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.
Medbankr Launches AI-Powered Platform Giving Patients Control of Their Medical Records
Nigerian HealthTech startup Medbankr has launched a digital platform focused on health records management and continuity of care, allowing users to maintain long-term access to their medical information. The company describes the product as Nigeria’s first patient-controlled health continuity and intelligence platform, with the aim of shifting control of medical records from healthcare facilities to patients themselves.
The platform brings laboratory results, prescriptions, medical scans and other health documents together in a secure digital vault controlled by the patient. By making medical records portable, Medbankr aims to address the fragmentation of health information across hospitals, clinics, paper files and messaging applications, enabling patients to carry their medical history with them when they change doctors, relocate or receive treatment from a different healthcare provider.
The startup is targeting a broader challenge within Nigeria’s healthcare system, where medical records are often tied to individual facilities rather than to patients. This fragmentation can contribute to repeated tests, missed follow-ups and delays in clinical decision-making when doctors do not have access to a patient’s complete medical history. Through a permanent digital health record, Medbankr is seeking to improve continuity of care while making relevant medical information more accessible to both patients and healthcare providers.
Drive45 Secures $3 Million Debt Facility to Expand Its Fleet Across Nigeria
Nigerian mobility company Drive45 has secured a $3 million senior debt facility from TLG Capital, a private credit investor focused on Sub-Saharan Africa, to finance the expansion of its vehicle fleet and strengthen its presence across additional Nigerian cities. The financing is supported by a guarantee from entrepreneurship platform Cascador in collaboration with Morgan Stanley, as demand for corporate mobility services continues to grow.
Founded in 2021, Drive45 provides vehicles and transportation services to local and international businesses, allowing corporate customers to access mobility services without taking on the cost and operational burden of owning and managing vehicles themselves. The company currently operates more than 170 active vehicles and says it has recorded no payment defaults during its five years of operations. The new facility will support the deployment of additional vehicles as the company expands into Port Harcourt, Abuja, Kano and Kaduna.
“Mobility access is a capital business, so having the right financial backing is everything,” said Oluwaseyi Adefemi, founder and CEO of Drive45, adding that TLG Capital structured the facility around the company’s business model and growth trajectory. Beyond financing, TLG Capital will work with the company’s management on areas including corporate governance, environmental, social and governance monitoring, and operational performance, combining capital with operational support as Drive45 scales.
Biochar Industrial Group Raises $1.5 Million to Scale Carbon Removal in Africa
ClimateTech startup Biochar Industrial Group (BIG) has raised $1.5 million in pre-seed funding to scale its Biochar-as-a-Service model and expand carbon-removal infrastructure across Sub-Saharan Africa. The round was led by BREEGA, with participation from Catalyst Fund, while Mulago Foundation provided non-dilutive funding to support the company’s expansion.
Founded by Ikenna Nzewi, Uzoma Ayogu and Isaiah Udotong, BIG helps food-processing companies convert agricultural waste, including nut shells, husks, cobs and stalks, into biochar through continuous pyrolysis processes. The company combines agricultural waste management with carbon removal, with biochar capable of storing carbon for hundreds to thousands of years while also serving as a soil amendment and potentially generating carbon removal credits.
The startup plans to use the new capital to expand partnerships with food-processing factories and increase its carbon-removal infrastructure. BIG’s model reflects a growing focus within Africa’s startup ecosystem on linking climate solutions with existing industrial needs, transforming agricultural waste into a resource that can support long-term carbon storage while creating potential additional revenue streams through carbon removal credits.
Watu Secures $7 Million Debt Facility to Expand Asset Financing Across Africa
Kenyan asset-financing company Watu has secured a $7 million debt facility from AHL Venture Partners, providing additional working capital to expand its lending portfolio across African markets. The transaction extends a financing relationship between the two companies that began in 2022 and gives Watu additional capacity to finance assets linked to mobility, connectivity and income generation.
Founded in 2015, Watu has built its business around financing productive assets that can help customers move, work and access digital services. Its mobility business finances motorcycles and three-wheelers, while Watu Simu enables customers to acquire smartphones through instalment-based financing. The company has also increased its exposure to electric mobility by financing electric motorcycles in selected African markets, and says it has originated more than seven million loans since its launch.
