From Lagos to Nairobi

For thousands of African businesses, importing goods from China can be a profitable growth strategy—but it can also expose entrepreneurs to costly problems involving unreliable suppliers, poor-quality products, currency payments, shipping and customs. Proc360 is building an end-to-end platform designed to reduce those risks and make the China-Africa trade corridor easier to navigate. Founded in…

Nigerian fintech Nomba and renewable-energy financing company Synafare are committing ₦2 billion, equivalent to about $1.4 million, to help 300 small and medium-sized businesses acquire solar power systems over the next 24 months. The initiative targets one of the biggest challenges facing Nigerian businesses: the combination of unreliable electricity and limited access to affordable credit.…

Copenhagen’s technology ecosystem offers an important lesson for Africa: the next generation of valuable startups may not come only from fintech, e-commerce or software. At TechBBQ 2026, held in Copenhagen on August 26 and 27, more than 10,000 startups and investors encountered companies working on quantum computing, biotechnology, medical diagnostics, robotics, security, food technology and…

Electric mobility company Spiro is strengthening its leadership team as it prepares for another phase of expansion across Africa, appointing automotive and battery-swapping veteran Anant Badjatya as Group Chief Executive Officer. The appointment comes after the company secured a landmark $215 million equity investment to accelerate its growth.  Badjatya brings more than two decades of…

Nigerian card-issuing fintech Allawee is reportedly folding into Paystack following a quiet acquisition, marking another notable consolidation in the country’s increasingly competitive fintech sector. The move brings together two companies operating at different layers of Nigeria’s financial technology infrastructure. Allawee built tools that allow fintechs and businesses to issue, manage and process cards without having…

Nigeria is moving to tighten the security requirements for cryptocurrency businesses, with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposing that digital-asset custodians keep at least 80% of customers’ assets in cold storage. The proposal forms part of a broader overhaul of the country’s rules for digital and virtual asset operations, custody and markets. Cold storage…