Catching up with African Tech: May #3
Tech teen stars win over $10,000 in grant funding for building genius climate-tech product, Sylndr secures $15.7 million in Series A funding to sell used cars in Egypt.
👋🏾 Hello, everyone. This is Sadie, and it is the weekly digest with Vizible. Let’s go through a roundup of all the important events that happened throughout the week in the tech ecosystem.
Ready?
Time to dive in!
Product Launches and Updates
Attendees of Google’s I/O 2025 conference, experienced demos of fresh updates from Google. Google has launched an array of AI updates across its workspace, from the unveiling of Veo 3 to the reveal of Imagen 4. An introduced feature that I find notable is the "personal context," which, with user permission, accesses data from Gmail, Google Drive, YouTube history, and more to deliver highly personalized responses. This new direction will position Gemini as a more intuitive and user-specific AI assistant compared to competitors. But netizens are all chatty about Veo 3, AI videos now have sounds and AI characters can now talk. Impressive! However, many individuals are concerned about AI replacing humans in advertising and entertainment.
Airports are the top destination for bolt trips in South Africa, Bolt South Africa has introduced a new Flight Tracking feature for scheduled rides, allowing users to link their flight details to airport pickups. This new feature makes sure that if a flight is delayed or canceled, the ride will automatically adjust or be canceled at no extra cost to the customer.
MaxAB-Wasoko, the merged retail e-commerce and supply chain platform, has acquired Egyptian e-marketplace Fatura from EFG Finance, a subsidiary of EFG Holding. As part of the transaction, EFG Finance will receive an equity stake in MaxAB-Wasoko and a seat on its board of directors. This acquisition is part of MaxAB-Wasoko's strategy to consolidate B2B commerce and fintech operations across Africa. The move follows the 2024 merger between Egypt-based MaxAB and Kenya-based Wasoko, which expanded operations into Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Egypt, and Morocco. Fatura, founded in 2019 and acquired by EFG Holding's subsidiary, Tanmeyah, in 2022, has onboarded 626 wholesalers across 16 cities, including five new cities for MaxAB-Wasoko. This provides access to small and medium-sized retailers.
Safaricom has partnered with Kenyan retailer Quickmart to enhance the accessibility of its 4G and 5G home internet solutions across Kenya. This collaboration allows customers to conveniently purchase Safaricom's 4G and 5G routers at all 61 Quickmart outlets nationwide, in addition to existing Safaricom retail shops, authorized dealers, and online via Masoko.co.ke
This week in fundraising:
Wahu Mobility, a Ghanaian electric bike startup, secured a landmark carbon credit agreement with the Swiss government. This deal, only the second global e-mobility transaction under the emerging Article 6 carbon market mechanism of the Paris Agreement, is expected to accelerate Africa’s participation in the global carbon market while promoting sustainable transport solutions for thousands of local delivery riders.
Under this agreement, Wahu Mobility plans to deploy 117,000 electric bikes across Ghana in the next five years. The initiative is projected to avoid 752,684 tons of CO₂ emissions by 2030. These avoided emissions will be converted into carbon credits, technically known as Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs), and sold to Switzerland.
Nigeria startups, Crop2Cash, Sycamore, Drive45 and 24Seven, bagged up to four billion Naira in funding at Cascador pitch day, this funding was facilitated through Cascador’s Catalytic Fund in partnership with Sterling Bank. The programme’s focus is to bridge the capital gap for impactful businesses in Nigeria, especially social enterprises.
Michael Ogundare, Emem Essien, and Seyi Alabi’s Crop2Cash, piqued my interest, Crop2Cash, provides smallholder farmers with access to digital banking, credit, insurance, and agricultural inputs and has a user base exceeding 400,000 across 15 Nigerian states. Interestingly, the agritech startup has secured significant funding before now, including €350,000 from Village Capital’s Reducing Inequalities Investment Facility and over $2 million in grants from organizations like USAID and JICA. I consider Crop 2 Cash a very viable product or solution, it falls under the category of tech solutions I like to see, that is dedicated to solving Africa’s unique problems.
Moroccan agritech startup Sand to Green has clinched a $50,000 grant at the DeepTech Summit 2025. Could this point to the rise of the climate-tech sector and growing investor interest in sustainable innovation in Africa?
