Startups on Our Radar is a bi-weekly column that spotlights new startups throughout Africa taking unconventional approaches, filling elementary gaps, and creating worth in a means that feels recent, centered, and significant. Know a startup we must always characteristic subsequent? Please nominate right here.

In our second version, we featured 10 African startups opening markets, slicing CO₂, and seafarming nobody’s speaking about but. In case you missed it, catch up right here. Count on the subsequent dispatch on June 12, 2025.

Let’s get into in the present day’s picks.

1. Tendo is unlocking entrepreneurship by eradicating stock danger for hundreds (E-commerce, Ghana)  

I first heard about Tendo whereas doomscrolling on LinkedIn. Somebody was raving about the way it’s serving to on a regular basis Ghanaians begin on-line companies with out the same old complications of stock or capital. 

Based in 2021 by Felix Manford, Evans Boateng, Derrick Mungai, and Primerose Katena, Tendo allows tens of hundreds of people to launch and develop on-line companies with out upfront capital. The platform connects aspiring entrepreneurs with suppliers, handles stock and supply, and empowers customers to promote immediately by way of social channels like WhatsApp and Fb. 

Why we’re watching: By eradicating stock danger and simplifying operations, the corporate is unlocking entrepreneurship for individuals who’ve historically been sidelined by capital and logistics challenges. This mannequin might redefine how digital commerce scales throughout Africa’s casual economies, particularly for girls and youth. The corporate can be backed by Y Combinator and Renew Capital..

2. eMaisha Pay is constructing a neobank tailor-made for agribusinesses (Fintech, Uganda)  

After I got here throughout eMaisha Pay, I used to be fascinated by its deal with agribusinesses. Not like most neobanks chasing city SMEs, eMaisha is laser-focused on farmers and small agribusinesses who’ve been overlooked of the monetary system for too lengthy. Based in 2021 by Sserubiri Joseph Uhuru, its cell app and pay as you go card make it simple for these companies to save lots of, transact, and get loans with out the same old paperwork nightmare.

Why we’re watching: Agriculture stays the heartbeat of Africa’s economic system, but monetary providers for farmers and agribusinesses are nonetheless caught previously. eMaisha’s laser deal with this underserved phase means it presents a lifeline for rural entrepreneurs who want tailor-made monetary merchandise that match their distinctive money flows and dangers. By integrating financial savings, funds, and credit score into one seamless platform, eMaisha might unlock a wave of productiveness and resilience in African agriculture, with ripple results on meals safety and rural livelihoods.

3. Zeeh Africa is bringing AI-powered open banking to Nigeria’s fragmented monetary panorama (Fintech, Nigeria)  

Zeeh Africa got here into my radar after I attended the Ibadan Startup Fest final 12 months. The startup was a headline sponsor. I had a fast chat with the founder and was struck by how the corporate is constructing instruments that permit individuals hyperlink all their monetary accounts, get personalised recommendation, and unlock credit score alternatives—multi functional place. 

Launched in 2022 by David Adeleke and Frank Uwajeh, Zeeh Africa’s AI-powered open banking platform lets people and companies hyperlink all their accounts, monitor spending, obtain personalised monetary recommendation, and unlock new credit score and funding alternatives in real-time. By aggregating monetary information and offering actionable insights, Zeeh is likely one of the open banking startups breaking down silos and giving customers the instruments to make smarter monetary choices

Why we’re watching: With Nigeria lastly opening the door to open banking, Zeeh Africa is completely positioned to assist form what this new period appears like.  The startup seems like one of many few groups genuinely attempting to make all of the messy bits of private finance—a number of accounts, scattered spending, random mortgage presents—make sense for normal individuals. If it could actually pull off what it’s constructing might imply much less monetary chaos and possibly even smarter cash choices for on a regular basis Nigerians. 

