Tage Kene-Okafor

Tage Kene-Okafor covers startups and investment activities in Nigeria and Africa for TechCrunch. Before this, Tage reported on the same beat for Techpoint Africa.

You can hit him up at tage.techcrunch@gmail.com

The Latest from Tage Kene-Okafor

African governments are collaborating with innovators to strengthen local health supply chains

Last year, global healthcare consulting firm Salient Advisory surveyed more than 80 companies across four African countries for a report emphasizing the growth of startups digitizing the continent’s

Kasha raises $21M Series B led by Knife Capital to expand health access platform across Africa

As Africa’s youthful population continues to grow exponentially, it’s of the utmost importance that entrepreneurs create various healthcare solutions that will cater to the medical needs of the co

Nigeria’s MyCover.ai to scale its open insurance API platform with new funding

Africa’s insurance market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7% between 2022 and 2028, reaching $120 billion. Though seemingly impressive, the insurance industry in Afric

Addition leads $6M seed round in Egyptian fintech Flash 

Driving financial inclusion through digital payment methods is among the top priorities for the governments of Africa’s biggest tech ecosystems where cash is still king. Several initiatives launched

HR tech startup Propel wants to power the open talent economy via tech communities

Besides the billions of dollars from local and foreign investors, a strong factor behind Africa’s growing tech ecosystem is its burgeoning talent. Being sought after locally and internationally, the

Lightspeed makes first investment in Africa, backing Ghana’s Berry Health

Sexual and mental health stigmatization in Africa has evolved over several decades to a point where negligence to address the issue has led to the continent topping the charts in sexually transmitted

YC-backed Eze raises new capital for its secondhand electronics marketplace

Eze, a B2B marketplace that connects global electronic wholesalers allowing them to trade devices in large quantities with real-time market data, has raised $3.7 million in an oversubscribed seed roun

Peach Cars, a Kenyan used-car marketplace, raises $5M in seed investment

Kenyan automotive marketplace Peach Cars is announcing its $5 million seed round led by Japan-based The University of Tokyo Edge Capital Partners (UTEC) and other angel investors, including Shintaro Y

An investor, an operator, and their plan to upskill Africa’s workforce

One out of three tech jobs globally are filled by necessary skilled labor, and according to the World Economic Forum (WEF), this is one of the biggest concerns of global business leaders. Over 50% of

Nigeria’s Termii to launch mobile app and scale customer engagement business with new funding

Nigerian communications platform-as-a-service startup Termii has raised $3.65 million in new financing, bringing its total funding to date to slightly more than $5 million. According to CEO Gbolade Em

Nigeria’s Haul247 raises funding to scale its logistics platform

Haul247, a Nigerian end-to-end logistics platform connecting businesses to haulage and warehousing assets, has raised a $3 million seed round. Investing fund Alitheia Capital, through its Umunthu Fund

Helium Health gets $30M, backed by AXA IM Alts and 23andMe’s Anne Wojcicki

Helium Health, the African startup that provides software-as-a-service tools, financing and insights for healthcare providers and public health organizations, has raised $30 million in Series B fundin

Jumia reaches lowest losses in four years under new management

Q1 2023 marks the first quarter Jumia’s new management implemented its strategy after riding out the blueprint of previous management in Q4 2022. The result? Jumia saw its losses decrease significan

EBANX: We will be operating in 11 African countries by the end of the year

For all the talk about emerging markets and their similarities, moves involving African startups expanding to Latin America are rare. Only two significant activities come to mind recently: Migo’s ex

South African challenger bank TymeBank raises $77.8M from Norrsken22 and Blue Earth Capital

South African digital banking platform TymeBank has raised $77.8 million in a pre-Series C round led by African-focused growth-stage fund Norrsken22 and Swiss global impact investment firm Blue Earth

African B2B e-commerce startup Sabi tops $300M valuation in new funding

Sabi, a Lagos-based B2B e-commerce startup providing digital commerce infrastructure to Africa’s informal economy, has raised $38 million in Series B funding at a valuation of $300 million, accordin

Pale Blue Dot backs Amini, an African climate tech startup solving environmental data scarcity

Amini, a Nairobi-based climate tech startup focused on solving Africa’s environmental data gap through artificial intelligence and satellite technology, has raised $2 million in a pre-seed funding r

Tiger Global-backed Axis launches digital payments platform for Egyptian SMEs months after its $8.25M seed 

Egyptian fintech Axis has launched its digital payments platform to the North African market after securing a license from the apex bank, Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), for its open-loop mobile wallet,

M-KOPA snaps up $250M+ debt, equity for its asset financing platform

M-KOPA, the asset financing platform that offers underbanked African customers access to “productive assets” and the ability to pay for them via digital micropayments, has secured more than $250 m

Kenya’s Fingo partners with Ecobank, launches neobank on the back of $4M investment

Yesterday, Fingo, a YC-backed Kenyan fintech, launched its neobank, which it developed in collaboration with Pan-African financial institution Ecobank Kenya. The Ecobank subsidiary unveiled the neoban
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