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.
Aeon Raises $1 Million to Scale Cybersecurity Solutions for Critical Infrastructure
Nigerian cybersecurity startup Aeon has raised $1 million in a Pre-Seed round led by Terra Industries, with participation from Resilience17, the fund founded by Flutterwave co-founder and CEO Olugbenga Agboola, alongside Kaleo, DFS Labs, Ajim Capital, and Seedstars. The funding will support product development, engineering team expansion, and the transition of the company’s existing pilot projects into commercial contracts.
Aeon is building cybersecurity infrastructure for organizations operating critical services and infrastructure across Africa and emerging markets, with a focus on banks, cloud service providers, and infrastructure operators. Its product portfolio includes Aeon Edge, a device designed to protect networks and data, and Aeon Console, a platform that monitors security risks across software, cloud systems, and connected devices, giving security teams a unified view of vulnerabilities across their environments.
The funding follows a pilot project between Aeon and Terra Industries earlier this year, which has since evolved into a commercial partnership aimed at delivering integrated physical and digital security solutions to government and enterprise customers. The companies plan to protect both physical assets and the digital systems that operate them, while Aeon focuses on converting its Nigerian pilots into commercial contracts and expanding into financial services and critical infrastructure sectors.
CreditChek Acquires Algosys to Expand into East Africa
Nigerian credit infrastructure startup CreditChek has acquired Ugandan banking software company Algosys in a deal that marks its official entry into Uganda and supports its broader expansion strategy across East Africa. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquisition gives CreditChek a local operating base in Uganda and combines its credit infrastructure capabilities with Algosys’ core banking technology.
CreditChek provides tools that help banks, fintech companies, and lenders assess customers’ creditworthiness by aggregating credit, income, identity, and other financial data through a single API infrastructure. The company has processed more than $60 million in credit applications across around one million individual profiles in Nigeria and has reached profitability in its home market. It previously raised $600,000 to support its expansion into East Africa.
Meanwhile, Algosys provides core banking and lending software for financial institutions, cooperatives, and microfinance organizations. The company serves 22 financial institutions in Uganda and has supported more than 10,000 cooperative loans. Following the acquisition, Algosys will operate as a subsidiary of CreditChek while maintaining its existing customer relationships, with the two companies planning to combine CreditChek’s credit and data capabilities with Algosys’ banking infrastructure.
Pigee to Acquire 55% of ShipAfrica as It Expands in West Africa
US logistics technology company Pigee has agreed to acquire a controlling 55% stake in Nigerian logistics startup ShipAfrica in a cash-and-stock transaction expected to be completed in three stages over 18 months. The financial value of the deal was not disclosed, and the acquisition has not yet been completed. The transaction is designed to give Pigee a local operating base in Nigeria as it expands its logistics technology offering across West Africa.
Founded in 2022, ShipAfrica helps individuals, merchants, and logistics companies arrange domestic and international shipments through a network of shipping centers that receive and prepare packages before handing them over to carriers. The company facilitates shipments within Nigeria, across Africa, and to international markets, and says it handles goods worth more than $5 million annually. The acquisition will therefore give Pigee access to an established local network and existing relationships with customers and carriers.
Under the agreement, ShipAfrica is expected to retain its brand, management, and team of more than 10 employees, with Walter Isoko remaining as CEO. The companies plan to gradually integrate Pigee’s technology into shipping rate management, label generation, and parcel tracking services. They may also explore a co-branded offering in the future, while ShipAfrica gains access to additional capital and technology to support its growth.
Waspito Wins $250,000 Grand LEAP Award
Cameroonian healthtech startup Waspito has won the $250,000 Grand LEAP Award during the Rocket Fuel startup competition at LEAP 2026 in Riyadh. The award was the largest individual prize in a competition that distributed a total of $1 million in non-dilutive funding across seven categories, making Waspito the first African startup to win the Grand Award since the competition was launched.
Founded in 2020 by Jean Lobe Lobe, Waspito operates a digital healthcare platform connecting patients with doctors and healthcare providers, including video-based medical consultations through smartphones. The company also provides mobile laboratory services, allowing healthcare professionals to collect samples from patients’ homes and deliver test results digitally. Its model is expanding beyond telemedicine toward a broader digital healthcare infrastructure platform.
The Rocket Fuel competition attracted 100 startups this year, with 10 companies advancing to the final stage. The award comes as Waspito continues to expand across African markets. Its platform currently connects around 1.1 million patients with more than 2,100 doctors and over 500 healthcare providers in Cameroon and Côte d’Ivoire. The company previously raised $2.5 million in 2023, bringing its total funding at the time to $5.2 million to support expansion in existing and new markets.
HisWay Labs Secures Investment from Octoco to Expand Railway Monitoring Technology
South African railway technology company HisWay Labs has secured a strategic investment from Octoco Group to support the international expansion of its TrackView railway safety monitoring system. The financial terms were not disclosed. The investment comes as HisWay Labs moves to take its technology beyond South Africa and establish a presence in international railway markets.