4. Carrot Credit score permits you to borrow in opposition to your crypto and shares with out promoting (Fintech, Nigeria)  

I first met Bolu Aiki-Raji, Carrot Credit score’s founder, whereas interviewing the group for its $4.1 million seed elevate. On that decision, I used to be fascinated by the startup’s concept. He advised me in regards to the firm’s strategy to letting individuals borrow in opposition to their crypto and inventory holdings with out promoting. It caught with me as a result of it’s such a recent tackle liquidity, giving traders entry to money with out shedding publicity to their property.

Why we’re watching: In markets the place conventional credit score is scarce or inaccessible, having the ability to borrow in opposition to crypto or shares with out promoting is revolutionary. This mannequin not solely preserves funding upside but additionally introduces a brand new type of collateral that’s native to Africa’s rising digital economic system. As crypto adoption rises, Carrot’s frictionless, no-paperwork lending might turn into the go-to credit score possibility for hundreds of thousands.

5. Kapsule is popping healthcare information into actionable insights (Healthtech, Rwanda)  

An investor first launched me to Kapsule, the Rwandan healthtech startup. And inside minutes, I used to be drawing parallels to PBR LifeSciences, a Nigerian startup with the same enterprise mannequin. 

Based in 2020 by David Chen and Hannan Hashmi, Kapsule helps hospitals and pharmacy teams flip uncooked information into insights to enhance affected person care. The platform captures, processes, and analyses well being information, offering multinational pharmacy teams with information and insights to make knowledgeable choices, like product pricing, forecasting, and new product growth, within the African markets it operates.

Why we’re watching: Healthcare in Africa is commonly hampered by poor information, fragmented, incomplete, or inaccessible. Kapsule is quietly constructing the infrastructure to vary that by turning uncooked well being information into insights that may save lives and enhance care. Its work is foundational, enabling hospitals and well being startups to make evidence-based choices, optimise assets, and monitor outcomes. 

Pharmaceutical firms usually battle with extreme manufacturing volumes attributable to a lack of information of precise market demand. PBR gathers anonymised information—drug amount, costs, and the way ceaselessly they’re bought—from numerous pharmacies to allow pharmaceutical firms to higher match manufacturing with precise market demand.

6. Recital Finance is automating monetary operations for Africa’s fintechs and corporates (Fintech, Nigeria)  

I got here throughout Recital Finance throughout Speed up Africa’s pitch occasion in Lagos. What stood out was the corporate’s pitch: automating the messy, guide monetary operations that decelerate African fintechs and corporates. From reconciliation to chargeback restoration, the platform guarantees to make finance groups’ lives simpler and companies extra scalable.

Launched in 2023 by Cleopatra Douglas and Bobola Ojo-Ami, Recital presents modules for cost orchestration, automated reconciliation, centralised banking, chargeback restoration, transaction monitoring, and accounting.

Why we’re watching: Recital is run by skilled founders who’ve constructed and stuck the messy backend methods at a few of Nigeria’s greatest banks and fintechs. One of many founders used to go software growth and Enterprise Intelligence at GTB and was a core engineer at Flutterwave.

The startup’s modular strategy means it’s not forcing a one-size-fits-all answer on everybody. A small fintech can simply choose what it wants, whereas a much bigger company can plug in additional as issues get difficult.

8. Bloom Cash is digitising conventional financial savings circles for diaspora communities (Fintech, UK)  

Bloom Cash got here when an investor from HoaQ, a syndicate that has invested in startups like Chowdeck, retweeted the corporate’s submit on LinkedIn. Launched by ex-Mastercard and ex-Klarna, Nina Mohanty, Bloom Cash is digitising the group rotating financial savings custom—popularly often called ajo or esusu—making it simple, clear, and secure for migrants to save lots of and borrow collectively.

