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Published: 06-04-2018 16:44:00 | By: Nico Scherphuis | hits: 3895550 | Tags:

Orange launches Social Venture Prize in Africa and the Middle East to encourage entrepreneurship
Published: 19-04-2024 | 17:05:11 | By: Bob Koigi
Since 2011, the OSVP prize has been rewarding innovative start-up projects that use and develop new technologies to make a positive impact in Africa and the Middle East




VC firm Golden Gate Ventures expands footprint into MENA region
Published: 12-01-2024 | 12:08:03 | By: Bob Koigi
Golden Gate Ventures, a venture capital fund founded by Silicon Valley natives, has announced the establishment of their first MENA office.




Seedstars launches FIWAM program to boost financial inclusion for women migrants
Published: 06-07-2023 | 14:42:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Seedstars has launched a program to promote financial inclusion for women.


Saudi Arabian HR tech startup Palm.hr raises $5m pre-Series A round to expand across the MENA region
Published: 13-02-2023 | 09:31:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Palm.hr, a Saudi Arabian HR firm that automates payroll, tracks leaves and absences and monitors employee performance, announced it has secured $5 million in a pre-Series A round.


Modus expands to Sub-Saharan Africa with launch of $75m Africa-focused fund
Published: 22-11-2022 | 10:11:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Modus, a Venture Platform operating in MENA comprising VC funds, Venture Builders, and a Corporate Innovation arm, has announced the launch of Modus Africa – a $75 million SDG-focused VC fund that will invest in Africa’s boldest startups.


[Startup Interview] Ehsan, Mohammad, Reza, Co-founders, Coco, Austria
Published: 30-09-2022 | 14:05:00 | By: Bob Koigi
CoCo is a social media analysis platform. It helps to increase the effectiveness of advertising campaigns on social networks.


German tech startup NeoCarbon raises €1.25 million to reverse climate change
Published: 30-09-2022 | 10:38:00 | By: Pie Kamau
NeoCarbon, a Berlin-based tech startup which retrofits cooling towers to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, announced it has raised €1.25 million in a Pre-Seed round co-led by PropTech1 and Speedinvest,


Fintech startup Tongo raises $7m seed funding to accelerate growth in its real estate market
Published: 30-09-2022 | 10:10:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Tongo, a fintech company realigning income and expenses for the commission economy, announced it has raised $7 million in seed funding. 


Plug and Play Alberta announces 50 startups for the second cohort of its accelerator programs
Published: 30-09-2022 | 09:52:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Plug and Play Alberta has announced 50 startups for the second cohort of its industry-specific startup accelerator programs. The companies will participate in one of the following programs: Health, Sustainability, and Sector Agnostic.


South Africa's home services startup SweepSouth closes $11m investment round led by Alitheia IDF
Published: 30-09-2022 | 09:40:00 | By: Pie Kamau
SweepSouth, an online home services platform with a presence across Africa has completed a $11 million investment round led byAlitheia IDF (AIF), Africa’s first and largest gender-lens private equity fund.


Estonian startup KOOS raises $4m funding to accelerate the new era of ownership
Published: 30-09-2022 | 09:28:00 | By: Pie Kamau
KOOS, an Estonian-based startup, announced $4 million worth of seed funding led by high profile investors at Plural Platform with participation from investors including LocalGlobe, Tiny.vc and Matt Clifford.


Tech startup Coalesce secures $26m Series A funding to reinvent data transformation in the snowflake data cloud
Published: 30-09-2022 | 09:00:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Coalesce.io, the data transformation company, announced it has secured $26 million in Series A funding led by Emergence Capital, with participation from seed investors 11.2 Capital.


Daiichi Sankyo joins Munich-based Startup Creasphere's program powered by Plug and Play
Published: 28-09-2022 | 11:44:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Startup Creasphere, the Munich-based digital healthcare platform of Plug and Play, has announced its new partnership with Daiichi Sankyo.


London scaleup Wazoku raises £8.5m series B funding, acquires Danish intelligence startup Mindpool
Published: 28-09-2022 | 11:29:00 | By: Pie Kamau
London-based innovation scaleup Wazoku has closed a series B funding round of £8.5 million through investment from Octopus Ventures along with follow on from existing investors including Calculus Capital.


FNHIC launches to invest $2.5b in startups improving hunger and health outcomes through food
Published: 28-09-2022 | 11:13:00 | By: Pie Kamau
S2G Ventures, Food Systems for the Future and other partners launched the Food, Nutrition and Health Investor Coalition (FNHIC), a call to action to drive $2.5 billion in private investment.


UK scaleup White Label Loyalty launches in the U.S.
Published: 28-09-2022 | 11:01:00 | By: Pie Kamau
UK-based loyalty technology experts White Label Loyalty is entering the US market for the first time, with opening of its firrst overseas office in New York.


