Africa Tech Startup Funding Resilient Amid Challenges
As 2024 came to a close, a new milestone was reached in Africa's tech scene: two new unicorns were minted back-to-back. The Nigerian fintech Moniepoint and the South Africa-based TymeBank joined seven other African unicorns on the elite list of start-ups with a valuation exceeding $1 billion.
The December unicorn rush boosted what was otherwise a down year for Africa venture funding. One of the most widely watched reports noted a 25% drop in funding for the year, clocking in at $2.2 billion raised in equity, debt, and grants across the continent.
The report by Africa: the Big Deal, a consultancy that charts the continent's startup scene and tracks funding rounds, noted that the second half of the year ended stronger than the first, but the 2024 numbers were significantly lower than the nearly $4.6 billion raised in 2022.
Africa was not alone in funding woes. The story was similar across emerging markets venture funding in 2024. Magnitt, a data analytics firm, reported that startups in the Middle East, Africa, South East Asia, Turkey and Pakistan also experienced investment slumps, raising only $9.1 billion in the year. This marked a 41% decline from 2023.
Investors and entrepreneurs in Africa, however, are undeterred. They cite Africa's young, rapidly urbanizing, increasingly wired, fast-growing populations as ripe for mobile-based and tech solutions, ranging from banking to supply chains.
A young african business woman in her office over an illuminated city, checking her smart phone at ... More dusk.
'We are just at the beginning of the Africa tech growth story,' Lexi Novitske, the managing partner of Norrsken 22, an Africa-focused tech growth fund, says. 'There is huge untapped demand and significant improvement in talent across the ecosystem, with angel investment spurring that growth. We are also seeing rapid adoption in tech platforms. The world will see several big success stories coming soon."
The first month of 2025 'kicked off on a high note,' according to Africa: The Big Deal. According to their database, startups raised $289 million. This marks the second-best January for startup funding in Africa since at least 2019, according to the consultancy. All told, startups have raised $408 million this year through the end of February, they noted in a recent post. Favorite targets for startup funding include fintech companies or logistics and transport firms.
Investors cite companies like Lagos-based fintechs Flutterwave and Paystack as examples of African companies that attracted international attention through fast growth and increasing scale. Paystack, a payments company, was acquired by Stripe in 2020 for an estimated $200 million, and Flutterwave, the Nigerian digital payments company, is gearing up for an initial public offering (IPO). Its last funding round in 2022 valued the company at $3 billion.
Investors also cite the myriad challenges facing the continent, including physical and digital infrastructure gaps, as both an obstacle and an opportunity for entrepreneurs to solve problems.
Tunde Kara, founder of Vendease, saw both obstacle and opportunity in the fragmented landscape of Africa's nearly $1 trillion food industry. His firm deploys 'Buy Now, Pay Later' technologies to restaurants and food businesses that creates 'a ripple effect across the food economy,' Kara says.
A Kenya Airways employee controls an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) as it spreads fertilizer over a ... More tea farm at Kipkebe Tea Estate in Musereita on October 21, 2022. - The agricultural drone market is expected to grow in the coming years, with some reports suggesting it could reach 10.5 billion USD by 2028. (Photo by Patrick Meinhardt / AFP)
The Vendease platform streamlines procurement and operations for food businesses in Nigeria. It connects restaurants directly with suppliers, offers software for supply chain and inventory management, and provides financial services like credit access. Kara notes that the company has provided $90 million in credit funding that has supported 135,000 farmers and reduced food waste considerably.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has noted that some 30-40% of food produced worldwide is lost due to inefficiencies in production and supply chains. Vendease tackles food loss while supporting farmers, restaurants and the broader food industry.
Nnamdi Emefo is solving for a different kind of challenge: locating sports talent in the continent. His firm, Afriskaut, uses AI and proprietary data to identify and showcase top African football talent. By processing match videos, it extracts key performance metrics, offering clubs, scouts, and agents comprehensive scouting tools.
DAKAR, SENEGAL - JANUARY 17: Children pose for a photo during a FIFA Grassroots schools program, on ... More January 17, 2019 in Dakar, Senegal. (Photo by Maja Hitij - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
Nnamdi Emefo understands that he is playing a long game and that advances made by today's entrepreneurs will build a platform for future growth. 'I see today as pre-early days because a lot of the founders are building the infrastructure required to catapult their industry to the next level, and the next set of entrepreneurs and founders will build on the current foundations we are laying,' Emefo says.