Why we’re watching: Neighborhood financial savings teams like ‘ajo’ have powered African monetary resilience for generations, however they’re usually casual and susceptible to fraud or mismanagement. Bloom Cash is digitising this custom for the diaspora, mixing cultural belief with trendy know-how to create clear, safe, and scalable financial savings circles. This fusion not solely preserves a cherished apply but additionally opens doorways to formal monetary providers, credit score, and wealth-building alternatives for migrant communities usually ignored by mainstream banks. The founder can be an ex-Klarna with credit score expertise.

9. ChequeMate is bringing Nigeria’s conventional “ajo” financial savings system on-line (Fintech, Nigeria)  

Launched in 2025 by Elijah Kolawole Olusehinde, Chequemate is one other startup digitising Nigeria’s conventional “ajo” financial savings system. The app serves as a platform for each cooperatives and people who need to save in the direction of a purpose. 

Why we’re watching: The best way Chequemate is safeguarding its mortgage pursuits me. Customers pay a small premium that goes right into a pool to cowl defaults. It’s a easy concept, but it surely means everybody within the group has pores and skin within the sport and if somebody can’t pay again, the system cushions the blow as an alternative of turning right into a debt nightmare.

10. eDryv is altering how ride-hailing works in Nigeria (EV, Nigeria)  

I first met the founding father of eDrv, Ahmad Damcida, on a name final 12 months earlier than the startup’s launch. Launched in 2024 by Foltï Applied sciences, eDryv presents ride-hailing, leases, and company transport utilizing electrical autos powered by 95% inexperienced power, largely generated in-house from photo voltaic panels and battery storage. The service, which kicked off in Lagos Island, options EVs with as much as 450km vary and operates solar-powered charging hubs. Riders earn “Inexperienced Cash” for each kilometre travelled in a zero-emission automobile, additional incentivising eco-friendly selections

Why we’re watching: In a market the place drivers and platforms are at all times preventing over pay and dealing situations,  eDryv is taking a totally completely different swing at Nigeria’s ride-hailing complications. First, it runs its entire fleet on EVs powered by photo voltaic.  It isn’t simply swapping out gas for EVs, the startup additionally places its drivers on a month-to-month wage.  I need to see if paying drivers a gradual wage truly works right here, or if the previous issues simply present up in new methods.

11. PitchWise needs to vary the way in which startups elevate cash (VC, Nigeria)  

Launched in 2024 by Larmin Darboe, Pitchwise is a fundraising intelligence platform that lets startup founders securely share pitch decks and monitor investor engagement intimately. Not like DocSend, which solely presents doc monitoring, Pitchwise reveals who views your deck, time spent per slide, go to frequency, location, and funding probability. It helps gated entry, disables downloads, and permits calendar bookings and investor questions inside the deck. Forwarded decks turn into new investor leads, turning each share right into a progress alternative.

Pitchwise claims 1,500 founders are utilizing the platform and that over 12,000 investor engagement information factors had been generated final quarter, serving to founders shut rounds quicker. Current updates embrace deeper analytics and visibility to a curated community of 500+ lively traders. Pitchwise needs to make the pitch deck a stay fundraising asset, not only a static doc.

Why we’re watching:  Founders spend time sending out decks and questioning if traders are opening them. Pitchwise reveals who’s trying, what slides get consideration, and when individuals drop off. Turning each deck ahead into a brand new lead is sensible, and controls like disabling downloads or gating entry are higher than blasting out PDFs. In a market the place closing a spherical can really feel like shouting into the void, Pitchwise provides founders actual indicators to work with. I need to see if this type of transparency helps extra African founders shut quicker and minimize by the same old fundraising noise.

That’s all of the startups on our record for in the present day. Count on our subsequent dispatch on June twelfth. Know startups we must always characteristic subsequent? Please nominate right here.

Mark your calendars!  Moonshot by TechCabal is again in Lagos on October 15–16! Be a part of Africa’s prime founders, creatives & tech leaders for two days of keynotes, mixers & future-forward concepts. Early hen tickets now 20% off—don’t snooze! moonshot.techcabal.com.