Trakkr - Africa Startup Funding Updates
@trakkr.bsky.social
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Telling the African startup story through numbers! 📊 Tracking funding trends and insights on Africa’s startup ecosystem. #AfricanStartups #FundingTrends
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Full breakdown of all 8 failures, financial mismanagement, and what this means for African tech: buff.ly/Aro4tqU
In nearly every case, founder exits predicted closure within 6-18 months. Leadership exodus was the clearest signal.
Copia Global delivered at a loss with $1M+ monthly burn rate. Laid off 700 employees in 2023 but kept talking expansion until collapse in 2024.
Lipa Later faced court action over unpaid consulting fees whilst simultaneously raising new funding. Then acquired struggling e-commerce platform Sky Garden for $1.9M.
54gene went through 3 CEO changes in one year whilst burning $45M. Former legal counsel sued over salary cuts from $330K to $176K. Equipment suppliers went unpaid.
Red flags were visible before these startups collapsed. Investors ignored them.
A thread on the warning signs hidden in plain sight 🧵
The second half of September showed strong momentum in climate-resilient solutions and financial inclusion.
Full breakdown with deal structures, investor details, and market context in Funding Watchlist Issue #03 👇
buff.ly/QA7t0TF

#AfricanStartups #VentureCapital #Trakkr
FINCA Ventures distributed $400K total across 6 African startups in September:
🥇 $100K each: truQ, Farmer Lifeline Technologies
🥈 $60K each: Silo Africa, Cladfy
🥉 $40K each: Karpolax, 10mg Health
Competition categories: Fintech & Climate-Smart Agriculture.
Hinckley E-Waste Recycling – $1.5M
Nigeria will get its first hi-tech lithium-ion battery recycling facility.
All On backed the round to address environmental hazards and create economic opportunities in the recycling sector.
Done.ma – $2.1M seed
Morocco's first homegrown super app combining food delivery, e-commerce, mobility, and financial services.
Raised from local and angel investors to expand into more Moroccan cities.
Rulebase – $2.1M pre-seed
YC-backed startup founded by Nigerian engineers Gideon Ebose and Chidi Williams.
Their AI tool automates compliance tasks for fintech firms, cutting costs by up to 70%.
Led by Bowery Capital.
MazaoHub – $2M pre-seed (oversubscribed)
Tanzania's AgriTech startup combines AI soil intelligence with physical farmer centres.
Blended finance: $1.5M equity + $500K non-dilutive.
Led by Catalyst Fund with 6 other investors backing the round.
SunCulture – $5M strategic investment
Kenya's solar irrigation leader (50%+ market share in Sub-Saharan Africa) will expand water access to millions of farmers.
Led by WaterEquity's Water & Climate Resilience Fund.

This builds on their $27.5M Series B from April 2024.
ARC Ride – $10M debt financing
Kenya's battery-swapping startup will deploy 600+ new cabinets and 25,000 batteries across the country.
Led by Mirova's Gigaton Fund.

The goal: make electric motorcycles accessible through quick battery swaps.
The second half of September brought funding deals across multiple sectors.
From electric mobility in Kenya to Morocco's first homegrown super app, the activity spanned AgriTech, fintech, e-waste recycling, and climate tech.

Here's what closed 🧵
Challenges: currency volatility, regulatory uncertainty, funding gaps.
But Nigerian founders keep building.

65 years of independence. The next chapter is being written now. 🚀

#NigeriaAt65 #IndependenceDay #NigerianStartups #AfricanTech #Trakkr
Where we're going:
Climate tech growing
Quick commerce viable
Fintech maturing
Healthtech, agritech attracting capital

The next wave is here.
Moniepoint: profitable unicorn
Flutterwave: IPO prep
Paystack: scaling Africa
Kuda, PalmPay: millions of users

Solving real problems: payments, energy, food, cross-border transfers.
Where we are (2025):
Nigeria: ~24% of African startup funding in Q1.

Major rounds:
LemFi $53M
Kredete $22M
Koolboks $11M
Raenest $11M
Moniepoint $10M
Chowdeck $9M
2020-2022: $3B+ into Nigerian startups.

OPay, Kuda, Moniepoint, PalmPay pushed boundaries. The ecosystem moved from potential to performance.
Where we've been:
Interswitch (2002) → digital payments pioneer
Paystack → $200M Stripe exit
Andela → proved Nigerian talent competes globally
Flutterwave → $3B infrastructure
Jumia → e-commerce revolution

Lagos became a VC destination.
Happy Independence Day, Nigeria! 🇳🇬
65 years of independence, decades of innovation.

A thread on Nigerian tech's journey. 🧵
Happy new month and welcome to Q4! 🎉

African startups raised ~$750-900M in Q3 2025, up 20-40% YoY.
Top rounds: Kredete ($22M), Koolboks ($11M), Chowdeck ($9M).

2025 on track for $2.5-3B total. Full Q3 report soon.

#AfricanStartups #Trakkr
PayPal Ventures already backs South Africa's Stitch, Egypt's Paymob, and UAE's Tabby.

This dedicated $100M pot signals a more aggressive push beyond their previous infrequent investments in the region.