Founded in 2018 in Cape Town, HisWay Labs develops technology for monitoring railway infrastructure in challenging operating environments. Its TrackView system uses solar-powered sensors that do not require copper cables or batteries, helping reduce the risk of component theft while providing continuous monitoring of railway tracks and train locations.
The system has received certifications and approvals from PRASA and entered commercial deployment through a partnership with Siemens Mobility. TrackView is currently undergoing field testing in the United States, while HisWay Labs is developing European partnerships through its participation in InnoTrans in Germany. The company is positioning the technology as a scalable solution for railway infrastructure monitoring in international markets.
SunCulture Closes $10 Million Securitisation Deal to Finance Solar Irrigation
Kenyan climate-tech company SunCulture has closed a $10 million securitisation transaction backed by receivables linked to solar energy assets sold to farmers. The transaction includes $10 million in secured financing provided by Mirova Gigaton Fund to a special-purpose vehicle that acquires receivables generated by SunCulture Kenya. Fintech infrastructure company Kaleidofin participated in structuring the transaction and monitoring the portfolio.
The transaction allows SunCulture to unlock capital tied up in long-term customer repayments and recycle that capital into financing additional solar irrigation systems. The company operates through its Pay-As-You-Grow model, which enables farmers to acquire solar-powered irrigation systems through flexible repayment plans. Since its founding in 2012, SunCulture says it has sold more than 85,000 solar irrigation systems and pumps.
Beyond providing financing for SunCulture, the transaction demonstrates how capital markets can potentially be used to finance distributed energy assets and productive-use energy solutions across Africa. Kaleidofin uses its ki score credit model, built on more than 30 million data points, to support receivables selection and cash-flow modelling. The securitisation structure is designed to accelerate the company’s capital cycle and reduce financing constraints faced by climate and energy businesses that provide long-term financing to customers.
Mission Mobile Secures $30.9 Million to Expand Smartphone Financing
South African fintech company Mission Mobile has secured 30.9 million dollars, equivalent to 500 million rand, in growth financing from investment company DN Invest (DNI) to expand its smartphone financing services in South Africa. Founded in 2023 by brothers Tim and Adam Strike, the company partners with telecom operators and retailers to make smartphones available through flexible instalment plans, particularly for customers who may not qualify for traditional telecom contracts.
Mission Mobile uses its Beam technology platform to assess customers’ financial capacity and cash flows in real time, allowing financing decisions to be made in less than two minutes. The platform enables telecom operators and retailers to offer device financing without taking on the associated credit risk. The company combines device financing with discounted voice and data packages as well as loyalty programmes, creating a broader digital relationship between telecom providers and their customers.
Mission Mobile plans to use the new funding to develop additional products, grow its customer base, expand its team, strengthen its technology infrastructure, and develop additional financial and connectivity products for its partners. For DNI, the investment forms part of a broader strategy focused on telecommunications, fintech, and digital services in South Africa. Mission Mobile will also benefit from the investment firm’s distribution network and commercial relationships as it expands its financing model.
Five35 Ventures Completes First Portfolio Exit with 3.5x Return from Complete Farmer
African investment platform Five35 Ventures has completed its first portfolio exit after selling its stake in Ghanaian agritech company Complete Farmer, generating a 3.5x return on invested capital. Five35 Ventures initially invested in the company in April 2022 and completed the exit in March 2026. The transaction highlights the growing importance of exit opportunities for African venture investors as more startups move beyond fundraising toward liquidity events.
Complete Farmer connects farmers with markets while providing agricultural inputs and technical support, helping producers access buyers, services, and financing. The investment was made as part of Five35 Ventures’ strategy, supported by the Africa Growth Fund of the Mastercard Foundation. The $200 million fund-of-funds initiative focuses on supporting African investment managers and businesses capable of contributing to economic growth and job creation.
The exit also reflects Five35 Ventures’ focus on gender-inclusive investing and the role women play across businesses and value chains, including as employees, suppliers, customers, and beneficiaries. The firm views the Complete Farmer investment as an example of combining commercial growth with broader economic and social impact, while the exit represents the first realized return from its portfolio for investors.
Spiro Raises Additional $18 Million for Expansion into Rwanda and Uganda
Kenyan electric mobility company Spiro has secured an additional $18 million in debt financing from the Africa Go Green Fund (AGG), a climate-focused fund managed by Cygnum Capital. The financing will support Spiro’s expansion into Uganda and Rwanda, including the deployment of more electric motorcycles and the expansion of its battery-swapping infrastructure.
Spiro operates an electric motorcycle and battery-swapping network and has assembly facilities in Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Togo, Cameroon, and Benin. The company says it operates more than 135,000 electric motorcycles and over 2,500 battery-swapping stations, with more than 50 million battery swaps recorded and over one billion kilometres travelled using its electric mobility solutions.
The new financing brings Africa Go Green Fund’s total commitment to Spiro to $36 million, following an initial $18 million facility in December 2025, alongside $7 million from Nithio under the previous facility. Spiro also announced a further $55 million in June, bringing its total funding raised to $270 million. The latest financing will focus on increasing the deployment of electric motorcycles and expanding the battery-swapping infrastructure supporting them across East Africa.