{"id":4744,"date":"2020-11-20T09:35:30","date_gmt":"2020-11-20T08:35:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.textmaster.com\/blog\/?p=4744"},"modified":"2021-02-10T14:30:58","modified_gmt":"2021-02-10T13:30:58","slug":"top-7-most-promising-african-start-ups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.textmaster.com\/blog\/top-7-most-promising-african-start-ups\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 7 Most Promising African Start-ups"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 2-billion-dollar mark has been exceeded: in 2019, African start-ups<\/strong> working in various fields including FinTech, e-commerce and InsurTech<\/strong> raised 2.02 billion dollars in equity according to the new report from the venture capital fund Partech Africa<\/strong>. With more and more start-ups working for a better world being produced by the continent’s entrepreneurial circles<\/strong>, this landmark achievement comes as no surprise.<\/p>\n

Many more start-ups have recently managed to raise funds (150 in 2018 versus 234 in 2019<\/strong>). As things stand, 85% of funds<\/strong> are in 4 countries \u2013 Kenya, South Africa, Egypt and Nigeria. The latter has received an incredible 37% of the total investment<\/strong>. However, other African countries are also getting in on the act!<\/p>\n

This article will introduce you to a selection of the most promising start-ups emerging<\/strong> on the continent.<\/p>\n

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Going international: 52 concepts you need to understand in order to succeed<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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Paga: the African start-ups for easy payment<\/strong><\/p>\n

Founded in 2009 by Tayo Oviosu and Jay Alabraba, Paga is a Nigerian start-up<\/strong> with a mobile payment<\/strong> app that allows people to transfer money, settle bills and pay for purchases at brick-and-mortar stores. It has over 14 million users in Nigeria<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The advantage of the app is that it’s not limited to the Nigerian market. Mindful of exporting to other countries<\/strong>, the business has acquired the Ethiopian company Apposit<\/strong> \u2013 a clever move as Ethiopia currently has the second biggest population in Africa (109.2 million people)<\/strong>. Paga has also opened an office in Mexico<\/strong> in a bid to launch its service<\/strong> there and keep up the momentum. Its current goal is to become a leading FinTech<\/strong> platform for emerging countries, knowing that this is THE best-funded sector in African tech<\/strong> (receiving 41.3% of the continent’s investment in 2019 according to Partech Africa).<\/p>\n

Thanks to its development, Paga has also caught the attention of Visa<\/strong>, which is interested in gaining ground and reaching out to high-potential start-ups in Africa. Meanwhile, its competitor Mastercard<\/strong> has invested 50 million dollars in Jumia<\/a><\/strong> (the African online sales leader) in a bid to develop financial services<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Brimore: to the Pyramids of Giza <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Brimore is an Egyptian start-up<\/strong> that was founded in 2017 by Mohamed Abdulaziz and Ahmed Sheikha. It aims to link up individual distributors with small- and medium-sized businesses seeking<\/strong> a simpler way to have their products transported.<\/p>\n

Manufacturers<\/strong> can sell their products using various different channels that work well thanks to the independent distributors.<\/p>\n

Clients<\/strong> can access a wide range of exclusive high-quality products at affordable prices and without extra charges.<\/p>\n

Partners<\/strong> can create their own companies and use their networks to sell manufacturers’ products.<\/p>\n

In a country where currency devaluation led to instances of inflation in 2016<\/strong>, logistics<\/a> has become a real development challenge<\/strong>, particularly when it comes to corporate services.<\/p>\n

Brimore is hoping to become the leading middleman between manufacturers and consumers<\/strong>. The social commerce platform seems to have started off on the right foot, raising 3.5 million dollars<\/strong> in 2020 to support its growth and infrastructure. Brimore is developing world-class technology for its local market<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Jumo: the FinTech business facilitating lending<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Jumo is a South African start-up<\/strong> that was founded by entrepreneur Andrew Watkins-Ball in 2015 and has managed to surf the mobile telephony wave. It’s important to note that while 80% of African people don’t have a bank account, the same percentage do have a mobile phone<\/strong>. Jumo has capitalised on this situation, offering various services like loans, insurance and other financial products to anyone outside the traditional banking system.<\/p>\n

This start-up also supports early-stage businesses<\/strong> that can’t access bank finance as they develop<\/strong>. It’s difficult or impossible for young entrepreneurs to secure finance without a guarantee. This is where Jumo comes in!<\/p>\n