London-based Pheon Therapeutics launches with $68m financing to advance novel ADC for treatment of solid tumors
Published: 28-09-2022 | 10:49:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Pheon Therapeutics (Pheon), an ADC specialist developing next generation ADCs for a wide range of hard-to-treat cancers has launched, following the closing of a $68 million Series A financing.


Deep tech startup MATSUKO and European telcos partner to develop holographic presence
Published: 28-09-2022 | 09:48:00 | By: Pie Kamau
European telecom operators Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefónica and Vodafone, together with the deep tech startup MATSUKO, have conducted a pilot to make holographic calls easy.


Canadian Lia 27 becomes the new face of AI after closing seed funding round at $5m valuation
Published: 27-09-2022 | 16:35:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Canadian Artificial Intelligence (AI) company Lia 27 Inc, announced it has closed a seed funding round valuing the company at $5 million. The funding launches the one-year-old business into the next dimension. 


New Utah startup Oops offers doorstep return pickups for in-store and online purchases
Published: 27-09-2022 | 16:16:00 | By: Pie Kamau
An early-stage startup born in the heart of Utah's Silicon Slopes, Oops is offering doorstep return pickups for in-store and online purchases across the Wasatch Range.


Ghanaian agritech startup Farmerline raises $1.5m from Dutch investor Oikocredit
Published: 27-09-2022 | 15:59:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Ghanaian agritech startup Farmerline announced the second close of a Pre-Series A investment raise with an additional $1.5 million investment from Dutch social impact investor Oikocredit.


Dallas-based workforce finance startup Meritize taps JP Morgan vet as Business Development VP
Published: 27-09-2022 | 15:55:56 | By: Pie Kamau
Meritize, developer of merit-based financing solutions and a technology platform that connects career starters and mid-career professionals with high-impact skills training, announced it has hired Jeff Parks as the firm's Vice President of Business Development.


Ghanaian fintech SecondSTAX raises $1.6m pre-seed funding to expand to other countries
Published: 27-09-2022 | 15:45:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Ghanaian fintech SecondSTAX (Secondary Securities Trading and Aggregation eXchange), announced it has raised $1.6 million in pre-seed funding from private investors and venture capital firms, including LoftyInc Capital and STEMeIn.


French startup Prophesee closes €50m C Series round to drive commercialization of revolutionary neuromorphic vision technology
Published: 26-09-2022 | 15:57:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Prophesee, the inventor of advanced neuromorphic vision systems, announced the completion of its Series C round of funding with the addition of a new investment from Prosperity7 ventures.


Capacity trading startup Stere closes $5m seed to expand tech-driven solutions for the insurance sector
Published: 26-09-2022 | 15:42:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Stere, a capacity trading platform specializing in capacity sourcing and unique digital capabilities for embedded insurance partners and MGAs, announced it has closed a $5 million funding round.


Detroit cloud-based startup KODE Labs raises $8m to advance its smart building platform
Published: 26-09-2022 | 15:29:00 | By: Pie Kamau
KODE Labs, a Detroit cloud-based smart building startup, announced it has raised a Series A investment of $8 million led by I Squared Capital and other strategic investors.


Vendease secures $30m to transform procurement and business operations for restaurants across Africa
Published: 26-09-2022 | 14:13:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Vendease, a Y Combinator-backed digital platform that allows restaurants in Africa to buy supplies, access financial services and power their business operations, has raised $30 million funding round.


West african fintech startup Julaya raises $5m extension round to expand its operations
Published: 26-09-2022 | 13:09:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Julaya, a fintech stratup based in Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and France, announced it has raised $5 million extension round led by European venture capital fund Speedinvest to expand its operations in West Africa.


[Startup Interview] Yashu Kapila, Founder, BugRaptors, India
Published: 23-09-2022 | 14:13:00 | By: Bob Koigi
The startup provides a highly diversified range of services varying from standard testing services, specialized testing services, to test advisory services. 


London-based Genie AI launches Startup Starter Pack, a free open source legal template library for startups
Published: 23-09-2022 | 12:04:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Genie AI, a machine learning company based in London, has launched Startup Starter Pack, a free open source legal template library with contract templates for small businesses and startups.


Norwegian audio-tech startup Nomono secures €3.55m seed round to scale its podcasting and audio solutions
Published: 23-09-2022 | 11:35:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Nomono, the pioneering developer of audio recording and collaboration tools that help podcasters and journalists tell immersive audio stories, announced the closing of €3.55 million investment round.


NYSHEX closes $25m Series B funding to improve reliability and efficiency of global shipping
Published: 23-09-2022 | 11:08:00 | By: Pie Kamau
NYSHEX, the ocean contract performance technology servive provider,, announced a $25 million Series B funding round led by Collate Capital. In addition, Blumberg Capital, Goldman Sachs and NewRoad Capital participated.


