The African tech news cycle last week (September 8 – 14, 2025) carried a mix of quiet moves and loud signals.
Luno opened retail access to tokenised US stocks in Nigeria, Morocco’s ORA Technologies acquired Cathedis to boost its super-app play, and new funds from Accion ($61.6M) and Acumen ($90M) reinforced sector-focused capital flows.
Early-stage deals saw Float, Justyol, and Yamify raise fresh rounds, while women-led founders gained visibility through AWIEF finalists and Alami Capital’s new LaunchPad.
And yes, crypto presales remain loud.
African tech news highlights
- Luno launches tokenised US stock trading in Nigeria: Luno began offering Nigerians access to tokenised US stocks and ETFs (via partners including Kraken’s xStocks and Backed Finance), enabling fractional exposure for very small amounts. This is a notable product expansion aimed at lowering the entry price for retail investors.
- Moroccan super-app ORA Technologies acquired logistics startup Cathedis: The deal signals continued consolidation in North Africa as super-apps expand logistics and fulfilment capabilities in their ecosystem plays.
- Alami Capital launched “The LaunchPad” to support women-led startups: Announced around GITEX Nigeria, the initiative focuses on closing the funding and readiness gap for female founders through venture-building support and capital. This is an example of targeted investor/programmatic efforts to fix structural pipeline issues.
- AWIEF Awards 2025 finalists announced: The Africa Women Innovation & Entrepreneurship Forum unveiled its shortlist, spotlighting leading women entrepreneurs and innovators across multiple categories. This raises visibility for women-led startups across the continent.
- Crypto & presale momentum: Several crypto presales continued to dominate headlines (and marketing), with products like Best Wallet and Bitcoin-adjacent tokens reporting multi-million dollar presale totals — a reminder that retail presale activity remains loud even as institutional flows vary. Techpoint and DisruptAfrica covered a number of these narratives this week.
Key funding rounds (September 8 – 14, 2025)
Accion Venture Lab Fund II: $61.6M (Global, Africa-focused)
- Sector: Inclusive fintech (early-stage)
- Lead investor(s): Accion, with participation from development finance institutions and philanthropic partners
- Why it matters: Expands the pool of early-stage capital for African fintechs, with a strong focus on financial inclusion and underserved markets.
Accion, a global nonprofit with deep experience in inclusive finance, raised its second Venture Lab fund to back fintech startups improving access to credit, savings, and payments across emerging markets, including Africa.
Acumen KawiSafi Fund II: $90M (Pan-Africa)
- Sector: Climate tech / clean energy
- Lead investor(s): Acumen, backed by institutional investors and DFIs
- Why it matters: One of the largest Africa-focused climate funds, targeting clean-energy solutions that drive climate resilience and low-carbon growth across the continent.
Building on the success of KawiSafi Fund I, Acumen launched Fund II with $90M in approved commitments (including $40M for a for-profit strategy), focusing on scaling companies tackling Africa’s energy and climate challenges.
Float: $2.6M (South Africa)
- Sector: Fintech (card-linked instalments and credit)
- Lead investor(s): Invenfin and SAAD Investment Holdings, with participation from Lighthouse Venture Partners and existing investors
- Why it matters: Reflects investor appetite for responsible credit and consumer-financing innovations in South Africa, where demand for flexible payment solutions is high.
Founded in Cape Town, Float provides card-linked installments that let consumers pay over time directly from their bank cards. The funding will fuel product development and market expansion.
Justyol: $1M Equity + Inventory Financing (Morocco)
- Sector: E-commerce (cross-border fashion marketplace)
- Lead investor(s): Equity from regional angel investors; inventory financing from Turkish partners
- Why it matters: Shows creative funding structures in African e-commerce, combining equity and inventory financing to help marketplaces manage working-capital constraints.
Founded in Morocco, Justyol connects African consumers to Turkish fashion and lifestyle brands. The fresh capital will support regional expansion and deepen product assortment.
Yamify: Seed Round (amount undisclosed, Africa)
- Sector: AI infrastructure (developer tools, GPU-powered hosting)
- Lead investor(s): Early Paystack investor (undisclosed)
- Why it matters: Marks the rise of African-built AI infrastructure platforms, helping developers deploy machine learning models locally with lower latency and cost.
Recently launched, Yamify brands itself as the “Heroku for AI in Africa,” allowing developers to spin up AI workloads on regional GPU clusters. The seed raise will fund infrastructure growth and product adoption.
Trends to watch (September 8 – 14, 2025)
- Sector-focused funds and impact vehicles are active: Accion’s Venture Lab Fund II and Acumen’s KawiSafi Fund II show LP capital being allocated to purposeful, sector-targeted vehicles (financial inclusion and climate resilience). That increases capital availability for startups tightly aligned to those missions.
- Fintech remains a steady source of early-stage capital in South Africa: Float’s R46M / $2.6M raise demonstrates investor appetite for credit innovation and responsible payments products in the region.
- Regional e-commerce and cross-border models are raising growth capital. Justyol’s $1M package (including inventory financing) highlights practical financing structures for inventory-heavy marketplaces targeting MENA and Africa trade corridors.
- AI infra is moving closer to product-market fit in Africa. Yamify’s “Heroku for AI” positioning and seed raise signal growing demand from African developers for locally hosted, GPU-powered AI deployment — a potential multiplier for local AI startups.
- Visibility for women-led founders is rising through awards & programmes. AWIEF finalists provide a visible pipeline for women entrepreneurs and can accelerate access to investors, grants and networks.
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