White Founder Privilege in Africa, Nigeria Shuts Down Twitter, Malawi’s World First 3-D Printed School | The Round-up

4 Jul

Hello and welcome to another monthly news roundup of the most exciting developments shaping the African tech startup space. As usual, we have lined up some exciting news from the continent, to keep you up to date with current affairs in the African business and technology ecosystem. This month we explore the business cost of media censorship in Nigeria, the persistence of investors favouring White founders as well as news from Airtel, Bolt, and Helium Health, amongst others. Here’s the roundup.

Black Founders Matter

African founders have struggled for decades to secure critical funding to bring their ideas to life, and while things are improving, one story this month shows that there is still so much more work to be done. In June, Kune, a six month-old Kenyan-based food tech startup, closed a $1 million pre-seed round to launch an on-demand food service in Nairobi. The company closed this funding round in two months, one of the largest in East Africa, and one of the few non-fintechs to have raised a seven-figure pre-seed round on the continent. Founded by Robin Reecht in December 2020, to ‘deliver freshly made, ready-to-eat meals at affordable prices’, the CEO told Techcrunch that he started the company “after three days of coming into Kenya” and finding it “impossible” to get great food at a cheap price. Unsurprisingly, he received heavy backlash for his tone deaf reasons for starting the business, with Kenyans equating it to a “White saviour” complex, especially since the solution he created is not new in Kenya as well as the speed with which he raised funds, compared to the ease with which Kenyans can access funding.

White tech startup founders are 50,000% more likely to get funded in Kenya than in the USA. Typically, 65% of them had lived in Kenya for less than a year and demonstrated no specific special skills other than being White. Kune is a reminder of the gaping disparity in access to funding for the many innovators in the African tech space and an issue we want to see key stakeholders actively address soon.

Nigeria Shuts Down Twitter

Earlier in June, the Nigerian government announced the shut down of Twitter, following the deletion of a tweet from the country’s president that insinuated violence against the Biafrans [or Igbos as they are now called]. Twitter said the post violated its policy on abusive behaviour, which then led to the government blocking Nigeria’s over 40 million users from using the platform. It is estimated this is costing the country’s economy an $6 million daily.

Nigeria’s information minister, Lai Mohammed, claimed that the suspension would be indefinite, stating that the government had acted because of “the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence”.

For many of the Nigerian tech community (the largest in Africa, and the millions of Nigerians who run their businesses via Twitter, this is more than a hindrance. Nigeria is Africa’s most attractive tech hub for investors, and many find new talent and make connections through Twitter. This constant regulatory changes in Nigeria is already a challenge for investors and this decision ironically proves that Twitter was right to go to Ghana rather than Nigeria.

Here is a roundup of other news stories from the African startup scene in June:

Malawi just opened the world’s first 3D printed school, built by 14Trees, a CDC joint venture with construction company Holcim. The school was built in Malawi’s Salima district (pop. 38,000), and its walls were printed in just 18 hours, compared to several days with conventional building materials. It was built with minimal material use and carbon footprint at record speed. This is indeed proof that 3D printing can play a key role in bridging the education infrastructure gap by building high-quality classrooms for children in a sustainable, affordable and fast-paced way at scale.
Nigeria’s Airtel, a provider of telecommunications services, has partnered with AXA Mansard, a leading healthcare service provider, to launch a new service that gives its Nigerian subscribers access to health insurance via USSD, through their mobile phones. The plan provided will be affordable but robust, inclusive of access to over 1,000 hospitals for healthcare services across the country.
Kenya’s Lori Systems has appointed Uche Ogboi as CEO. Ogboi joined the e-logistics company as COO in 2019, leading the company's operations and expansion across Africa. As CEO, she is taking over the reins from the company’s founder, Josh Sandler, who will be moving on to serve as Executive Chairman of Lori’s board. As part of her role, she will be driving the company through a period of unprecedented innovation and growth.
Ghana’s Jetstream raised $3M from local and international investors, to build the digital infrastructure for Africa’s trade corridors. The investors include Alitheia IDF, Golden Palm Investments, 4DX Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Asia Pacific Land, Breyer Labs, and MSA Capital. The founders started Jetstream to enable African businesses to see and control their own cross-border supply chains. It aggregates private sector logistics providers at African ports and borders and brings them online.
In Kenya, mobility and door-to-door food delivery platform, Bolt, has added electronic bikes and tuk-tuks to its fleet, in a bid to reduce its ecological footprint, tackle the issue of the constant fluctuation in fuel prices and stabilise the growth of drivers’ earnings. Deliveries in Kenya will now be made using the newly introduced bikes and tuk-tuks.
Nigeria is the number one market in Africa with the highest number of Finance app installs, says a report by Appsflyer, the global marketing measurement leader, in its 2021 edition of The State of Finance App Marketing report. According to the report, Fintech apps are in high demand, experiencing a 132% leap globally in downloads in the last two years. Sub-Saharan Africa saw impressive growth, with installs in Nigeria climbing 160%, up 100% in Kenya and rising by 52% in South Africa.
Apple’s privacy relay safety feature won’t roll out in three censorship-heavy African countries - South Africa, Egypt, and Uganda, as cutting off access to the internet and social media is common in the region. This new feature encrypts all browsing history and prevents third parties from intercepting the communication between your device and the server you’re requesting information from.
South African journey planning startup, WhereIsMyTransport announced a $14.5 million Series A extension to continue its expansion across emerging markets, alongside its already existing markets in South Africa and Mexico. The round was led by Naspers Foundry, Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund, and SBI Investment, with additional funds from Capria Ventures, Wuri Ventures, Mission Gate, B&Y, and KDDI Open Innovation Fund managed by Global Brain.
West Africa’s largest Electronic Medical Records (EMR) and Hospital Management Information (HMI) Systems provider, Helium Health, has launched in Kenya. The company is already working with three new local partners to help improve efficiencies and provide a better service to patients in Kenya. The company believes there is a great opportunity to harness cutting-edge technology to help improve the way healthcare data is gathered and managed across Africa, so partnering with like-minded healthcare providers and facilities in Kenya is an excellent fit for Helium Health.