CrowdStrike’s Falcon Fund invests in API security startup Salt Security
Published: 23-09-2022 | 10:45:00 | By: Pie Kamau
CrowdStrike, a pioneer in cloud-delivered protection of endpoints, cloud workloads, identity and data, announced that its strategic investment vehicle, Falcon Fund, has invested in Salt Security, the pioneer in Application Programming Interface (API) security.


[Column] Nick Durrant: Lead generation strategies that work
Published: 23-09-2022 | 10:24:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Marketers often focus most of their attention on design aesthetics, ignoring the many other factors that could turn website visitors into hot prospects.


ABB partners with Dutch AI predictive maintenance scaleup Samotics to expand condition monitoring services
Published: 23-09-2022 | 10:10:00 | By: Pie Kamau
ABB and  Samotics, the provider of ESA technology that is a high-growth scaleup company, have entered a strategic long-term partnership to provide enhanced condition monitoring services.


Crypto tax reporting app Binocs nets $4m funding round as it adds institutional investors to retail base
Published: 22-09-2022 | 13:02:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Crypto tax reporting app Binocs has announced a $4 million fundraise to cater to institutional crypto investors and enter geographies like the US, UK, Australia etc.


Sustainable and AI concrete startup AICrete raises $4m seed funding to accelerate growth
Published: 22-09-2022 | 12:40:00 | By: Pie Kamau
AICrete, the recipe-as-a-service platform optimizing local materials for cleaner and more cost-efficient concrete, announced it has raised $4 million in a seed funding led by CLEAR Ventures.


Starburst Ventures launches pre-seed and seed fund to focus on aerospace and defense innovation
Published: 22-09-2022 | 11:58:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Starburst Ventures, the first venture capital fund dedicated to investing across aviation, space, and defense, announced the launch of its new early-stage fund.


Stockholm-based R-evolution launches venture capital arm to boost greentech startups
Published: 22-09-2022 | 11:45:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Hexagon AB, a global pioneer in digital reality solutions combining sensor, software and autonomous technologies, announced a new venture capital arm of R-evolution, the sustainable innovation and green-tech investment subsidiary of Hexagon.


Nigerian fintech startup Kippa launches business registration platform to support SMEs
Published: 22-09-2022 | 10:50:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Nigerian fintech startup Kippa has launched Kippa Start, a business registration platform to enable Nigerian MSMEs scale through their businesses.


Kenyan agricultural insurtech startup Pula appoints Michael Joseph as Board Chair
Published: 22-09-2022 | 10:28:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Former Safaricom CEO Michael Joseph has been appointed as Board Chair of a Kenyan agricultural insurtech startup Pula.


Ethiopian fintech startup Chapa launches online payment gateway service for businesses
Published: 22-09-2022 | 10:17:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Ethiopian fintech startup Chapa has launched an online payment gateway to enable businesses accept payments from people worldwide.


Healthtech startup Remedial Health secures $4.4m to provide access to credit for pharmacies in Nigeria
Published: 21-09-2022 | 13:23:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Remedial Health, a healthtech startup that develops solutions to make Africa’s pharmaceutical value chain more efficient, has raised $4.4 million in seed funding to accelerate its expansion across Nigeria.


Swiss biotech startup Hedera Dx raises €14m seed funding to accelerate global adoption of liquid biopsies
Published: 21-09-2022 | 11:52:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Hedera Dx, a Swiss biotech startup, has raised €14 million in funding to launch a blood-based testing solution to profile cancer DNA circulating in the blood, helping patients access better treatments.


Idealist Capital announces first close of its Climate Impact Fund to accelerate energy transition
Published: 21-09-2022 | 11:32:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Idealist Capital, a North American fund with a primary focus on the Canadian market, announced the first closing of the Idealist Climate Impact Fund LP (the Fund) with capital commitments totalling C$250 million. 


Human Ventures announces anchor partnership with Bank of America to invest in early-stage founders
Published: 21-09-2022 | 11:09:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Human Ventures, one of New York City's premier emerging venture funds, announced an anchor partnership with Bank of America for Human Ventures Fund II.


Israeli data security startup Sentra launches in the U.S.
Published: 21-09-2022 | 10:51:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Sentra, an Israeli cloud data security company, announced its arrival in the U.S. market with the opening of its new North American headquarters in New York City.


Google-backed startup Massage Robotics launches equity crowdfunding via StartEngine
Published: 21-09-2022 | 10:26:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Google-backed startup, Massage Robotics announced the launch of equity crowdfunding via StartEngine, to show how robots can help people heal with free massage therapy.


Canadian Raven Indigenous Capital Partners launches Fund II at $46m, eyes U.S. markets
Published: 21-09-2022 | 10:06:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Raven Indigenous Capital Partners, North America’s only Indigenous-led and owned venture capital intermediary, launched its second fund (Raven Fund II) with an initial close of $46 million, and a target size of $75 million.