Sand to Green was founded by Benjamin Rombaut, Gautier de Carcouët, and Wissal Ben Moussa in 2021, to help transform degraded lands into productive farmlands, using satellite-driven land analysis, solar powered desalination and regenerative agroforestry. Sand to Green wants to expand its efforts across Africa, the Middle East and Southern Europe.
Egyptian automotive e-commerce startup Sylndr has secured $15.7 million in Series A funding to expand its tech-driven platform for buying, selling, financing, and servicing used cars across Egypt. Founded in 2021 by Omar El Defrawy and Amr Mazen, Sylndr aims to bring transparency and efficiency to Egypt's fragmented used-car market. The platform offers a one-stop-shop experience, allowing customers to browse certified used cars online, obtain financing, and schedule servicing.
The funding round was led by US-based Prosus Ventures, with participation from existing investors like Algebra Ventures, Nuwa Capital, and Global Founders Capital. This brings Sylndr's total funding to over $30 million, including a previous $12.6 million pre-seed round and $10 million in debt financing.
With the new capital, Sylndr wants to expand its inventory of certified used vehicles, upgrade its tech infrastructure, and accelerate customer acquisition. The company also intends to double down on marketing to grow its brand presence nationwide. Sylndr's approach addresses multiple friction points in the used-car transaction cycle, and can be a modern alternative to traditional dealers and informal sales channels.
South African Start up, AURA has secured a total funding of $21 million. Their latest Series B fund round, helped secured €13.5 million. The round was led by Partech and Cathay AfricInvest Innovation fund. AURA is an emergency response startup, founded in 2017 by Warren Myers, Ryan Green, and Adam Pantanowitz. AURA wants to be a global 911 app, the startup operates a platform that connects individuals and businesses with the nearest vetted private and public emergency response providers, including security, medical, and roadside assistance services. The platform currently serves over 1.2 million users and protects more than 200,000 properties through its fixed-location services. With its funding, AURA plans to expand to the United States, a first move to their long term global expansion plan. AURA’s plan is super ambitious, but I wonder why the USA was chosen as the next stop for their global expansion. Does the U.S. really need this? In regions like Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, and Ghana, public emergency systems are either weak or practically non-existent. AURA’s tech could plug life-saving gaps in these countries, at a lower cost and with massive impact potential.
The U.S. market might look shinier on investor pitch decks, but the real need, the real urgency, and frankly, the real opportunity, is still right here on the continent. I wonder how this bold move will pan out… Only time will tell.
Carrot Credit a Nigerian Fintech secured $ 4.2 million in seed funding to expand across Africa. The funding round was led by MaC Venture Capital, with participation from authentic Ventures. With this fund, the plan is to scale Carrot's operations, grow its team, and deepen integrations with digital investment platforms. Carrot Credit was founded in 2023 by Boluwatife Aiki Raji and has already garnered 10,000 users and $2 million in loans processed. Carrot allows users to borrow against their investment assets like stocks, ETFs, bonds, and cryptocurrencies, without having to sell them. Depending on asset stability, users can access loans up to 70% of their portfolio's value. With the current investment culture in Nigeria and accessibility to the stock market, Carrot Credit may not be for the average Nigerian, as it only works best when you already have an investment portfolio, but in a market starved of safe, accessible credit, Carrot Credit’s solutions will still tackle a good chunk of the problems it intends to solve.
Health Tech Startups have been gaining so much attention lately, and it is a development that is very much welcomed. More than ever Africa needs solutions that can help transform the poor health care services and low accessibility on the continent. South African med-tech startup Impulse Biomedical has secured new funding from E Squared Investments and ANZA Capital to commercialize its innovative emergency care products and expand internationally. Impulse Biomedical was founded by two engineers, Giancarlo Beukes and Gokul Nair. Impulse Biomedical has created two flagship products; Easy Squeezy, an affordable, user-friendly asthma inhaler designed to help patients in low-resource settings, to manage asthma more effectively and ZIBiPen, which is the world's first reloadable epinephrine auto-injector, that is a sustainable and cost-effective alternative to traditional single-use injectors. Impulse Biomedical's mission aligns with E Squared's focus on backing scalable ventures that deliver both commercial value and measurable social impact.
