Tuesday, April 21, 2026Global tech, startups & capital — covered for Africans.
The African tech ecosystem continues to show resilience and momentum, with new funding rounds, strategic acquisitions, and ecosystem-shaping announcements across healthtech, fintech, and retail tech. From the Gates Foundation-backed i3 initiative selecting seven innovative healthtech startups for $225K in funding each, to Visa’s latest fintech bets in North Africa, and C-One Ventures’ quiet but strategic […]
By AU-Startups
The African tech ecosystem continues to show resilience and momentum, with new funding rounds, strategic acquisitions, and ecosystem-shaping announcements across healthtech, fintech, and retail tech. From the Gates Foundation-backed i3 initiative selecting seven innovative healthtech startups for $225K in funding each, to Visa’s latest fintech bets in North Africa, and C-One Ventures’ quiet but strategic acquisition of Bankly, it’s been a week of bold moves and promising shifts. Here’s a roundup of the most notable happenings from around the continent.
The Gates Foundation-backed initiative Innovations for Impact (i3) has announced the selection of its third cohort, comprising seven health-tech startups across Africa. Each selected company will receive up to $225,000 in funding to scale their solutions and advance access to healthcare across the continent.
The program, coordinated by Salient Advisory and the Solina Centre for International Development and Research (SCIDaR), with support from other partner organisations, is placing a renewed focus on pharmacy-centred innovations. This strategic shift was largely influenced by the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s “stop-work” directive on foreign aid, which began in February and disrupted funding for several health programs.
The selected startups, Chefaa, Dawa Mkononi, Meditect, mPharma, myDawa, RxAll, and Sproxil operate across 19 countries and offer diverse solutions, including AI-powered prescription refills, cloud-based pharmacies, product authentication, and telemedicine services. Together, they represent some of Africa’s most promising digital health ventures dedicated to medication access and pharmaceutical innovation.
Beyond funding, the startups will also benefit from market-entry support and visibility through i3’s flagship Access to Markets event, set to take place later this year.
Visa has announced new strategic investments in two North African fintech startups: Tunisia’s Konnect and Morocco’s PayTic, following the conclusion of the third cohort of its Africa Fintech Accelerator program at GITEX Africa 2025 in Marrakech. These investments form part of Visa’s USD 1 billion commitment to Africa’s fintech ecosystem and highlight the company’s intent to drive innovation and financial inclusion on the continent.
Konnect, a Tunisian startup, simplifies digital transactions by enabling instant payments through shareable links sent via SMS, email, or messaging apps, removing the friction associated with traditional payment methods. Morocco-based PayTic, on the other hand, offers back-office tools that help financial institutions enhance regulatory compliance and streamline operations. Notably, PayTic recently secured USD 4.4 million in funding led by AfricInvest.
This year’s Visa accelerator cohort featured 19 startups from 21 countries, with women holding leadership positions in 85% of them; the highest since the program began in 2023. Visa plans to launch its fourth cohort on the 2nd of June, 2025, as it continues to fuel the continent’s digital transformation. These investments signal Visa’s growing confidence in Africa’s fintech potential as digital payments continue to reshape the region’s financial landscape.
Funding Round: Undisclosed Investors: IFU, Alta Semper, AAIC Investment, Creadev, and Ohara Pharmaceutical Co. Founded: 2017, Kenya About the company: Mydawa is a telemedicine company dedicated to delivering quality, affordable healthcare products and services for Africans. It utilises technology to provide convenient and efficient access to authentic medication and healthcare products for consumers.
Mydawa aims to address the challenge of limited access to quality medication and healthcare services, particularly for people in remote and underserved areas. What next? The funding will likely support geographic expansion, product diversification, and deeper integration of tech-enabled healthcare services across East Africa.
Funding Round: Pre-Series A ($8.1 million) Investors: E3 Capital, Injaro Investment Advisors, Shell Foundation Founder: Erik Nygard Founded: 2022, Nigeria About the company: Kofa offers an innovative solution that enables the conversion of gas-powered motorbikes in Africa into electric vehicles (EVs). Additionally, Kofa provides customers with various applications for the battery’s lifecycle, such as serving as a grid backup at home or powering retailer appliances in suburban shops What next? With this capital, Kofa plans to expand its customer base in Ghana and other West African markets while ramping up clean energy adoption at the grassroots level.
Funding Round: Series A ($20 million) Investors: Norfund, Timon Capital, Ventures Platform, Aruwa Capital Management, Goodwell Investments, and Flour Mills of Nigeria Founder: Deepankar Rustagi Founded: 2019, Nigeria About the company: Omniretail is a game-changer in Africa’s retail landscape, providing small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) with access to affordable, wholesale inventory through a tech-driven procurement platform. The company bridges the gap between manufacturers and retailers, ensuring seamless supply chain management while offering credit facilities to merchants looking to scale their businesses. What next? The funding will help Omniretail strengthen its supply chain tech, scale operations across Nigeria, and explore expansion into other African markets.
Aruwa Capital Management, a Lagos-based gender-lens investment firm, has secured $35 million for its second fund, Aruwa Capital Fund II. This momentum signals growing investor confidence in gender-smart, impact-driven capital strategies in West Africa, despite broader challenges in the fundraising landscape.
The round drew support from the returning investors Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund and Visa Foundation, while onboarding new institutional investors, including Nigeria’s Bank of Industry (BOI), British International Investment (BII), and EDFI Management Company through its Electrifi initiative. Aruwa’s investment strategy focuses on high-growth SMEs in sectors like healthcare, financial services, energy access, and consumer goods — all while advancing women’s economic participation.
Aruwa’s investment approach, grounded in private equity-style diligence, targets companies with at least $500K in annual revenue, prioritising strong financial fundamentals and founder integrity. The inclusion of BOI as its first Nigerian limited partner underscores a pivotal shift toward increased local institutional involvement in private capital. With a final close expected later in 2025, Aruwa Capital is positioned to deepen its reach in Nigeria and Ghana, backing inclusive businesses that deliver both financial returns and measurable social impact.
C-One Ventures has quietly acquired Bankly, a Nigerian microfinance institution renowned for digitising informal savings schemes like “ajo” and “esusu.”
Founded in 2018 by Tomilola Majekodunmi and Frederick Adams, Bankly has become a key player in extending formal financial services to underserved communities, with a network of over 50,000 agents and a user base exceeding 2 million individuals and SMEs across Nigeria.
The acquisition, confirmed via a press release, will see C-One Ventures integrate Bankly’s licenses, infrastructure, and team into its portfolio of fintech solutions, which includes Fulcrum’s supply chain finance platform, GetPayed’s payments app, and gomoney’s digital banking service.
Bankly’s CEO, Tomilola Majekodunmi, will remain involved as an advisor to ensure a smooth transition and uphold the company’s mission to drive financial inclusion at the grassroots. The acquisition builds on Bankly’s earlier success, including a $2 million seed round in 2021 led by Vault and Flutterwave, which fueled the expansion of its agent network and development of digital savings and credit services.
Now under C-One’s leadership and regulatory umbrella, Bankly is poised to scale its impact, especially through the cross-selling of products across C-One’s fintech ecosystem.