Gradient Ventures leads $6m investment in LatAm's tax-technology startup Heru
Published: 20-09-2022 | 16:27:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Heru, an AI-based tax platform that simplifies the tax-filing process and provides intelligent insights for future filings, announced a $6 million seed round led by Gradient Ventures, Google's AI-focused venture fund. 


MedGeo secures $4m equity investment and joint venture agreement with Jackson Healthcare company
Published: 20-09-2022 | 16:12:00 | By: Pie Kamau
MedGeo Ventures announced it has secured a $4 million equity investment and joint venture agreement with Jackson Healthcare company.


Dutch sustainable blockchain startup GRNGrid secures $50m to drive connectivity with crypto exchanges
Published: 20-09-2022 | 15:53:00 | By: Pie Kamau
The GRN Association announced it has secured an investment totaling $50 million for the GRNGrid project from GEM Digital, a venture capital focused on digital currencies.


Nigerian blockchain payments startup Bitmama closes $2m pre-seed round to scale growth
Published: 20-09-2022 | 15:28:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Nigerian blockchain payments startup Bitmama announced a pre-seed extension of $1.65 million, adding to the $350,000 it received last October, thus closing the round at $2 million led by Unicorn Growth Capital and Launch Africa.


Unicorn Growth Capital, EchoVC join Celo Foundation to support Web3 projects across Africa
Published: 20-09-2022 | 15:23:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Unicorn Growth Capital and EchoVC have joined the Celo Foundation to support growth of Web3 projects across Africa through newly dedicated Celo ecosystem investment funds.


French AI and cloud media startup Newsbridge closes €7m funding round to develop U.S. presence
Published: 19-09-2022 | 12:35:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Newsbridge, the French AI & Cloud Media company has raised €7 million Series A funding round to continue its expansion to the U.S.A, and hire top AI and Media Engineering talent.


Dutch-based Builders studio raises €1.5m for development of HR and proptech startups
Published: 19-09-2022 | 10:12:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Rotterdam-based startup studio Builders has raised €1.5 million in funding in its second closing, to develop HR and proptech startups and start international expansion.


Ghanaian health tech startup mPharma acquires majority stake in Nigeria’s HealthPlus
Published: 19-09-2022 | 09:50:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Ghanaian health tech startup mPharma has acquired a majority stake in HealthPlus, a pioneer pharmacy chain in Nigeria.


Security and management supplier Verkada raises $205m to build an operating system for the physical world
Published: 19-09-2022 | 09:36:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Verkada, a pioneer in cloud-managed enterprise building security and management, announced a $205 million Series D funding round with new and existing venture partners.


India's fruits and vegetables platform Sahyadri Farms raises €40m growth capital to support smallholder farmers
Published: 19-09-2022 | 09:19:00 | By: Pie Kamau
India's integrated platform for fruits and vegetables Sahyadri Farms has raised  €40 million growth capital from a group of impact-focused investors; Incofin, Korys, FMO and Proparco.


French biotech startup Tridek-One closes €16m to develop first-in-class immune checkpoint agonists
Published: 16-09-2022 | 12:07:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Tridek-One, a Paris-based biotech startup specialized in the research and development of CD31 agonists to restore the immune balance, announced it has closed a €16 million financing round led by the Swiss VC Pureos Bioventures.


Industrial automation and agritech startup Agtonomy closes seed III funding round
Published: 16-09-2022 | 11:47:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Agtonomy, a cutting-edge software and service agritech startup, announced the successful closing of another round of funding for a total investment of $13.5 million.


Tallinn-based climate tech startup Arbonics raises €1.8m pre-seed funding to fight climate change in Europe
Published: 16-09-2022 | 11:19:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Arbonics, a new climate tech startup, is launching its unique data- and science-driven tool to make calculating the potential carbon income of land and forests quicker and easier for landowners in Europe.


African fintech startup Flutterwave launches eNaira payments for businesses in Nigeria
Published: 16-09-2022 | 11:06:57 | By: Pie Kamau
Flutterwave, Africa's payments technology company announced its merchants can now process payments in eNaira, the Nigerian digital currency issued and distributed by the Central Bank of Nigeria.


Kenyan insurtech startup Turaco secures $10m funding to drive insurance adoption
Published: 16-09-2022 | 09:58:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Turaco, the insurtech driving mass market insurance adoption, has announced the close of a $10 million Series A equity round led by AfricInvest, via the Cathay Africinvest Innovation Fund.


Nigerian fintech startup Kippa raises $8.4m seed round to accelerate growth
Published: 16-09-2022 | 09:27:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Nigerian fintech startup Kippa has raised $8.4 million in an oversubscribed seed round led by Goodwater Capital, TEN13 VC, Rocketship VC, Saison Capital, Crestone VC, VentureSouq, Horizon Partners, and Vibe Capital.