The new facility is non-dilutive, meaning Watu can access additional capital without issuing new shares to AHL Venture Partners, allowing the company to expand its financing capacity without changing its ownership structure. The transaction also highlights the growing role of private credit in Africa’s technology ecosystem, particularly for companies with established revenue streams and predictable repayment models. The additional capital can be deployed into financing more motorcycles, smartphones and other productive assets while supporting expansion into new markets and emerging areas such as electric mobility.
Charikaty Raises Pre-Seed Funding at a €3 Million Valuation
Moroccan LegalTech startup Charikaty has completed a pre-seed financing round at a valuation of €3 million, equivalent to approximately $3.4 million, as it prepares to expand its digital corporate-services platform. The company has not disclosed the amount raised in the round, making the €3 million figure a valuation rather than the value of the investment itself. The round attracted Red Tape Ventures, Faris Al-Obaid and Saudi footballer Faris Abdi, alongside other undisclosed investors.
Founded by Amr Mouaqit and Driss Sijelmassi, Charikaty is developing an online platform designed to simplify company formation and corporate administration in Morocco. The service allows entrepreneurs to establish several types of legal entities, including SARLs, single-shareholder SARLs, SAS companies and foreign subsidiaries, through a digital process. The startup uses electronic signatures and upfront pricing to reduce the number of interactions traditionally required with separate legal, administrative and accounting service providers.
The company has expanded its offering beyond incorporation to cover changes to company information, registered addresses, accounting packages, trademark registration, compliance support and business dissolution. This broader product scope positions Charikaty around the wider lifecycle of a company rather than focusing only on incorporation, giving entrepreneurs access to multiple corporate and administrative services through a single digital platform.
Grindstone Ventures Launches $31 Million Fund for High-Growth African Tech Companies
South African female-led VC firm Grindstone Ventures has launched a new fund targeting ZAR500 million, equivalent to approximately $31 million, to invest in high-growth, tech-enabled companies from seed through Series A. The fund focuses on the stage at which startups move from early commercial validation toward institutional scale, addressing a segment of the African venture ecosystem that investors involved in the fund identify as an area requiring additional capital and support.
The fund is led by Thandiwe Maqetuka and backed by Knife Capital and Thinkroom. Alongside investment capital, Grindstone Ventures provides active portfolio support across strategy, governance, commercial growth, market access, capital strategy and exit readiness. The platform combines the entrepreneur-development and acceleration experience of Thinkroom with Knife Capital’s experience in venture investment, technology-company scaling and strategic exits.
The new vehicle follows the deployment of Grindstone Ventures Fund I, which invested in seven portfolio companies, including Locstat, Welo and AgriLogiQ. The fund is also finalising an exit expected to return capital to investors. Keet van Zyl, co-founder of Knife Capital, said the transition from seed to Series A remains a significant gap in the African venture ecosystem, adding that lessons from the first fund helped shape the new vehicle and its focus on supporting companies through this stage of growth.
Madica Adds Five Startups to Its Portfolio and Enters Algeria and Cameroon
Africa-focused pre-seed investment programme Madica has announced five new investments, expanding its portfolio to 18 startups and entering Algeria and Cameroon for the first time. Launched in 2022, Madica focuses on underrepresented and underfunded founders across Africa, providing investment alongside company-building support through a sector-agnostic model affiliated with Flourish Ventures.
The new investments include Algeria’s Talenteo, an all-in-one HR management platform, and Cameroon’s digital neobank Paysika. The other three companies are Nigeria’s ChipMango, which is working to build Africa’s semiconductor ecosystem through chip design services, engineering education and localised Edge AI products; Egypt’s Delta Oil, which is developing infrastructure connecting fragmented used cooking oil collection networks with international buyers; and Egypt’s Bekia, a digital platform building the collection layer for the country’s recycling economy.
Each of the five companies will receive up to $200,000 in funding and join Madica’s 18-month investment programme. In addition to patient capital, the programme provides hands-on mentorship, executive coaching, fully funded founder immersion trips and access to Madica’s global investor network. The latest investments broaden the programme’s geographic footprint while maintaining its focus on early-stage companies facing gaps in access to capital, expertise and investor networks.