Aubrey Hruby is an active investor, analyst and co-author of The Next Africa: An Emerging Continent Becomes a Global Powerhouse. Her firm, Tofino Capital, is bullish on Africa's creative industries economy that can 'either take advantage of the buying power of global consumers and also become part of the daily or weekly spend of millions of Africans on sports and entertainment.'
Hruby acknowledges the challenging environment. She pointed to large devaluations in Egypt and Nigeria as key factors contributing to the slowdown in venture investment. 'I expect the African market to recover slowly,' she says, 'but it will depend a lot on stabilization and recovery in Nigeria.' She also notes that companies 'are more realistic about valuations and re-prioritizing cash generating growth.'
A delivery man drives a transporter with an advertisement for Nigeria's e-commerce site Jumia in the ... More Plateau district of Abidjan on April 24, 2019. Jumia, the e-commerce site based in Nigeria, became on April 12, 2019 the first African start-up to make its debut on Wall Street. (Photo by ISSOUF SANOGO / AFP) (Photo by ISSOUF SANOGO/AFP via Getty Images)
Hruby also says that the drastic stock price fall in Jumia Technologies, the NYSE-listed African e-commerce player, has discouraged some investors that still wait to see strong exits in the African tech ecosystem. The Lagos-based e-commerce platform went public in New York in 2019 amid great hopes as one of the first African tech companies to list on the global exchange, but its share price performance has lagged considerably amid concerns over profitability, regulatory scrutiny, and market conditions. Still, its growth prospects remain strong and it turned a profit for the first time in 2023.
Novitske also acknowledges the challenges, saying that "Economic headwinds are real. Currency issues are real. We very much have to watch how our dollar-based investments are going to perform over time when spending power in dollars is eroding year on year. That has been a big issue in Nigeria."
Still, she says, 'there is a perception challenge. These companies need large amounts of capital to fuel scalable growth. International investors look at Africa as poor, corrupt, and lacking the right infrastructure. All of this has been marred by news stories, but in reality, there is a huge untapped market here, and there is tremendous growth coming online. These tech companies are doing it very responsibly, dealing with governments in a responsible way.'
'Payments have taken off. Digital identity is starting to work. For the first time, consumers have credit history and banking history," Novitske says. "International transactions are being liberalized, but we are still seeing a lot of friction and fragmentation around supply chains, trade, and manufacturing. That's where we see the next big wave of opportunity."
Tunde Kara adds: 'Despite Africa's vast opportunities, international investors often perceive the continent as high-risk due to factors like political instability and infrastructure deficits, but he notes that 'Africa's tech entrepreneurs are not just building businesses; they are creating solutions with transformative potential, from advancing healthcare to driving financial inclusion. This purpose-driven innovation, combined with one of the world's youngest and most energetic workforces, positions Africa as a rising hub for global innovation.'
Entrepreneurs across Africa are already rewriting the narrative, according to Ahunna Eziakonwa, the UNDP Africa Bureau Director. She notes, however, that 'investment remains scarce, regulations are inconsistent, and markets are frustratingly fragmented.'
Most investment in Africa tech startups go to the 'Big Four' - Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and Egypt - but new markets are 'emerging as hotbeds of innovation,' journalist Oluwatomisin Amokeoja writes. Ghana and Tanzania were the most successful 'non-Big Four' in 2024, and other notable rising innovation hubs include Senegal, Ivory Coast and Tunisia, Amokeoja notes.
According to most investors and analysts of the continent, immense promise exists amid the peril. Landry Signe, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and professor at the Thunderbird School of Management, notes that Africa will be home to 25% of the world's population by 2050 with $16 trillion in combined business and consumer spending.
In Signe's latest book, Realizing Africa's Growth Potential: A Journey to Prosperity, he describes Africa as 'the world's next growth market.' He points to rising middle classes, growing digitalization, accelerating regional integration, increasing diaspora investment, fast-growing trade links, more high-earning companies and improved infrastructure as key elements of Africa's coming rise.
'Africa's economic transformation and business potential,' he writes "are more substantial than many think."