BRV China-backed HPC-AI Tech startup completes $6m seed and angel round financing
Published: 15-09-2022 | 11:02:00 | By: Pie Kamau
HPC-AI Tech, an artificial intelligence high-performance optimization startup announced the closing of $6 million seed and angel rounds, with BlueRun Ventures China (BRV China) acting as the lead investor for the angel round.


Irish e-Commerce growth unicorn Wayflyer secures $253m debt financing from Credit Suisse
Published: 15-09-2022 | 10:44:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Wayflyer, the revenue-based financing and growth platform for e-Commerce businesses, has secured $253 milion debt financing facility from Credit Suisse.


Hyperspec AI startup releases software platform for autonomous driving development
Published: 15-09-2022 | 10:20:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Hyperspec AI, an artificial intelligence startup, released a new tool for developers working on ADAS enabled and autonomous vehicles (AV).


Fintech startup Power emerges from stealth with $16.1m seed funding and $300m credit facility
Published: 15-09-2022 | 09:33:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Power, a fintech startup with plans to reshape global commerce, has finally teased early progress as it emerges from stealth with $16.1m in seed funding, a $300m credit facility, and a fast-growing list of customers.


Carrier Ventures invests in next-gen sustainable technology startups Archilogic, Butlr and Transaera
Published: 15-09-2022 | 09:19:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Carrier Global Corporation, the global provider of healthy, safe, sustainable and intelligent building and cold chain solutions, has completed three new investments through its Carrier Ventures group.


Copenhagen-based Monta lands €30m additional financing to accelerate the buildout of EV charging infrastructure
Published: 14-09-2022 | 15:26:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Monta, the Copenhagen-based all-in-one EV charging management platform, announced it has secured an additional €30 million as part of a Series A+ round led by Energize Ventures.


Tech startup Alcatraz AI receives $25m Series A funding to accelerate international growth
Published: 14-09-2022 | 14:59:00 | By: Pie Kamau
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is supporting the product development, sales and marketing of Bulgaria and US-based tech startup Alcatraz AI with an equity investment, as part of a $25 million.


ff Venture Capital launches first US VC Fund to back Ukrainian founders and startups
Published: 14-09-2022 | 14:42:00 | By: Pie Kamau
ff Venture Capital (ffVC), an early-stage venture firm, has launched the ff Blue & Yellow Heritage Fund, the first US venture capital fund exclusively for Ukrainian founders and startups.


Copenhagen-founded open podcast startup Podimo secures €58.6m funding to accelerate market expansion
Published: 14-09-2022 | 14:20:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Copenhagen-founded startup Podimo, the subscription service for podcasts and audiobooks, announced it has secured another €58.6 million in an up round of funding, led by 83North.


Multimedia startup Tract raises $7m to empower kids develop 21st century skills through content creation
Published: 14-09-2022 | 14:00:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Tract, the online community where kids teach kids through multimedia, announced its $7 million seed funding round led by NEA.


Amcor increases investment in digital flexible packaging startup ePac
Published: 14-09-2022 | 13:26:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Amcor, a global player in developing and producing responsible packaging solutions, announced a further strategic investment of up to $45 million in ePac Flexible Packaging (ePac), a player in high quality, short run length digitally-based flexible packaging.


[Startup Interview] Tesh Mbaabu, CEO, MarketForce, Kenya
Published: 12-09-2022 | 16:47:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Tesh Mbaabu is a serial entrepreneur who lives to blend commerce and technology. He is the Co-founder and CEO of Kenyan-based B2B platform for retail distribution of consumer goods and digital financial services in Africa today, MarketForce.


Africa's gender equal tech VC fund Janngo Capital reaches first close of its €60m fund
Published: 12-09-2022 | 16:38:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Janngo Capital Startup Fund (JCSF) has announced its first close at €34 million in capital commitments, to invest 50% of its proceeds in companies founded, co-founded, or benefiting women.


Finnish biotech startup Onego Bio secures €4.5m additional funding to accelerate Research & Development
Published: 12-09-2022 | 11:57:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Business Finland, a public organization under the Finnish Ministry of Employment and the Economy, has awarded a grant of additional €4.5 million for Onego Bio's research and development work.


Dutch game-tech startup Enliven raises €1m for groundbreaking empathy training in virtual reality
Published: 12-09-2022 | 11:29:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Together with Oost NL, LUMO Labs is investing €1 million in game-tech company Enliven. This Dutch startup from Arnhem offers groundbreaking empathy training for the prevention of physical and emotional violence in home and workplace.


Austrian SaaS startup Shopstory raises €2.2m in second round funding to back e-Commerce brands
Published: 12-09-2022 | 10:58:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Austrian startup Shopstory is raising a million-dollar investment from tecnet equity, Startup300 and business angels Patrick Pöschl (Co-Founder Scalable Capital) and Hansi Hansmann in its second round of financing.