Product Spotlight: Shezlong
Who They Are: Shezlong is the first online therapy platform in the Middle East and North Africa region, offering secure, anonymous access to licensed psychotherapists through video sessions. Shezlong can be fully Arabic and It’s mental health support that fits into your schedule, anytime and anywhere. Shezlong connects persons in need of psychotherapy directly to professional mental health experts. Read more about Shezlong here.
Opportunities: Fellowships, Programs and Accelerators
In a bold move to enhance national security, Nigeria has approved the launch of four new satellites, three Earth observation and one radar, to enhance surveillance capabilities, particularly in challenging terrains like the Sambisa Forest. This initiative, announced by Minister Uche Nnaji, aims to support military operations and reduce reliance on foreign data sources. The decision comes amid growing concerns over the use of armed drones by insurgents in the northeast, mirroring tactics seen in global conflict zones. By deploying these satellites, Nigeria seeks to improve real-time imaging and response times to emerging threats. I think that this may go beyond security and is a signal that Nigeria may be ready to make broader commitment to leverage science and technology for national development and it is a shift towards homegrown innovation and dependency on external technological support.
Speaking of home grown solutions, a trio of 18-year-old innovators from Port Harcourt, Nigeria; Lesley John Jumbo, Bright Sunday, and Blessed Pepple, have earned global recognition at the 2025 Slingshot Challenge for their project, Reforest AI. Reforet AI, is an AI tool that utilizes edge computing and IOT sensors to detect unauthorized logging, monitor forest health and promote sustainable forestry practices. There were 2700 entries from 96 countries at the Slingshot Challenge, it was really impressive that they came out on top. The team won $ 10,000 in grant funding.
The African Space Agency, Africa’s first continental space institution has been launched. The institution officially began operation in April 2025, and it was created or commissioned to coordinate space science, satellite deployment and Earth observations across Africa. AfSA, is established under the Africa Union and will consolidate Africa’s fragmented space efforts, enhance access to critical geospatial data, and help grow innovation supporting sustainable development. By introducing a centralized framework, the agency plans to drive large-scale strategic space initiatives, reducing duplication of resources and promoting intergovernmental collaboration. AfSA's establishment marks a significant milestone in Africa's pursuit of space exploration, climate resilience, and data sovereignty, setting the stage for a coordinated, continent-wide approach to space science.
Musings
This week, I have been pondering on how tech needs to be utilized to help more vulnerable women and girls; women in businesses, women in vulnerable situations, women who need aids to live a fulfilling life, from solutions to provide access to contraceptives to edtech.
I read a couple of articles and resources that made me charged up on this cause, and I think you should read them too, maybe just maybe it can fuel your next quest or build. There is a dire need for women focused platforms, solutions and products:
1. 6 Ways to Use Tech for Good and Support Women Worldwide
2. Tech needs girls, and girls need tech | UN News
3. Digital tools can help improve women’s health and promote gender equality, WHO report shows
On an unrelated note:
How far will AI go?
From generating pictures to written content to solving complex equations? How far will AI go? Recently I came across this video on Youtube about Google’s Firebase Studio’s new feature for prototyping apps. Developers can prototype apps with just a single prompt. After the prompt has been inputted, the AI bot generates full codes and shows a prototype of the app.
With the recent news of Microsoft’s layoffs, it made me think about the expanding capabilities of artificial intelligence. They say AI isn't taking our jobs, but maybe it is? How far will AI go?
I read some resources about the future of AI, ethics and the pros and cons of AI and I decided to share them with you. If you are a professional in tech, you should probably read them, it helps to gain more insight about the coming times.
The future of creative AI in innovation: revolutionizing industries
AI—The good, the bad, and the scary | Engineering | Virginia Tech
How Do We Use Artificial Intelligence Ethically?
On a completely unrelated note, I found this article really interesting. What exactly do you know about the global recycling industry and how is it impacting third world countries around the world? While this is an opinion article in the New York Times, the writer sheds some much needed light on some of the dark unethical practices of global waste trade. You can read it by clicking the link below:
The Story You’ve Been Told About Recycling Is a Lie
Signing Out:
Okay, this is where I say goodbye. It was a delight putting all of these resources together for you. Hasta la Vista, or whatever they say. Good bye my fellow Vizibodies!
We have come to the end of this issue. Do you have any big news or insight to share? Let us know in the comments! You can also let me know your thoughts and opinions about the insights and resources shared.
Same time next week? ✌🏾