Startups + Innovations
Sub-Saharan Africa
- 09.12.2023
- AFD - Agence Française de Développement.
- Rwandan startup SLS Energy, a Fellow of Startup|Energy, is one of the winners of the 2023 DigitalEnergyChallenge, organized by the AFD. The prize will support improving and scaling SLS software tools for battery optimization and monitoring. We aim to ensure the safety, performance, and longevity of our second-life battery solutions.
- 09.12.2023
- The Sun
- This partnership aims to supply over 8,000 solar-powered refrigerators to pharmacists nationwide. The alliance seeks to address the challenge of unreliable power supply, focusing initially on rural and pre-urban areas to ensure vaccines are stored optimally for essential vaccinations.
- 06.12.2023
- Disrupt Africa
- Founded by AI innovation and technology expert Kate Kallot, Amini is an impact-driven AI startup solving Africa’s environmental data scarcity to support regenerating natural capital at scale. The company’s mission is to build the single source of trusted environmental data in Africa and to enable the resilience of one billion people by 2030.
- 30.11.2023
- Startup|Energy
- In a celebration of engineering innovation in Africa, two Fellows of Startup|Energy - Christopher Maara and Léandre Berwa – are among 16 African engineering innovators shortlisted for the $60,000 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation. The prize will be shared among four finalists to emerge from the longlist.
- 29.11.2023
- Techcabal
- Vula, a fundraising assistant, revolutionizes the fundraising journey for entrepreneurs. By simply inputting their website URL, users leverage the power of AI to generate tailored funding applications. Founded in 2022 by Nicholas Rawhani and Alex Goff, Vula aims to ease the fundraising challenges faced by African startups and SMEs.
- 29.11.2023
- Techpoint
- EchoVC has announced the launch of a new pre-seed fund, EchoVC Eco Pilot Fund I. The fund is a $2.5 million fund targeted at startups building climate, mobility, energy, and agricultural solutions. According to Eghosa Omoigui, the firm's Managing Partner, the goal of the fund will be to provide startups with their first institutional cheques while providing further fundraising assistance.
- 29.11.2023
- Disrupt Africa
- Founded in 2022, Betapawa specialises in deploying solar-powered banking hubs to provide financial inclusion, sustainable energy solutions, and connectivity, and empower underserved communities. Its solution that integrates renewable energy, customises services for local needs, and brings mobile banking directly to communities therefore supporting economic growth and scalability.
- 25.11.2023
- Benjamindada
- Efayomi Carr shares lessons for African startups, and potential solutions to their challenges. "For aspiring or current founders, there are several key points to consider. Firstly, aim for a sizable market if you seek huge success. Secondly, ensure your product is attuned to the timing of market demand. Lastly, assembling a team with relevant experience and industry networks is pivotal.
- 23.11.2023
- Techpoint
- Nigeria's Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani has announced the launch of the Startup Support and Engagement Portal. The portal is a provision of the Nigeria Startup Act that aims to aggregate startups, investors, and support organisations like accelerators, incubators, and innovation hubs.
- 19.11.2023
- Business Insider
- More than 60 per cent of venture capital funding for Nigerian startups originates from the United States. 80 per cent of Nigerian startups are formally incorporated in the United States. United States accounted for over 40 per cent of Africa’s VC funding in 2022, injecting over $2 billion into various local startups across the continent.
- 16.11.2023
- Capital Business
- Affordable clean cooking stove company USAFI Green Energy has won the 2023 Ashden Awards for providing displaced people with clean energy. The startup makes and supplies affordable, low-carbon cook stoves in Kenya’s Kakuma Refugee Camp, which have created job opportunities for locals besides improving their health.
- 08.11.2023
- Wimbart
- As the continent continues to witness a surge in entrepreneurial activities, fostering transparent and engaging communication with potential investors becomes even more essential. Regular updates through investor communications provide a suitable platform for VCs to proactively extend their networks, provide tailored support, and collaborate closely with startups to drive their growth.
- 07.11.2023
- CleanTechnica
- Kenyan startup BasiGo’s innovative Pay-As-You-Drive model, which lowers the barriers to entry for operators to get brand new electric buses, has helped unlock a pathway to accelerating the adoption of electric buses in Africa. BasiGo started operating in Kenya, where it plans to have over 1,000 electric buses within the next few years. BasiGo is now expanding its operations to Rwanda.
- 06.11.2023
- Capital News
- A Kenyan cooking stove manufacturing company, USAFI Green Energy, is making waves with its innovative approach to addressing cooking fuel and environmental challenges within refugee communities in Kenya. USAFI’s cooking stoves are designed to use clean briquettes made at the Kakuma camp. These unique briquettes are produced from compressed invasive plant species, primarily Prosopis.
- 03.11.2023
- allAfrica
- Isaac Ndyamuhaki, a young Ugandan entrepreneur with a background in forestry, is passionate about using solutions to help communities become more resilient to shocks like poverty and the global climate crisis. He is the founder and team leader of Asili Kwanza Uganda, a social enterprise that provides safe, affordable, and sustainable energy solutions.