Cyber security starup SaaS Alerts secures $22m to scale its security monitoring and response platform
Published: 12-09-2022 | 10:33:00 | By: Pie Kamau
SaaS Alerts, the cybersecurity company purpose-built for Managed Service Providers (MSPs) to protect and monetize their customers' core business SaaS applications, announced it has secured a $22 million growth investment.


Fireblocks surpasses $100m ARR milestone, cements its status as SaaS centaur
Published: 12-09-2022 | 10:19:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Fireblocks, an easy-to-use platform to create innovative products on the blockchain and manage day-to-day crypto operations, announced that its 2022 Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) has surpassed $100 million.


Newly launched Accelerator Geekz Ventures joins Techstars Foundation
Published: 09-09-2022 | 13:20:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Atlanta-based entrepreneur Kunbi Tinuoye's new initiative to support minority founders has been selected to participate in the highly competitive Techstars Foundation's Accelerate Equity cohort. 


Smart energy startup Flair raises $7.6m Series A funding to expand climate tech for home and grid
Published: 09-09-2022 | 12:45:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Flair, creators of smart vents, thermostats and easy-to-use software for room-level temperature control, announced the closing of a $7.6 million Series A funding round.


Google announces 60 African startups selected for its second Black Founders Fund
Published: 09-09-2022 | 11:39:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Google has announced 60 qualifiers for its Google for Startups Black Founders Fund (BFF) for African startups.


Nigerian fintech startup NowNow raises $13m seed round to expand across Africa
Published: 09-09-2022 | 11:31:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Nigerian fintech startup NowNow Digital Systems has raised  $13 million in its seed round for expansion across Africa.


Waya digital banking startup for African immigrants goes official
Published: 09-09-2022 | 11:23:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Waya, a Kenyan and US-based fintech startup has announced the official launch of its full-service digital bank and money transfer app targeting the African Diaspora. 


Fintech startup Duplo raises $4.3m seed funding to transform business-to-business payments in Nigeria
Published: 09-09-2022 | 11:14:08 | By: Pie Kamau
Duplo, a business-to-business payment platform that makes it easier for African businesses of all sizes to pay each other, has raised $4.3 million in seed funding to launch new products and expand into new business verticals in Nigeria.


San Francisco-based startup HumanQ raises $2m seed round to expand its technology products
Published: 07-09-2022 | 13:35:00 | By: Pie Kamau
San Francisco-based HumanQ (formerly known as Experiential Insight), announced a $2 million seed round of funding, led by Kindred Ventures, to further expand on its technology products.


Constitutional Reserve Fund of Monaco allocates €10m to London-based Ocean 14 Capital impact fund
Published: 07-09-2022 | 13:14:00 | By: Pie Kamau
The Ocean 14 Capital fund, which focuses exclusively on the multi-trillion-dollar ‘blue economy’, has received a commitment of €10 million from the Constitutional Reserve Fund of Monaco to support its mission of funding sustainable solutions.


BioInnovation Institute announces new cohort of companies entering the Venture Lab program
Published: 07-09-2022 | 12:43:00 | By: Pie Kamau
BioInnovation Institute (BII), an international commercial non-profit foundation incubating and accelerating world-class life science research, announced the latest cohort of participants in its Venture Lab acceleration program for early-stage startups.


Polish startup DoxyChain raises €2.2m early seed funding to expedite security in document management
Published: 07-09-2022 | 12:17:00 | By: Pie Kamau
DoxyChain, a Polish startup building a solution for traditional document management transition to web 3.0 world, announced it has  raised €2.2 million from international investors to power its growth.


Swiss crypto startup 21.co raises $25m, becomes Switzerland's largest crypto Unicorn
Published: 07-09-2022 | 11:51:00 | By: Pie Kamau
21.co, the world's player in providing access to crypto through simple and easy to use products, announced a $25 million round led by Marshall Wace.


Edge computing startup EDJX appoints Benjamin Thomas as new CEO, raises seed funding round
Published: 06-09-2022 | 16:34:00 | By: Pie Kamau
EDJX, the pioneer in decentralized global serverless edge computing, announced it has hired a new CEO while simultaneously raising a seed round of funding.


Singapore-based web3 cybersecurity startup Silence Laboratories raises $1.7m seed funding to acccelerate growth
Published: 06-09-2022 | 13:26:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Silence Laboratories, a web3 focused cybersecurity startup working on libraries for MPC and Proofs-based Decentralised Security-as-Service (DSaaS), has closed a $1.7 million round in a seed funding.


