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💰 African Startups Raise just under $120 Million in May 2025

💰 African Startups Raise just under $120 Million in May 2025

Plus: 🦹🏻‍♀️ Equity Group Fires Over 1,200 Staff in Major Anti-Fraud Crackdown

Innovation Village
June 02, 2025

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Today’s Menu ☕️

💰 African Startups Raise just under $120 Million in May 2025 as VC Activity Levels Out
🚀 Zeeh Africa Represents the Continent on VivaTech 2025 Innovation of the Year Shortlist
🎼 Streaming is Global, But the Pay is Not: The Harsh Reality for African Artists
🦹🏻‍♀️ Equity Group Fires Over 1,200 Staff in Major Anti-Fraud Crackdown

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💰STARTUP FUNDING

African Startups Raise just under $120 Million in May 2025 as VC Activity Levels Out

After a strong surge in April, the African tech startup ecosystem witnessed a quieter—but still active—month in May 2025, with total disclosed funding just under $120 million. While this represents a significant drop from April’s $343 million rebound, it indicates continued deal flow and investor interest, particularly in early and growth-stage ventures.

New capital flowed into startups across fintech, real estate, mobility, and marketplace infrastructure, with notable deals in Nigeria, Kenya, and Egypt. Although no nine-figure megadeals emerged, the funding landscape shows signs of healthy diversification and sector maturity.

April had been an outlier, fueled by large rounds such as hearX ($100M), Bokra ($59M), and Stitch ($55M). May, by contrast, lacked major outliers, but revealed a strong mid-tier — suggesting that investors are maintaining discipline while still backing solid companies.

Estimates for May 2025 now place the total at just under $120 million, spanning less than a dozen disclosed deals across key regions. While a decline, this still marks a noteworthy improvement over the subdued activity in Q1 2025, particularly March’s sub-$60 million total.

Standout Deals in May 2025

Several startups secured significant rounds during the month, particularly from Nigeria, Kenya, and Egypt:

Nawy (Egypt, Proptech) – $75 million to scale its digital real estate platform
Thndr (Egypt, Fintech) – $15.7 million to expand its investment product into the MENA region
MoneyFellows (Egypt, Fintech) – $13 million bridge round for new products and market expansion
ARC Ride (Kenya, Clean Mobility) – $5 million from British International Investment to grow its electric mobility network in Nairobi
Carrot Credit (Nigeria, Fintech) – $4.2 million pre-seed round to deepen access to credit using alternative data
Cutstruct (Nigeria, Proptech/Marketplace) – $1.5 million to scale its construction procurement platform

These deals reflect a broadening of sector interest, particularly into real estate technology, green mobility, and embedded finance...……continue reading

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🚀 INNOVATION

Zeeh Africa Represents the Continent on VivaTech 2025 Innovation of the Year Shortlist

At this year’s VivaTech conference in Paris, Nigeria’s Zeeh Africa has been named to the prestigious VivaTech 2025 Innovation of the Year shortlist, emerging as the only African startup among 30 global finalists. This recognition places Zeeh Africa on one of the world’s biggest stages for technology and innovation — and signals a growing global appreciation for the strength of African tech talent.

The Innovation of the Year award, presented by VivaTech in partnership with TechCrunch, celebrates the boldest and most visionary startups from around the world. Open to all exhibiting startups at VivaTech 2025, the award focuses on companies pushing boundaries in areas such as sustainability, deep tech, mobility, healthcare, and digital finance.

Zeeh Africa operates in the banking and fintech space, providing accessible digital financial services across underserved communities in Nigeria and beyond.

As one of the 30 shortlisted startups, Zeeh Africa is now in the running to be named one of five finalists who will pitch live at VivaTech on June 11. The winner will be announced at the VivaTech Global Awards Ceremony on June 12, earning:

A spot on the main stage to pitch,
A free Startup Corner at VivaTech 2026,
And inclusion in the TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 200, a globally recognized showcase for emerging companies.........…continue reading

🎼 MUSIC STREAMING

Streaming is Global, But the Pay is Not: The Harsh Reality for African Artists

In today’s digitized music world, streaming has become the primary way listeners consume music and artists share their work. With platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, Boomplay, and Audiomack offering near-instant access to global audiences, the perception is that any artist, anywhere, can now earn a living through streaming. But as Tems’ manager, Muyiwa Awoniyi, recently pointed out, the reality for African artists is far from equitable.

In an eye-opening statement, Awoniyi revealed that one million streams on Spotify in Nigeria generates around $300, while the same number of streams in Sweden could earn up to $10,000. This stark disparity highlights a deeper issue within the global streaming economy—payments are heavily influenced by geography, with artists in developing markets receiving a fraction of what their peers in wealthier nations earn for the same volume of plays.

The reasons behind this income gap are rooted in regional advertising rates, currency values, subscription models, and platform policies. Platforms like Spotify pay out based on revenue generated in a particular region. In high-income countries like Sweden or the U.S., where users pay more for subscriptions (about $11-14/month) and advertisers pay a premium to target listeners, artists earn significantly more per stream. Since advertising rates and subscription fees ($0.52/month) are lower in markets like Nigeria, the per-stream payout is also significantly reduced. Additionally, many African users consume content through the free ad-supported versions of streaming services, which yield even less revenue for artists than paid subscriptions.....…continue reading

🦹🏻‍♀️ FRAUD

Equity Group Fires Over 1,200 Staff in Major Anti-Fraud Crackdown

Equity Group has dismissed more than 1,200 employees as part of a sweeping effort to clamp down on internal fraud, CEO James Mwangi confirmed this week. The move, one of the most extensive in Kenya’s banking history, follows an internal investigation that uncovered widespread staff collusion with fraudsters, resulting in financial losses exceeding KES 2 billion (approximately $15.4 million) over the past two years.

Some of the stolen funds were traced to offshore accounts, including a high-profile case involving transfers to Abu Dhabi. The findings revealed that employees across multiple departments either actively participated in or ignored suspicious transactions involving customers.

Mwangi delivered a clear message about the bank’s new zero-tolerance stance: “The moment of reckoning has come. It doesn’t matter how many I will lose. I don’t even care. I have just started the journey. I will protect the customers and the bank. I will be ruthless.”.….…continue reading