African tech companies have grown tremendously over the years. Many startups in Africa have put in great work and efforts to see their companies making waves. African tech companies as a whole have been putting in much effort to measure up with some of the biggest tech companies in Europe. Let’s discover these tech companies, what they do, their net worth, and much more.
10. AutoChek
Spearheaded by Etop Ikpe as CEO. The company is an auto-tech company with its offices in Nigeria and Ghana. The aim of AutoChek was to enable a seamless and safe means of buying and selling automobiles.
The company’s dream of bringing buying, selling, and servicing cars online is being realized. In November 2020, the company raised 43.4million in pre-seed funding.
Autochek has created a network of partners and standards. The company generates revenues through fees charged on consumer transactions and commissions paid by dealers and service shops on the platform. Consumers can sign up and use the Autochek app for free.
Autochek has partnerships with 70 banks, such as Access Bank, Ecobank, UBA, Bank of Africa and NCBA Bank. These banks have processed more than 46,000 loan applications to date.
The company launched a financing product for trucks and new cars. More than 1,200 dealerships use Autochek’s network and over 15,000 financeable vehicles are on the marketplace across all markets.
9. Medsaf
Medsaf was founded by Vivian Nwakah in 2017. The company was founded after she lost her friend due to fake medication. Medsaf was founded with the aim of connecting pharmaceutical suppliers with hospitals and pharmacies. Considering how rampant the sales of counterfeit or substandard drugs are, the company is combating a big problem in African society.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the fake drugs market is worth $200 billion. And this epidemic is not looking to stop anytime soon as peddlers are on the move, ready to make quick money by selling these drugs to individuals despite frequent clampdowns by regulatory and enforcement agencies. In Africa, it is said that fake drugs easily reach 20% or 30% of drug users.
Medsaf has developed a platform that aggregates trustworthy international and local drug manufacturers as well as hospitals, clinics and pharmacies in Nigeria. In doing this, the startup creates a connection between these two parties, ensuring that health facilities have access to quality medication at an affordable price.
In December 2020, the company raised $3.5million in a seed funding round.
8. Field Intelligence
Field Intelligence was founded by Michael Moreland and he is the CEO. The is aimed at helping government and businesses deliver healthcare by making pharmaceutical supplies affordable and easy to access. It is another health-tech company pulling strings in Africa’s tech space. The company has various teams working out of its offices in places such as Lago, Abuja, and Nairobi.
In addition, clients who work with the company have access to drugs that are of good quality and affordable. The company raised $3.6million in investment from various companies.
The company is helping digitize, modernize, strengthen, and sustain the supply chains that enable this access, becoming long-term partners with the communities we serve, and helping makes good on the promise of healthcare for millions.
7. TradeDepot
Founded by Onyekachi Izukanne who is also the CEO, TradeDepot aims at linking the international market with small businesses across Africa. The company was created in 2016 and it has built a massive network of over 40,000 small businesses in Africa. It connects these businesses with the global population.
Through TradeDepot’s platform, small retailers can have a real-time view of the prices and discounts available from every major brand, they can order those products which are then delivered to them as the order is routed to the appropriate nearby depot. During this whole process, the manufacturer has visibility of its distribution and can leverage that to optimize its deliveries to distributors, improve its pricing and have a direct channel toward small retailers.
Another important thing to note is that retailers can use the company’s mobile app, Whatsapp, or USSD to make orders and have their goods delivered to their various locations. In 2020, the company raised $10 million.
6. Kuda Bank
The CEO of Kuda Bank is Babs Ogundeyi. The aim of the company is to make banking easy using just mobile phones. Kuda Bank eliminates the lengthy bureaucracy which is involved in getting a bank account. The company has gone forward from just online banking to giving its customers cards making transactions easy.
Kuda bank is Nigeria’s first mobile-only bank licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.
With Kuda Bank, you can open an account within a few minutes, track your spending, save more, and make the right money moves. The aim of Kuda is to ease Nigerians from the frustrations they experience with the regular banks – regardless of who they are and where they live in Nigeria.