Dutch solar-powered car startup Lightyear secures €81m additional capital investment
Published: 06-09-2022 | 13:09:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Lightyear, a Dutch high-tech startup developing the world’s first solar car, announced a total investment of €81 million, which includes capital from the public consortium consisting of Invest-NL.


Infrastructure and private equity investment manager Foresight launches in Dublin, Ireland
Published: 06-09-2022 | 12:46:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Foresight Group (Foresight), a private equity and infrastructure investment manager, has announced the opening of its new office in Dublin, Ireland.


Missouri-based insurtech startup iCover raises $5m pre-Series A funding to accelerate growth
Published: 06-09-2022 | 12:18:00 | By: Pie Kamau
iCover, a Missouri-based insurtech startup that provides an algorithmic underwriting and QUI based eApp Service for life insurance companies, raised $5 million in pre-Series A funding. 


Puna Bio startup raises $3.7m seed funding to restore soil health with desert microbes
Published: 05-09-2022 | 14:41:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Puna Bio announced $3.7 million in seed funding that will be used to commercially launch its first soybean seed treatment in Argentina that is cost competitive to existing biological solutions, expand field trials for wheat and corn.


Customer engagement startup OneSignal raises $50m Series C funding to accelerate global expansion
Published: 05-09-2022 | 14:21:00 | By: Pie Kamau
OneSignal, the the customer engagement platform, secured $50 million in Series C funding to advance its unified messaging and orchestration capabilities, enhance its mobile data-driven email product.


African fintech startup Flutterwave secures switching and processing license from Central Bank of Nigeria
Published: 05-09-2022 | 14:11:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Flutterwave, Africa's payments technology company has been granted a Switching and Processing License by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), widely regarded as CBN's most valuable payments processing license.


Japanese foodtech startup Yo-Kai Express partners with IPPUDO and TableMark to bring ramen and udon dishes to its autonomous restaurant platform
Published: 05-09-2022 | 14:01:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Yo-Kai Express announced new partnerships with TableMark and Chikaranomoto, to jointly develop and market varieties of new udon and ramen menu options.


Chinese biotech startup CellOrigin partners with Qilu Pharmaceutical to develop "off-the-shelf" CAR-iMAC cell therapy
Published: 05-09-2022 | 13:16:00 | By: Pie Kamau
CellOrigin Biotech has made an agreement with Qilu Pharmaceutical on strategic global collaborations to develop, manufacture and commercialize a proprietary "off-the-shelf" CAR-iMAC cell therapy.


London-based mental health startup Thalamos raises $1m to digitise the Mental Health Act
Published: 01-09-2022 | 15:18:00 | By: Pie Kamau
London-based mental health startup Thalamos announced it has raised €1 million seed round to digitise the Mental Health Act. 


Swiss foodtech startup Planted raises €70m Series B funding to accelerate international growth
Published: 01-09-2022 | 15:01:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Swiss foodtech startup Planted, known for its natural biostructured meat made from alternative proteins, announced it has successfully closed its Series B financing round of €70 million.


Nigerian mobility fintech Moove joins forces with Uber UK to bring electric vehicles to London
Published: 01-09-2022 | 14:42:44 | By: Pie Kamau
Nigerian fintech moblity startup Moove has announced its launch in London as part of its global expansion through a new partnership with Uber. 


Kenyan fintech startup Pezesha raises $11m to expand across Africa
Published: 01-09-2022 | 14:36:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Pezesha, a Kenyan fintech that has built a platform where small and medium enterprises can access funding, has raised $11 million in a pre-series A equity and debt funding.


Kenyan B2B e-Commerce startup Wasoko opens innovation hub in Zanzibar
Published: 01-09-2022 | 14:27:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Wasoko (formerly Sokowatch), an African B2B e-Commerce startup that leverages technology to transform the informal retail supply chain, announced the official launch of the “Wasoko Innovation Hub” in partnership with the Zanzibar government.


UAE fintech startup Pemo launches all-in-one spend management platform for MENA SMEs
Published: 01-06-2022 | 10:32:24 | By: Pie Kamau
Pemo, the UAE-based fintech startup empowering businesses across the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan (MENAP),has announced that it has launched its all-in-one spend management platform.


Healthtech startup Esaal raises $1.7m seed round to scale expansion across the MENA region
Published: 31-05-2022 | 11:18:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Esaal, an online health and wellness consultation platform for patients in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), has wrapped a $1.7 million seed funding round, to scale its expansion across the MENA region.


CE-Creates merges with hatch & boost in MENA's first venture-builder merger for startups
Published: 11-05-2022 | 11:25:37 | By: Pie Kamau
CE-Creates, the business incubation platform of Crescent Enterprises, has completed the merger of its portfolio of startups with hatch & boost, an Abu Dhabi-based venture-builder dedicated to ‘hatching’ startup ideas.


