Ethiopian sustainable tech startup Kubik has scored a first for the country. According to a press release sent to AFROTECH™, it has raised $5.2 million in a seed round. Investors include East African venture capital firm African Renaissance Partners, Endgame Capital, and King Philanthropies. It will now further its work in using plastic waste to make affordable buildings and removing waste from the environment. “Kubik’s vision to build safe and affordable living for all speaks directly to King Philanthropies’ mission to catalyze solutions at the intersection of climate and livelihoods,” Kartick Kumar, managing director at King Philanthropies, said in a press release. “Kubik is at the forefront of innovation in Ethiopia and across the African market, and we’re proud to support the tremendous impact they’re making combatting plastic waste and providing safe, durable, and affordable housing.” The funding round makes Kubik the first Ethiopian country to earn a multi-million-dollar...

Ghana is stepping up to the plate to be a part of Africa’s electric vehicle (EV) movement. Wahu Mobility seems up for the challenge as it has opened Ghana’s first EV assembly plant that has the capacity to build about 200 e-bikes per month, CNN reports. The e-mobility brand was founded to create a more sustainable last-mile delivery option.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Valerie Labi (@valerielabi) “It really kind of struck me that I didn’t want the mobility to be fulfilled by petrol motorbikes,” Wahu Mobility Co-Founder and CEO Valerie Labi told CNN. “By 2030, there will be 30 million delivery riders across Africa and it just made me think, as a continent, we are more conscious around becoming sustainable and moving to net zero.” Labi added, “And transport was just a huge opportunity to make a difference in that way.” According to the outlet, Wahu Mobility’s e-bikes take around four hours to charge. Labi also noted that the e-bikes were designed to suit Ghana’s...

Sony Group is taking charge to help African founders in the entertainment startup realm.

As talent across the African continent consistently rises in numbers, its tech ecosystem is growing right along with it. From securing millions of dollars for funding initiatives such as for climate change to creating innovative technology that aims to disrupt industries, there is a movement of African founders and tech entrepreneurs who aim to build a promising future. At the same time, there are global events taking notice of this powerful movement and bringing it to center stage including AfroTech Executive D.C. On May 11, executive leaders will join together to discuss Africa’s growth in the tech industry.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by AFROTECH Events (@afrotech.events) Ahead of AfroTech Executive D.C., Prosper Africa, the leading U.S.-Africa trade and investment initiative, has partnered with the Africa Fintech Summit.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Africa Fintech Summit (@afrifintechsummit) Africa’s fintech sector, leaders, and pioneers...

People don’t refer to her as Mother Africa for nothing. The home of some of the world’s greatest natural resources is getting an economic boost with 24 African startups chosen to receive funding for startups. As released by Tech Crunch, Y Combinator released its most recent batch of awardees – W22 – that will receive seed funding for new businesses. Of the 414 startups representing over 80 sectors that are a part of this batch, the continent of Africa has received notable funding with Nigeria ranking third, having delivered 18 startups. Per the company’s norm, the United States has the most representation and India ranks second with 32 startups a part of this most recent batch. Although the United States has the largest amount of representation from a single country each year, about 50 percent of Y Combinator’s awardees come from countries outside of the country. Based on previous award batches, this is the first time an African nation has appeared this high on the list. With 24...

Since Twiga Foods’ launch in 2014, the startup has been using technology to build more efficient supply chains in food and retail distribution in Kenya. With the announcement of their latest funding, the company aims to take their mission across the African continent. Twiga Foods raised $50 million on Nov. 1 in a Series C round, TechCrunch reports. The round was led by private equity firm Creadev and majority of the participants from their previous Series B round invested in Twiga. New investors included OP Finnfund Global and Endeavor Catalyst Fund. “We are deeply convinced in Twiga’s potential to revolutionize informal retail across Sub-Saharan Africa, ” said Pierre Fauvet, Africa director at Creadev, in a statement. “Tapping into a $77 billion urban market on the continent, Twiga has gained significant traction since inception, leveraging on technology to optimize the food supply chain in African cities and constantly innovating to better tackle logistics, commercial, social and...

Small African farmers are facing a multitude of problems that affect the progress of agricultural production on the continent. But software-for-agriculture startup Khula has an innovative solution that’s helping this niche industry thrive again. TechCrunch reports that the South African-based company just announced the raise of a $1.3 million seed round to help further scale its farming software and expand nationwide. The round, which closed last year, was led by AECI — one of Africa’s biggest agrochemical companies — and included participation from South African impact investor E Squared Investments. With financial-backing from its lead investor, Khula now has access to AECI’s wide distribution network which is poised to help the platform scale its inputs app. AECI’s support will go a long way as a long-term partner that’s genuinely interested in the execution of the platform’s services. “Khula has very attractive fundamentals, a sizable addressable market, app development...

While it may be faster for African businesses to trade goods with other partners outside of the continent, it also makes them more dependent on exports and prevents new markets from being created. To combat this, Ghanaian-based company Jetstream is proposing its own solution. Jetstream — which operates as a vertical broker between the fragmented and often-hidden segments of cross-border supply chains in Africa — uses technology in order to simplify the process of moving cargo across borders, per its company website. Today, its mission has become focused on “white labeling the systems built internally to manage shipments and financing for customers,” according to TechCrunch, and the startup just closed a $3 million seed round to continue this work. The outlet reports that the funding round included both local and international investors as participants, such as Alitheia IDF, Golden Palm Investments, 4DX Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Asia Pacific Land, Breyer Labs and MSA...