, Moove operates approximately 42,000 vehicles across 29 cities in 13 countries and employs around 3,300 people. Its Nigerian exit highlights the risks mobility and fintech startups face when their business models depend heavily on a single operating partner and are exposed to currency volatility and rising costs.
AfricInvest Backs Morocco’s Vantage Payment Systems to Build an Omnichannel Payments Platform
Pan-African investment platform AfricInvest has invested in Moroccan fintech company Vantage Payment Systems (VPS) through its Financial Inclusion Vehicle (FIVE). The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The investment was made through Equity Invest, the holding company of VPS majority shareholder Ali Bettahi, which has increased its ownership of the payments company to 100%, bringing all shareholders under a single owner. The transaction is intended to support the company’s next stage of development and strengthen its ability to serve merchants across multiple payment channels.
VPS plans to prioritize the launch of a point-of-sale (POS) service for in-person payments while continuing to invest in its e-commerce and SoftPOS products. SoftPOS technology enables compatible devices to accept payments without requiring a separate traditional payment terminal. The company’s strategy reflects the structure of Morocco’s payments market, where approximately 90% of electronic payments were made offline in 2025, compared with around 10% online, according to figures cited in the announcement. VPS aims to provide merchants of all sizes with a unified platform for accepting payments online, in physical stores, and through mobile devices.
Ali Bettahi, chairman of VPS, described FIVE’s investment as an important milestone that would provide the resources needed to accelerate development, invest in innovation, and support more merchants in digitizing their payments. By expanding into POS acquiring while maintaining its existing digital products, VPS aims to establish a more comprehensive omnichannel payments offering. The investment also reflects broader efforts to advance financial inclusion and digital payment adoption across Africa, where businesses increasingly need integrated infrastructure that can handle transactions across traditional and digital sales channels.
M-KOPA Acquires Finnish Software Company KilpiTek for $8 Million
African fintech company M-KOPA has acquired KilpiTek, a Finnish software company specializing in device-locking technology and related services, for $8 million. The acquisition covers 100% of KilpiTek’s voting equity interests. According to M-KOPA’s financial disclosure, the consideration included $2.67 million in cash, while the remaining $5.33 million comprised M-KOPA ordinary shares and other forms of consideration, including deferred payments and/or remuneration. The transaction represents a strategic move to strengthen the company’s control over technology that supports its products and financing operations.
M-KOPA said the acquisition is intended to strengthen its control over a critical component of its technology stack and support its product development and sourcing strategy. Device-locking technology can play an important role in financing models that allow customers to obtain digital devices through installment payments, with device access managed in accordance with the terms of the financing agreement. Owning KilpiTek gives M-KOPA greater control over this technology and the ability to develop it in line with its product requirements and operating markets.
The acquisition closed on March 26, 2026, after M-KOPA’s financial year ended on December 31, 2025. It was therefore treated as a non-adjusting subsequent event under IFRS 3 and does not affect the company’s reported financial position or results for that year. M-KOPA also noted that the purchase price allocation had not been completed when the financial statements were authorized for issue. The deal highlights a broader trend among African fintech companies toward acquiring ownership of critical technologies rather than relying entirely on external providers, particularly as device financing and digital financial services continue to expand.
Kenyan High Court Orders E-Commerce Startup Copia Into Liquidation
Kenya’s High Court has ordered the liquidation of Copia Kenya, the e-commerce company that raised more than $120 million to serve consumers outside the country’s major cities. The ruling follows more than two years of administration during which efforts to revive the business failed to establish a realistic path back to sustainable operations. Founded in 2013, Copia combined technology with a network of local agents to offer a wide range of consumer goods to rural households and communities that often face limited access to conventional retail services.
Copia raised more than $120 million in funding, including a $50 million Series C round, and expanded into additional markets as it sought to build a scalable distribution model for underserved consumers. However, the company entered administration in May 2024 after failing to secure the capital required to continue operations. In a ruling issued on September 17, the High Court determined that there was no realistic prospect of Copia returning to business as a going concern and that extending the administration process would only increase delays and costs.
The company will now proceed to liquidation, with its remaining assets estimated at KES 206.6 million, equivalent to approximately $1.6 million, as of February. Copia’s collapse highlights the challenges facing e-commerce businesses that rely on extensive distribution networks and costly logistics to reach consumers beyond major urban centers. Although the company attracted substantial investment and addressed a genuine market need, its experience demonstrates that long-term success requires a sustainable balance between delivery costs, customer demand, and access to working capital. The case offers an important lesson for Africa’s startup ecosystem on the need to align expansion plans with unit economics and the financial sustainability of day-to-day operations.