H2 starts off slow

African Tech Roundup

In July 2023, 23 African tech startups raised $132.2 million from 25 fully disclosed* raises. Compared to July 2022’s $239.7 million total raise, this represents a 44% YoY decrease. 

It is, however, a slight increase—about 4.75%—from June 2023 when African startups raised $126.2 million in total. 

Per region, East African startups took the lead with 35.8% of the funding, $47.4 million raised across startups in Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda. Central Africa makes a rare second place with 30.2% of the July raises—$40 million raised by cleantech startup Nuru. 

West Africa and North Africa come in third and fourth with $35.7 million and $9.1 million raised respectively, while Southern Africa has only one fully disclosed raise in July 2023, a $100,000 round raised by South African edutech CatalyzU.

Per sector, cleantech startups retained the lead with 30.2% of the raises—once again, led by Nuru’s $40 million round. Last month, cleantech startups 41%, about $52.3 million, of the $126.3 million raised. 

The other leading sectors for July 2023 are e-commerce/retail with $21.9 million raised, healthtech with $20.6 million raised, and fintech with $13.7 million in raises.

The top 5 disclosed deals of the month are:

1. DRC’s cleantech startup Nuru’s $40 million Series B raise.
2. Rwandan e-commerce startup Kasha’s $21 million Series B raise. 
3. Kenyan healthtech MyDawa’s $20 million raise. 
4. Nigerian startup Terragon’s $9 million raise.
5. Nigerian logistics startup Moove’s $8 million raise.

*Note: This data is inclusive only of funding deals announced in July 2023. Raises are often announced later than when the deals are actually made. This data also excludes estimated grants from accelerators.

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African Tech Roundup

Last month, Namibia gave crypto a side hug as the country officially approved the licensing of crypto platforms. It doesn’t mean crypto is legal tender just yet, though. It just means the Namibia Virtual Assets Act of 2023 now mandates all crypto platforms in the country to hold a licence before they can operate.

South Africa reinforced similar rules. Per the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), all crypto exchange platforms in the country will have to apply for licences by November 30 or face the law. 

Nigeria, on the other hand, confirmed that global crypto platform Binance was indeed operating without necessary approvals in the country. It also warned all crypto investment platforms against soliciting Nigerian investors.

In July, Starlink launched in two new African countries: Malawi and Kenya. 

The service launched in Malawi about a week after it launched in Kenya. At least six African countries including Nigeria, Mauritius, Rwanda, and Mozambique, now have the satellite internet service. The service is set to launch in 17 more African countries in 2023, including Zambia and Angola.

Meanwhile, the service may see some competition in Kenya where telecoms Safaricom has partnered with AST SpaceMobile to launch its own satellite internet services.

Nigeria’s shaky forex market is eating into telecoms profits.

In July, Airtel Africa revealed it recorded a $151 million loss in Q1 2023. The telecom blamed the loss on currency devaluation and foreign exchange issues in Nigeria.

While another telecom, MTN Nigeria, did not record a loss per se, it did record a decrease in its profits for H1. It recorded ₦128 billion ($165 million) in profit for H1 2023, 29.14% shy of the ₦181 billion ($234 million) it recorded in H1 2022.

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African Tech Roundup

Senegal shut down its internet again in July. Per the government, the shutdown was enforced to reduce hateful messages circulating online following protests over the arrest of Ousmane Sonko who ran for president in Senegal’s 2019 election.

This follows events in June where the government shut down the internet twice for the same reason. 

Ethiopia, however, ended its five-month social media ban which it put in place after planned protests erupted across the country. 

In big moves, British multinational bank Standard Chartered (StanChart) revealed, in July, that it had completed negotiations to have all its sub-Saharan African assets acquired by Nigeria’s Access Bank.

The deal, which is set for competition in 2024, will see StanChart sell its subsidiaries in Angola, Cameroon, Gambia, and Sierra Leone, with the exception of StanChart’s Nigerian subsidy.

Safaricom, on the other hand, is planning an expansion into Asia with a partnership that will allow M-PESA customers send and receive money to over 200 million individuals in Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Last month, TechCabal revealed that Nigerian healthtech Medsaf had laid off all its full-time employees—about 30

people—in March 2023. The company is also reportedly owing staff salaries. 

Kenyan e-commerce startup Copia Global also enforced its third round of layoffs, cutting off 25% of its staff—350 members of its workforce. 

To close the month off, Nigeria’s new president announced that the country had earmarked ₦125 billion ($164 million) to “energise” the informal sector, especially micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).

About 1,300 MSMEs across the country will receive grants of ₦50,000 ($65) each while 100,000 MSMEs and startups will share a ₦75 billion fund ($98.6 million) from which they can apply for ₦500,000 ($657) to ₦1 million ($1,315) loans at a competitive interest rate of 9% per annum.

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Crypto Tracker

Source:

Coin Name	Current Value	Day	Month
Bitcoin	$29,825	+ 2.71%	- 2.90%
Ether	$1,863	+ 2.03%	- 2.69%
Worldcoin	$2.38	+ 4.70%	+ 42.73%
Pax Dollar	$0.99	- 0.18%	- 0.79%%

* Data as of 05:00 AM WAT, August 2, 2023.

Events

Join us on Friday, August 4, 2023, for a special edition of TC Live, as TechCabal Insights will be launching The State of Tech report, the Q2 2023 edition. This is our flagship report offering a bird’s eye view of African tech trends and analyzing quarterly data on funding, acquisitions, expansions, regulations, policies, and emerging developments in the continent’s digital economy.

The latest edition will explore happenings during the previous quarter in retrospect with actionable insights and expert perspectives on notable patterns and trends to look out for. At the launch event, we would also bring together various ecosystem stakeholders to discuss our exciting findings and highlight from the report with you towards shaping conversations about the general outlook of African tech. 

Register to reserve your seat here.

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Opportunities

• In support of the Government’s Youth Initiative to develop a pool of young talent for the Kenyan labour market, Kenyan Revenue Authority (KRA) is open for applications from undergraduates and diploma students for its three months Industrial Attachment Programme (Ksh.7000 monthly stipend). Apply by August 6.
• The Thomson Foundation Young Journalists Award 2023 is open for applications from brilliant young journalists to demonstrate a wealth of investigative journalism skills. The three finalists will be flown to London to attend the gala award, along with other potential award winners and leading figures from the world of journalism. Apply by August 11.
• Google is offering 2000 African Scholarships for a  Career Certificate in Cybersecurity. In this certificate program, you’ll learn in-demand skills that can have you job-ready in less than 6 months, and gain hands-on experience with Python, Linux and SQL. Enroll here.
• If you are an aspiring economist entering your first year of undergraduate studies in the 2024 academic year, the South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB)  Economic Research Department in collaboration with the SARB Academy, invites you to apply for competitive SARB bursaries in the field of economics, economics and econometrics, economics and mathematical statistics and economic science. Apply by September 30.

What else is happening in tech?

• WorldCoin’s parent company is indeed registered as a data processor in Kenya
• CloudPro hosts the tech event of the year: The Digital Transformation Journey
• Trade Lenda Fair announces former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, as guest speaker
• Traction raises $6 million in seed funding to expand operations

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