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Chicago Tribune
42 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
From fast casual to fine dining: 50 years of the American gyro, and a look at the dish's Chicago history
It's the lunch rush on a busy Wednesday at Dengeos in suburban Skokie. The restaurant's menu reads like the guest list for a party dedicated to fans of Chicago greasy spoons — mustardy hot dogs, Italian beefs, Polish sausages and mostaccioli abound. And, of course, gyros. Dengeos is a Greek restaurant first and foremost, and it's been serving up the yogurty, salty pita pockets since 1972. Behind the counter, between the shuffle of cooks and kitchen staff, Dengeos owner Nick Theodosis shows off the key to the joint's long-running success: three large machines, each with its own cone of rotating, sizzling gyro meat. 'These are the autodoners,' said Theodosis. 'And this,' he picked up a device that looked like a handheld Dyson fan, 'is called the Wizard. It shaves the gyro paper thin.' In 1974 and 1975, only a few years after Dengeos first opened, two Chicago-based companies, Grecian Delights and Kronos Foods, began mass-producing the world's first hydraulically pressed gyro cones. This modern marvel of rotisserie meat allowed for a more consistent, and therefore easier-to-sell, product. Eventually, the two companies merged in 2020, but in the years prior, they helped turn an ancient dish (some estimate the cooking techniques behind the gyro could be at least 2,000 years old) into a fast-casual staple, one that launched as many Dengeos-style Greek eateries as Helen launched ships from Troy. Now, over 50 years later, the popularity of the gyro has waned, as the classic Greek spots that once covered Chicago's North and West sides have dwindled, replaced by taquerías and shawarma joints as new waves of immigration have changed the city's culinary landscape. With fast-casual options out, Greek food in Chicago has moved in a more upscale direction, entering a new era of Greek fine dining that looks like it is here to stay. When Theodosis' father opened Dengeos, he had just fled a Greece where the economy had been ravaged by Nazi occupation and a bitter civil war. Long before that, however, Chicago had been a major hub for Greek immigration. According to Katherine Kelaidis, director of research and content at Chicago's National Hellenic Museum, between approximately 40,000 and 60,000 Greek immigrants settled in the Chicago area in the years immediately following World War I. Between 1945 and 1974, it's estimated that an additional 80,000 to 100,000 Greek immigrants came to the Windy City, many of whom expected to earn money they could send back to the homeland. There is actually a word in Greek for this periodic exodus, ',' said Kelaidis. Loosely translated, it means 'to go live in a foreign place to make money. Chicago is one of the first landing places for (Greek) people,' she said. When Greeks began arriving in Chicago in the 20th century, said Kelaidis, they settled on the city's West and Southwest sides, neighborhoods such as Little Italy, West Town and, of course, Greektown. Those with expendable capital began purchasing restaurants and gyro joints, places like Greektown's famed Greek Islands, which has been around since 1971, or the nearby Parthenon (where Kelaidis' grandparents had their first wedding anniversary), which closed in 2016 after 48 years in business. These restaurants were important spaces where the Greek community could gather, said Kelaidis, and they also created avenues for Greek immigrants to assimilate into the wider culture of the United States. Dino Sakkas certainly remembers his family's Lakeview restaurant, Gyros on the Spit, as a community gathering space. Open from 1973 to 2000, the restaurant was an old-school counter-service spot. Gyros, kebabs, baklava and spanakopita would arrive in red baskets lined with wax paper and a side of fries. There was always Greek music playing that would bounce off the restaurant's fake candelabras, gingham tablecloths and wood paneling, Sakkas said. 'It was a Greek restaurant, but a lot of people used to say it kind of looked like an old German brew ,' Sakkas said. Sakkas' uncle, one of the original owners of Greek Islands, helped his father start the business, but running the restaurant was really an all-hands-on-deck affair. When Sakkas' parents moved to Chicago from Greece in the 1970s, they didn't know many people, and Sakkas and his sister would spend most days after school hanging out at the restaurant. By 17, Sakkas was fully running the place. Sakkas is proud to say that, unlike most gyro spots at the time, Gyros on the Spit never made the switch to Grecian Delight Kronos Food's hydraulically pressed gyro cones, preferring instead to do it the old-fashioned way, marinating, slicing and stacking their meats by hand. This earned them a loyal following in the neighborhood. The lunch shift would see local building engineers, dinner would welcome large families (some Greek, some not) and the bar crowd would start rolling in around 2 in the morning and stay until 4 a.m. Sakkas' father would give everyone a shot of ouzo on their way out — complimentary, of course. 