Funding and deal-making stayed lively across the continent from August 11–17, 2025.
Fintech and consumer platforms drew fresh capital, while two notable consolidation moves made headlines in South Africa and Kenya.
In this edition of Today Africa Weekly, we round up headlines that happened in the ecosystem, new accelerators and cohorts opened pathways for founders, especially in cloud, AI, and women-led ventures.
African tech news highlights
- Vodacom–Maziv deal clears final hurdle (South Africa): Regulators have granted conditional approval for Vodacom to acquire a co-controlling stake in Maziv (parent of Vumatel & Dark Fibre Africa), marking a significant milestone in a multi-year fibre saga that isedging toward completion. Authorities attached conditions to ease competition concerns in FTTH and fixed-wireless. (1)
- iKhokha to be acquired by Nedbank for $94m (South Africa): The bank is set to buy leading South African SME payments player iKhokha, a significant bank–fintech consolidation milestone in the region’s card and POS market. (2)
- Ajua merges with Rate My Service (Kenya): Customer-experience startup Ajua (ex-mSurvey) combined with RMS to deepen CX analytics and automation offerings, reflecting ongoing scale-through-consolidation strategies among Kenyan SaaS players. (3)
- MTN Nigeria launches Cloud Accelerator (Nigeria): Applications (opened July 7) close August 15; the programme runs Sep 6–Dec 6, aiming to speed up go-to-market for cloud-native African startups. (4)
- Antler kicks off inaugural Lagos cohort (Nigeria): 24 founders selected from 7,500+ applicants; Antler will invest $100k for 10% in selected companies, with potential follow-ons up to Series C. (5)
- Women founders: SheScales Africa opens (pan-Africa): Opolo Global Innovation’s programme targets women-led, tech-enabled startups with potential access to up to $100k in VC capital; applications close August 19. (6)
Funding rounds (August 11–17, 2025)
1. Chowdeck – Consumer Logistics / Food Delivery (Nigeria)
- Amount raised: US $9 million Series A
- Lead investors: Novastar Ventures; participation from Y Combinator, AAIC, and others
Founded in 2021, Chowdeck is a food delivery platform that connects customers to restaurants with fast dispatch times in Nigeria’s major cities. The new funding will support expansion into additional urban hubs, strengthen delivery infrastructure, and scale operations nationwide.
2. HoneyCoin – Fintech / Stablecoin Payments & Cross-Border Rails (Kenya)
- Amount raised: US $4.9 million Seed round
- Lead investors: Flourish Ventures (with participation from other undisclosed backers)
Launched in 2022, HoneyCoin provides payment rails built on stablecoins to enable seamless cross-border transactions for merchants and individuals. The fresh capital will fuel its expansion into new markets across Africa, Latin America, and Asia, while enhancing compliance and liquidity partnerships.
Yamify – AI Tools Marketplace (Nigeria)
- Amount raised: US $100,000 Pre-seed
- Lead investors: Not disclosed
Founded in 2025, Yamify is building an “app store” for AI tools tailored to African users, aiming to make artificial intelligence more accessible for SMEs, creators, and developers. The pre-seed funding will accelerate product development and marketplace onboarding for early adopters.
Trends to watch
- Fintech infra is still hot—now with more crypto-native rails: HoneyCoin’s seed round underlines ongoing investor appetite for compliant, cross-border payment infrastructure leveraging stablecoins—especially for merchant payouts and remittances.
- Consolidation is accelerating: Two headlines point the way: Nedbank’s planned iKhokha acquisition (bank + fintech synergy) and the Ajua–RMS merger (CX SaaS scale-up). Expect more roll-ups as acquirers seek distribution, licenses, and margins.
- Connectivity & infrastructure upgrade cycle continues: Conditional approval of the Vodacom–Maziv deal signals large-ticket network investment that should lift last-mile fibre economics and digital-service penetrationy.
- Talent pipelines and capital access widening: MTN’s Cloud Accelerator and Antler’s Lagos cohort add structured capital + capability-building tracks—especially relevant for AI/cloud startups. Dedicated programmes for women (SheScales Africa) indicate growing inclusivity in capital formation.
- Macro context: momentum from H1 is carrying into Q3: TechCabal’s H1 data shows $1.42B across 243 deals (+78% YoY); country-wise, South Africa leads, with Egypt close behind—a pattern still reflected in August coverage and investor commentary.
What it means
For founders, the bar remains high but focused: fintech rails, AI-enabled SaaS, and cloud-native plays tied to real revenue are getting attention; accelerators/cohorts can be strong wedges into capital and customers.
For investors, disciplined bets on infrastructure (payments, fibre, cloud) and selective consolidation plays look well-timed.
And for the ecosystem, continued regulatory green-lights and programme diversity hint at a sturdier Q3 pipeline than in 2024.
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