Logistics startup Swvl acquires Volt Lines, enters European market
Published: 29-04-2022 | 13:57:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Swvl Holdings, a global provider of transformative tech-enabled mass transit solutions announced a definitive agreement to acquire Volt Lines, a Turkey-based B2B and Transport as a Service mobility business.


Egyptian e-Sport startup Eksab raises $3m seed funding to scale its fantasy football platform
Published: 30-03-2022 | 10:41:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Cairo-headquartered e-Sport startup has raised $3 million seed funding round, bringing the company’s total investment to date to $3.7 million.


Vehicle financing startup Moove partners with Swvl for EV buses across the MENAP region
Published: 30-03-2022 | 10:32:25 | By: Pie Kamau
Egypt’s on-demand bus-hailing company Swvl, announced a new partnership with African fintech mobility startup Moove to scale Moove’s revenue-based vehicle financing model across the MENAP region.


Healthtech startup Altibbi raises $44m to scale growth across the MENA region
Published: 29-03-2022 | 13:03:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Middle East’s AI-based digital health platform Altibbi, has raised $44 million in Series B fund funding led by Foundation Holdings, Hikma Ventures and existing investors Global Ventures and DASH Ventures.


MENA's c-Commerce startup Zbooni launches in Egypt
Published: 16-02-2022 | 09:59:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Zbooni, MENA's c-Commerce (connected commerce) platform, has announced its official launch in Egypt. The rapidly scaling startup, which is backed by regional and global investors, will support the backbone of the Egyptian economy.


Egyptian digital investment startup Thndr raises $20m to democratize investing in the MENA region
Published: 09-02-2022 | 11:58:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Thndr, the Egyptian digital investment platform, announced a new $20 million series A investment round co-led by Tiger Global, BECO Capital and Prosus Ventures.


Pakistani logistics startup Truck It In raises $13m seed round to transform the road freight industry
Published: 04-02-2022 | 11:24:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Pakistan’s logistics tech startup Truck It In closed $13 million seed round jointly led by venture capital firms Global Founders Capital and Fatima Gobi Ventures.


B2B marketplace startup Retailo raises $36m Series A funding to empower community commerce in the MENA region
Published: 01-02-2022 | 13:47:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Retailo, the B2B marketplace startup for retailers in Middle East, North Africa, and Pakistan (MENAP), has raised $36 million in its Series A investment round which was a mix of equity and venture debt.


IFC, ADGM launch She Wins Arabia initiative to boost opportunities for women-led startups and businesses across MENA
Published: 16-12-2021 | 10:56:00 | By: Pie Kamau
IFC and Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) launched She Wins Arabia, an initiative to help women-led startups across the MENA region, get the advice, finance, and mentorship they need to grow.


MENA’s media & entertainment startup Minly acquires Dubai’s celebrity shoutout platform Oulo
Published: 08-12-2021 | 13:10:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Minly, the MENA region’s media & entertainment startup, announced the acquisition of Oulo, a Dubai-based celebrity shoutout platform focused on the Levant region.


French real-time engagement startup Sparkup expands in the Middle East
Published: 07-10-2021 | 12:59:47 | By: Pie Kamau
Sparkup, a French startup specializing in real-time engagement solutions, has chosen to expand in the Middle East and will introduce its latest innovations at GITEX and CABSAT in Dubai.


Egyptian healthtech startup Sotech raises $1m in pre-seed funding to fuel growth
Published: 21-09-2021 | 08:43:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Sotech, an Egyptian e-health startup that specializes in smart IoT, trackable OOH advertising, and data gathering has raised $1 million in pre-seed funding round to scale its operations into the rest of the MENA region.


Banque Misr partners with Microsoft to support fintech startups in Egypt
Published: 14-07-2021 | 12:11:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Banque Misr signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), with Microsoft Egypt to launch the first open innovation program in the Egyptian market, enabling a spurt in fintech startup growth.


Healthtech startup BASMA.com raises $3m Series A round to scale up its platform in the MENA region
Published: 16-06-2021 | 10:42:00 | By: Pie Kamau
UK-based, MENA focused, startup BASMA.com closed $3 million Series A funding led by MEVP with the participation of SOSF, IM capital and returning investors iSME, Cedar Mundi Ventures and IFA capital, to scale up its healthtech platform in the MENA region.


Nano raises $90m pre-IPO funding round to accelerate growth
Published: 15-03-2021 | 15:13:00 | By: Pie Kamau
Nano Cures (Nano), a clinical stage biotechnology and infectious disease immunity platform company, announced a $90 million pre-IPO funding round.


Teleporter mobile app 360VUZ joins first "Google for Startups Accelerator" in the MENA region
Published: 23-02-2021 | 07:34:00 | By: Pie Kamau
360VUZ, the immersive video mobile app was selected to join the first ever "Google for Startups Accelerator" in the MENA region, that is held by Google as part of its "Grow Stronger with Google Initiative"