'I think the familiarity with Greek food, and an Americanized Greek food like the gyro, gave white Americans permission to see their Greek neighbors as one of them,' said Kelaidis of Chicago's Hellenic Museum. According to Kelaidis, by the 1960s, Greeks had moved from being seen as an ethnic minority to being seen more simply as white Americans. With white flight pushing most second-generation Greeks out to the suburbs, Greektown was soon Greek in name only. This exodus also meant fewer gyro spots. 'The block that my dad was on back in the early '70s, all the way to, I'd say mid-'90s, there were five (gyro places) on that block,' said Sakkas, 'and now there's none.' With the loss of many classic gyro spots, the Greek restaurant void has been filled by second- and third-generation Greek chefs who are putting their own spins on the classics they grew up eating. Among them is Doug Psaltis, a Greek restaurateur and chef-owner of Andros Taverna in the Logan Square neighborhood. One of the largest changes Psaltis sees from his grandfather's generation of Greek restaurants is their design. According to Psaltis, Greek restaurants used to have the 'Greek restaurant kit' — white stucco walls, azure blue ceilings and fake frescos of the motherland. This has since been replaced by more modern designs that feel more artistically driven, a change that is reflected in the food as well, said Psaltis. Whereas before you might have Greek dishes that were tweaked for an American palette, restaurants (and restaurantgoers) have now begun embracing more modern takes on traditional dishes that highlight the freshness of Mediterranean cuisine. At Andros Taverna, this looks like flying in fresh fish from markets in Athens and Barcelona, and baking their spanakopita to order rather than in large tray bakes that were more popular in the Greek diner generation of Psaltis' grandfather. When Psaltis first opened Andros Taverna in 2021, he wasn't planning on doing a gyro at all. 'I was like, no, it's not that kind of restaurant… This isn't like a quick eats place. It's a restaurant.' After playing around with the recipe, the restaurant now serves its signature gyro made with Midwestern pork, cooked over a charcoal grill and nestled in their made-to-order pitas. It's one of the most popular items on their menu, said Psaltis. Upscale gyros are also doing well on the menu at Meze Table, a Greek catering business based in Bridgeport run by best friends and collaborators Elizabeth Morris and Beth Salentiny. Like Theodosis and Psaltis, Salentiny also comes from a family of Greek restaurant owners and grew up eating Hellenic classics with a Midwestern bent. Her mother used to make a meatloaf with beef, pork and Greek spices that she would slice thin and serve pita-gyro style. She would also replace the more traditional fixings with Midwest staples like mayo, onions and lettuce — a Mediterranean meatloaf turned rustic gyro. Salentiny and Morris still make their gyros in a meatloaf pan before slicing thin strips that are crisped up on the stove. As if a meatloaf gyro wasn't Midwestern enough, the duo debuted their latest creation, the 'Gyro Hero' at a pop-up in June at Electric Funeral in Bridgeport. The sandwich features their homestyle gyro on a hoagie roll topped with a tzatziki-style slaw. You can try the sandwich at their next pop-up at Maria's Bar in Bridgeport on July 22. 'I'm so stoked to do it. It's a good blend of Maxwell Street-style counter food and gyros and Greek food together,' said Salentiny. Avgeria Stapaki, chef-owner of the Greek fusion restaurant Táma in the Bucktown neighborhood, is working on plans to open a counter service gyro joint where she will serve 'authentic Greek gyros' alongside Greek potatoes and Greek wines. The Greek-born and -raised Stapaki is known for fusing food from her homeland with cuisine from other cultures, creating flavors as uniquely Chicago as they are classically Greek; dishes like Táma's guacamole, which comes with a pico de gallo that mimics the flavor profiles of a Greek horiatiki salad, or their avgolemono ramen, which switches out the Greek soup's traditional starchy rice with ramen noodles. Stapaki said the number of Greek fine dining restaurants has more than doubled since she first visited the city in 2016. For evidence of this trend, she points toward fine dining darlings like Avli Taverna, which opened in 2018 and has a kitchen staff led by Greek-born chefs. Amid the fine dining fog, Theodosis, the owner of Dengeos in Skokie, said he will continue to serve up the classic gyros that have kept his customers coming back for the last 50 years. 'When we go to Greece, every corner has a gyro stand,' said Theodosis, 'It's just an awesome fire: Flaming saganaki sparks interest worldwide decades after its Greektown origin
Boston Globe
43 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
A Massachusetts nonprofit got a $9.3 million shelter contract. A big chunk went to a board member's business.