In 2020, the business has received 55 million dollars<\/strong> in debt and equity funding. Thanks to these funds, it can proceed with its expansion and launch new financial products in Africa<\/strong>, specifically in Nigeria and C\u00f4te d’Ivoire, as well as in Asia, namely in India. It already received 3 million dollars<\/strong>‘ worth of funding in 2018 from Proparco<\/strong>, a subsidiary of Agence Fran\u00e7aise de D\u00e9veloppement (AFD) \u2013 the subsidiary’s first direct FinTech investment.<\/p>\n

Just like several other FinTech businesses, the South African start-up has positioned itself as an alternative to the many existing financial players. It is also working with high-end financial partners<\/strong> including Mastercard, Proparco and Google<\/strong>. The future looks bright!<\/p>\n

Zafree Papers: it’s off to Ethiopia\u00a0 <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Let’s begin with the etymology. “Zaf<\/strong>” means “tree<\/strong>” in Ethiopian, and we know the meaning of “free<\/strong>” in English. Put them together, and you get “Zafree”: a start-up founded in 2017 by Bethelhem Dejene and Fikre Dejene. This business sells 100% tree-free paper<\/strong> made from agricultural waste. Rather than wood, Zafree uses wheat and barley. This prevents the materials combusting<\/strong>, which could create air pollution<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The Zafree journey began thanks to a machine manufacturer and a local bank deciding there were enough technical and financial feasibility guarantees in place to establish partnerships and launch the start-up concept.<\/p>\n

Environmental concern<\/strong>, specifically combatting deforestation<\/strong>, is the driving force behind Zafree. The marketing campaign is set to begin in 2021. This is one to watch…\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Baobab Circle: better chronic-condition management<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Founded in January 2016 in Kenya<\/strong> by George Franklin and Precious Lunga, Baobab Circle has created a chatbot known as Afya Pap<\/strong>. With access to healthcare quite limited in Africa, especially for disadvantaged individuals, the start-up markets itself as a “health coach<\/strong>” for those with chronic conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes.<\/p>\n

Its main aim is to reduce patients’ suffering and change their everyday habits and it uses artificial intelligence and mobile telephony to provide custom equipment<\/strong> for managing high blood pressure and diabetes to avoid potential complications.<\/p>\n

Baobab Circle currently has 50,000 users<\/strong>. It also won the 2019 Sanofi<\/strong> Diabetes Innovation Challenge during AfricArena<\/strong>, which will give the start-up the chance to develop a concept with the pharmaceutical group. Baobab Circle is now collaborating with 6 insurance\/health organisations.<\/p>\n

Yobante Express: formalising parcel transport<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Created in 2018 by Oumar Basse, Yobante Express is a Senegalese-origin e-commerce marketplace<\/strong> which links up a large network of hauliers or pick-up points with local businesses. It specialises in delivering small parcels weighing under 25 kg<\/strong>. The service is available via an app and covers various countries: Senegal, Ghana, South Africa, Botswana, Niger and Nigeria.<\/p>\n

The start-up’s advantage is that it offers an affordable and quick delivery service<\/strong>. With access to existing parcel routes, the sender pays 40% less than they would do conventionally.<\/p>\n

Yobante Express has 611 pick-up points and 300 hauliers, has completed 8000 deliveries and has made around 50,000 dollars<\/strong> a month since its launch. And this is just the beginning…<\/p>\n

Keitas Systems: welcome to Guinea<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Although Keitas Systems was founded in Nantes, France<\/strong> and mainly operates in Europe, the start-up was created in 2011 by Lahou Keita \u2013 an African female entrepreneur from Guinea who was the world’s first Black woman to join Dassault and create an aeronautical maintenance company<\/strong>. With support from her sister Fatou Keita (a medical doctor and now co-founder), Lahou Keita managed to establish an aeronautics hub<\/strong> to combat the lack of technical workers available. She also created Tempeus<\/strong> \u2013 a tool for tracking maintenance<\/strong> when an aircraft is being worked on.<\/p>\n

Keitas Systems is now undertaking a range of international<\/strong> aeronautics projects. The start-up was selected by Quebec’s government to open an aeronautics hub for Quebec City and for Quebec as a whole.<\/p>\n

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As we have seen, African Tech<\/strong> is flourishing and the digital sector is brimming with opportunities and start-ups with high technological added value. It’s worth keeping an eye on progress: this is just the start of a long journey for these early-stage African businesses!<\/p>\n

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