Kuda is referred to as the bank of the free. This is because when you become a subscriber, you get a debit card for free, send money with no charges, and even receive 15℅ interest every year when you save automatically. Kuda would help you get the best out of your money than the existing commercial banks.
The fintech company started with a business model built around providing banking services to people who also have accounts with commercial banks. Today, the company has over 2million registered users.
The CEO of Kuda Bank has also established opportunities for women who seek to work with them so as to bridge the gap in gender in the tech industry. The company attracted a $10 million seed round in November 2020—making it one of the biggest rounds ever raised in Africa
5. Aella Credit
The founder and Chief Executive Officer of Aella Credit are Akin Jones. Solving the financial needs of every user is the aim of Aella Credit. Borrowing, investing, and payment made is what the company is aimed at.
Aella Credit makes it stress-free and easy for customers to make payments, borrow and make investments. Also, the company aims at including other countries in Africa in their financial plan and making sure several people who are unbanked get access to financial aid. The company secured $10 million from a Singaporean company in investment.
Available loan amounts are between N2000 and N1,000,000 with a maximum tenure of 3 months. Interest rates range between 6% and 20%, and there are no late or rollover fees.
The hack to qualify for higher loan amounts is to make prompt repayments so you can build your credit score to be available for not just higher loan amounts but more favourable interest rates.
While there are some loans that’ll still force you to see the four walls of a banking office, we can access some in five minutes on your mobile phone.
Aella Credit has made its mission to offer affordable financial services in a fast and convenient way. With the facilities available, they have made it pretty easy to use their products to meet any business need.
4. Helium Health
The aim of Helium Health is to bring better delivery of medical services to Africa. Helium Health is one out of the two health tech companies which made it to the top 10 of the fintech with its total score at 92.5 after gathering 29 points from local storytelling, 34 for brand type, and 29.5 for the experience.
Helium Health was founded by three Nigerian entrepreneurs namely; Adegoke Olubusi, Tito Ovia, and Dimeji Sofowora. They are currently present in countries like Nigeria, Ghana and Liberia. The company raised a $10 million investment in April 2020.
3. 54gene
Founded by Dr Abasi Ene-Obong who is also the CEO of the company, 54gene is an African company which is very unique and vital for the continent as it provides greater information to the population when it comes to African Genomics. This leads to numerous scientific and medical breakthroughs. It collects genetic information for health research and health development. In addition, the company has hundreds of researchers and geneticists across Africa and a laboratory for research in Nigeria.
In 2020, the company received over $15 million in investment.
2. ChipperCash
The services of ChipperCash include API payment solutions, trading of cryptocurrency, and investment services. The company is focused on establishing its presence in the fintech category. This tech company is present in over 7 African countries. The CEO of ChipperCash is Ham Serunjogi.
With ChipperCash, send and receive money the fast and easy. Transfer funds across town and across Africa, right from your mobile phone.
With ChipperCash you don’t have to worry about say transfer fees or travelling to a bank or agent just to send and receive money. Instantly transfer between your accounts for free.
Move your money between Chipper Cash and any bank, or mobile money account absolutely free.
ChipperCash raised over $30 million in investment in November 2020
1. Flutterwave
Flutterwave is topping our list and ranking the first African Tech company in Africa. Created by Olugbenga Agboola, it is an African tech company which specializes in the provision of payment infrastructures for the world merchants. The aim of the company was to provide a digital means which connects Africa and in turn the rest of the world. It provides a reliable payment solution for businesses in Africa and worldwide.
In addition, Flutterwave has processed over 100 million transactions valued at over $5 billion and today, the company’s worth is over $1 billion. This makes it one of the few African unicorns.
Another company to look out for is Chillen Media. Chillen Media is a multimedia and communication company with the objective to deliver high-quality multimedia and communication services to its community. With Chillen Media, creativity is never enough.
African tech companies are putting in great efforts in keeping the continent’s flag up high. We hope to see more investors adding value to the African tech space. Are there any other African tech companies you think should be on the lists? Share with us in the comment section.