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In the most recent fiscal year, the state budgeted $879,887 for meals at the shelter, but with just 55 families on average staying at the hotel, the final bill will likely be less, state officials said. Advertisement The shelter closed last month after just over two years in operation. In total, the state paid Valley Opportunity Council $9.3 million through the end of April to provide various services to shelter residents, including feeding them and helping them find more permanent housing. Huntley defended the nonprofit's use of Diaz's company. He said he called at least three other food vendors for prices, adding that, unlike the state, the nonprofit is not required to put out requests for bids. Some other vendors were only able to deliver food during the week, while others were more expensive, according to Huntley. Key Food charged $9.99 a meal, according to the state housing agency. 'You can't get that anywhere,' Huntley said. 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'Even if the price were considered low, without a contract, where are the controls over the quality of the food being served? And how do the taxpayers footing the bill know their dollars were well spent without a formal bid?' Zuzanna Zaluga, a board member, confirmed to the Globe that the deal was disclosed to the board two years ago. She couldn't recall any discussion about a contract. Diaz's family operates two grocery stores in the Springfield area, one in Chicopee and another in Holyoke, which they have owned since 2003. The stores cater to the region's growing Latino population. Diaz has been on Valley Opportunity Council's board since 2019, but said his position didn't give him a leg up. 'They could have picked anyone; I'm glad they picked me,' Diaz said. 'We could use the extra income, and also, I'm glad to help.' His company initially provided peanut-butter sandwiches and other simple meals to a small number of families staying at the Quality Inn, but as the shelter population grew, so did their needs, Diaz said. Key Food eventually hired a Haitian chef to cook more hot meals, he said. Diaz said Key Food gave Valley Opportunity Council a discount because of the higher volume of customers: charging the nonprofit $1 less per meal than its usual $10.99 catering price. It is unclear how many meals Key Food delivered to the shelter over the course of the arrangement. In November, state officials visited the shelter after being alerted of the potential conflict. Advertisement During that visit, state officials 'determined the quality to be satisfactory,' Smith said. 'They also spoke directly with families who indicated they were satisfied with the food and had no complaints.' Governor Maura Healey's administration rapidly expanded the state's shelter system in 2023 in response to the skyrocketing number of homeless and migrant families in Massachusetts, and complaints and questions about food cost and quality soon followed. The state housing agency signed a or about $19.38 a meal — even though it received complaints about the quality of its food, state records showed. Caterers have told the Globe that Spinelli's rate was an outlier, and another state agency that also provided food to homeless shelters paid its vendors 30 percent less per meal. At its peak last year, the The state is ending the program and has been closing the shelters in recent months, with just In May, State Auditor Diana DiZoglio issued a scathing Her report highlighted Spinelli's contract. It concluded that Healey officials didn't provide enough oversight and overpaid the caterer. The audit did not look at how nonprofits such as Valley Opportunity Council managed taxpayer funds in their deals with subcontractors, or what kind of oversight the state provided for those arrangements. Advertisement The state's shelter contracts only require providers to inform their own governing boards of any potential conflicts of interests. There is no requirement that they inform the state. That was a mistake, said the Pioneer Institute's Connaughton. 'That's a weakness in the contract and poor oversight in my opinion,' she said. Deirdre Fernandes can be reached at
Axios
an hour ago
- Axios
Starbucks launches secret menu on app and a new contest
Starbucks is making its "secret menu" official — and turning it into a nationwide contest with a cash prize. Why it matters: It's the Seattle-based coffee giant's latest play to win back customers and reverse sliding sales. Under CEO Brian Niccol's"Back to Starbucks" plan, the company has been making a series of tech-forward and consumer-focused changes. Starbucks leans into TikTok trends The big picture: This initiative draws a direct line from social media to the Starbucks app — a strategy familiar to Niccol and Tressie Lieberman, Starbucks' global chief brand officer, from their days at Chipotle. In 2023, the fast-casual chain introduced three menu items based on TikTok users' personalized orders. Starbucks secret menu drinks now available How it works: Starting Monday, Starbucks Rewards members can browse a selection of custom drink creations inspired by customer hacks and social media trends in the app's "Offers" tab. With one tap, a pre-built custom drink is added to the cart with all modifications preloaded, which simplifies ordering, the company said. Zoom in: The first four customizations featured are: Cookies on top: A Cold Brew with vanilla syrup, Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Foam and cookie crumble topping. Dragonfruit glow-up: A Mango Dragonfruit Lemonade Refresher blended with peach juice and topped with Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Foam. Lemon, tea & pearls: Black tea and lemonade plus raspberry-flavored popping pearls. Just add white mocha: Brown Sugar Oatmilk Shaken Espresso with White Chocolate Mocha Sauce and Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Foam. What's next: More customizations will be featured in the future on the app's offer tab, Starbucks said. Starbucks Secret Menu Contest State of play: Starbucks is also running the "Secret Menu Contest" Monday through July 20. Customers and employees can submit their drink customizations at Starbucks Instagram Aug. 18-20. The finalists' creations will be featured on the app from Aug. 18-25. Each finalist wins $5,000, and the fan-voted grand prize winner gets an additional $25,000.
