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Welcome to another edition of 🔍 Startup Researcher - Africa, your essential digest delivering the latest news and premium insights on startups and venture capital across the region 🌍

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📰 Important News

• Cape Verde launched $51.5 million TechPark CV to become a West African tech hub linking Europe and the Americas.

• Klivvr launched “Buy Now, Pay Later” in Egypt with FRA approval, offering flexible, instant app-based payments.

• PalmPay is set to expand to South Africa, Côte d’Ivoire, Uganda, and Tanzania.

• A Nigerian court denied bail to Afriq Arbitrage CEO over an $854,000 fraud involving an unlicensed crypto scheme.

• Treepz partnered with Miva Open University to handle staff and event transport nationwide across Nigeria.

💸 Top Funding Rounds

• MNT-Halan completed a record $49 million bond issuance to fund expansion and open new funding channels for its digital financial services.

• Money Fellows raised $13 million to grow its digital ROSCA platform and expand across Africa and MENA, boosting tech-enabled financial inclusion.

• iSUPPLY secured $3 million in Sharia-compliant revenue-based financing from Bokra to scale ethical pharma distribution in Egypt.

• Platos Health closed a $1.4 million pre-seed round led by Google for Startups to grow its AI health monitoring platform in Nigeria.

• Career 180 secured six-figure funding from Den VC to expand its localized LMS into Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Malta to fight youth unemployment.

💰️ Notable Exits

• Henk Pretorius acquired Tinkso, a leading no-code and AI-driven software development agency, to help businesses digitize and automate, aiming to grow the company into a top partner for smarter operations.

🏦 About Investors

• AGF partnered with OAPI to unlock $70 million funding and support 1,000 patent-backed DeepTech SMEs in Francophone Africa with finance and technical aid.

• Swedfund invested $15 million in TLG Africa Fund II to boost SME resilience with tailored debt and partnerships across the continent.

• Teranga Capital raised $3.4 million to expand into Mauritania, Guinea-Bissau, and Cape Verde, supporting SMEs in Francophone West Africa.

• Madinet Masr launched a VC fund to back real estate innovation in Egypt and scale globally via strategic partnerships.

🚀 Startup of the Week

Introducing our Startup of the Week 🏆

MNT-Halan

MNT-Halan, Egypt’s first fintech unicorn founded in 2018 by Mounir Nakhla and Ahmed Mohsen, has rapidly grown into one of the country’s largest financial services providers, serving over 8 million customers and disbursing more than $11 billion in loans. Through its lending arm Tasaheel, the company completed a landmark $49 million bond issuance—Egypt’s largest corporate bond to date—to fuel expansion and support small business lending across the country. The dual-tranche issuance, backed by a BBB+ credit rating, marks a strategic milestone that opens new funding channels and underscores MNT-Halan’s financial strength and commitment to financial inclusion.

💼 Investor of the Week

Introducing our Investor of the Week 🏆

TLG Capital

TLG Capital, a London-based investment firm founded in 2009 by Zain Latif, specializes in private credit and equity for financially stressed yet viable SMEs across sub-Saharan Africa, with a focus on sectors like healthcare, agriculture, manufacturing, and telecoms. Through its $200 million TLG Africa Growth Impact Fund II, the firm secured a $15 million investment from Swedfund as part of a broader $75 million round alongside partners like IFC and Norfund, aiming to provide flexible, long-term debt and equity solutions to support SME resilience and job creation. This strategic funding model, which includes local bank guarantees, targets inclusive growth in the UN’s least developed and conflict-affected countries while promoting sustainable industrialization and poverty reduction.

🤑 Opportunity Radar

Call for Applications: Y Combinator’s Summer 2025 Batch

Apply to Y Combinator’s Summer 2025 Batch by May 13, 2025, to accelerate your startup journey with one of the world’s most prestigious accelerators. The program runs from June to September in San Francisco, featuring in-person meetups, mentorship from experienced YC partners, and access to YC’s powerful alumni network. Selected startups receive $500,000 in funding immediately upon acceptance and benefit from exclusive investor connections. Don’t miss this chance to join a thriving community of founders—apply today!