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# Weekly Roundup: African tech news, startup, and VC deals
- URL: https://www.techloy.com/weekly-roundup-african-tech-news-startup-and-vc-deals/
- Published: 2022-01-05T18:31:00.000Z
- Updated: 2022-04-18T17:32:29.000Z
- Author: Techloy
- Tags: Tech in Africa, / Startups, / Money, Roundup

Here are the technology news, startup, and VC deals we tracked across the African region this week.

- 🇬🇭 **Ghanaian health-tech startup mPharma**, which offers a wide range of services including medical consultation, diagnostic, and telehealth services, has **raised $35 million** in a Series D round to build its data infrastructure, increase its talent pool, and support expansion plans in its current and new markets.
- 🇳🇦 **Namibian B2B e-commerce startup JABU**, which connects over 6K retailers to local and multinational suppliers and digitizes orders, payments, and logistics, has raised $3.2 million in a seed round from Afore Capital, Y Combinator, FJ Labs, Quiet Capital, Kli Capital, and others.
- 🇿🇦 **South Africa-based carrier-neutral colocation provider** [**Teraco has been acquired by Digital Realty**](https://www.techloy.com/africas-largest-data-centre-operator-teraco-to-be-acquired-at-a-3-5-billion-valuation/), in a deal that will value Teraco at around **$3.5 billion**.
- 🇪🇬 **Egypt-based e-commerce startup and B2B fashion marketplace** [**Gahez raised $2 million in a pre-Seed round**](https://www.techloy.com/egypt-e-commerce-startup-gahez-raises-2-million/) led by Disruptech Ventures with the participation of Egypt Ventures, Tanmeyah (an EFG Hermes company), Afropreneur fund, and other strategic angel investors.
- 🚀 **African tech startups raised an estimated $5 billion** in funding during 2021 in over 240 deals, with fintech startups raising over 60% of the total funding, according to Briter Bridges, a London-based research company that tracks investments into African startups.
- 🇪🇹 **Ethiopia's government suspended** the tender process for its second telecommunications license, with plans to relaunch it in the "near future".
- 🇿🇦 South African media giant Naspers, through its early-stage tech investment vehicle **Naspers Foundry announced an R54 million (a $3.4 million) investment into Planet42**, a car subscription company addressing transport inequality.
- 💸 **Cross-border remittance platform Taptap Send**, which lets users send money back home to Africa and Asia, **announced** **$65 million** in a Spark Capital-led Series B round, to continue its mission to bring remittances to the most underserved countries in the world.
- 🇰🇪 **Kenyan fintech startup [Paylend](https://www.techloy.com/kenya-fintech-startup-mypaylend/)**, which is providing access to finance and digitizing MSMEs in Kenya, **raised $2 million** in a seed funding round from Asia-based Next Chymia Consulting HK Limited, to expand its operations in Kenya and launch in Tanzania, Zambia, and Nigeria.
- 🇳🇬 **Nigeria's MAX**, a mobility startup pioneering clean-energy transportation technology in Africa, **raised $31 million**, the first close of a Series B funding round, led by London-based Lightrock Global, to expand into Egypt and Ghana, and build its EV infrastructure.
- 🌍 **AfDB Group approved a $1.5 million** grant to assess policy gaps in the digital trade and e-commerce ecosystems in 10 countries in Africa, including Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Ghana, Liberia, Uganda, South Sudan, Zimbabwe, Republic of Congo, São Tomé and Príncipe, and the DRC.
- 🪙 **African Blockchain Lab acquired a $6 million** Series Pre-A investment from Lateral Frontiers VC, CRE Venture Capital, Musha Ventures, as well as international blockchain investors, to help support the launch of its crypto wallet VIBRA Africa.

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*[The Draft](https://www.techloy.com/tag/the-draft/)* provides a weekly roundup of the most important tech news across key emerging markets in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. Follow the rest of our coverage [@techloy](https://twitter.com/techloy) on Twitter.