TECH STARS (960)
He is a tech entrepreneur with a strong background in data and artificial intelligence. His startup leverages those tools to help businesses engage customers more effectively.
Mutembei Kariuki (photo) is a Kenyan tech entrepreneur with a Master of Science in Information Systems from the Kobe Institute of Computing (Japan) and a Bachelor in Economics and political science from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (Kenya). He is mostly known as the co-founder and CEO of AI-as-a-service startup Fastagger.
His AI startup, Fastagger, was founded in 2019. It is an AI and blockchain platform that helps merchants and designers increase sales and build customer loyalty. In February 2023, it announced an undisclosed investment from global blockchain investor CV VC and plans to expand its cutting-edge AI and blockchain technology capabilities.
Pleased to now be working with CV VC, Mutembei Kariuki said, "Our focus is on providing innovative solutions that utilize the best of both worlds to create new opportunities for businesses and individuals. I am confident that this investment will help us to accelerate our growth and bring our vision to life. Our team is excited to work with CV VC to achieve our mission and make a real impact in the world."
The tech entrepreneur entered the professional world, in 2007, as a telemarketer for KPMG East Africa. In 2008, he joined The Pacific Institute as a facilitator before becoming the national vice president of talent management for AISEC Austria the following year. From 2010 to 2011, he was the global coordinator of Potencia Ventures. Concurrently, he was the India manager of IDEX Accelerator's Global Fellows Program.
In 2012, he oversaw the Kenyan expansion of the waste manager Shirai group. The following year, he became an associate of the global non-profit organization Acumen. From 2016 to 2017, he worked for the Kenyan training center Amani Institute as a social innovation manager. He has also been the East African regional coordinator of German Development Agency GIZ's tech entrepreneurship initiative Make-IT in Africa (between 2017 and 2019).
Melchior Koba
He is a visionary entrepreneur who focuses on quality and innovation to improve local food systems and provide healthy and affordable food to the population. He founded two start-ups that serve his goal of developing the agricultural sector in Africa.
Shikama Dioscore (photo) is a Rwandan entrepreneur who graduated from the National University of Rwanda with a bachelor's degree in plant biology and conservation in 2012. He is also the founder and CEO of the food distribution startup Food Bundles.
His startup, founded in 2020, wants to optimize the fresh distribution chain in urban areas while creating a resilient and sustainable marketplace for small-scale farmers. Its digital platform specifically connects farmers with buyers in urban areas.
In 2011, he founded AgriGo, another agritech company that helps farmers improve yields.
With an AgriGo account, farmers can access information on virtually any topic that directly affects their day-to-day business. The startup also provides a management platform for agricultural cooperatives that have to manage thousands of farmers. Using its platform, financial institutions can also inform farmers of financing opportunities.
Shikama is one of the founding members of Rwanda Youth in Agribusiness Forum (RYAF), a forum that aims at "promoting and advocating the business of youth who are involved in farming." From 2016 to 2022, he headed the forum's Information and Communication Technology for Agriculture (ICT4Ag) cluster. As such, his work included " engaging the right partners to stimulate the use of ICT4Ag, and develop the youth who are creating technology solutions to boost farming and the agriculture value chain in general."
The Alibaba eFunders fellow (2017) was one of the founding members of the Rwanda Young ICT Entrepreneurs Association, which aimed to inspire "tech Entrepreneurship among young Rwandans, develop strong business and interpersonal skills, and thus facilitate the creation of jobs in Rwanda’s Technology space." He remained a member of the association from 2012 to 2021. Between 2011 and 2012, he was a reporter and Kinyarwanda translator for the Rwandan multimedia company IGIHE.
Melchior Koba
He is a chartered accountant whose professional career includes positions at multinational corporations. He founded the fintech company Lulalend to allow access to quick and transparent business funding for SMBs.
Trevor Gosling (photo) is a South African chartered accountant who graduated from the University of Pretoria, where he studied from 2000 to 2004. He is also a tech entrepreneur. In 2014, he co-founded the financial technology startup Lulalend, which provides South African businesses with the funds they need to grow.
His startup offers up to US$280,000 in business financing to businesses that have been in operation for at least a year and have monthly sales of about US$2,200. The startup has developed a system that uses various data points to analyze loan applicants' financial health, business model, and cash flow potential to enable sound credit decisions.
In February 2023, the startup completed a US$35 million Series B funding round. The financial resources are expected to help expand its operations in South Africa and commercialize new products to improve access to financing for more than 2 million formal and informal small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the country.
" With this additional capital available, and the support of our investors, we are now better placed than ever to deliver on our vision of driving financial inclusion and acting as a catalyst for growth across the SME sector. […] I’m incredibly excited about the future of Lulalend and the positive impact we can have on South Africa’s SMEs, which as we know are so crucial to the nation’s economic development," Trevor Gosling said.
Before Lulalend, in 2012, Trevor founded 5 ounces, an e-commerce platform specializing in wine and gourmet products. The platform was acquired by Naspers Group in May 2013 but the founder remained its CEO until 2014.
His professional career started in 2005, at KPMG which employed him as a senior accountant. In 2008, he joined Rand Merchant Bank as an investment banker. In the following years, he assumed the same position at Goldman Sachs before returning to Rand Merchant Bank, in 2010, as a structured finance specialist.
Melchior Koba
After years of studying and then working in North America, he returned home to solve energy access problems by introducing renewable energies. With SunFi, he offers attractive payment plans and better services to clean energy consumers.
Rotimi Thomas (photo) is one of the co-founders and CEO of the fintech company SunFi. The Nigerian entrepreneur is a business administration and environmental management graduate from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business and Nicholas School of the Environment in North Carolina.
The fintech startup he oversees, SunFI, was founded in 2021. It "connects people who want solar energy access to payment plans that match their needs." By leveraging technology, it matches its subscribers' needs "to the right energy solution and solar installers."
Recently, in February 2023, the startup raised US$2.325 million in seed funding with Nairobi-based Factor[e] and SCM Capital Asset Management as lead investors. Participating investors included Voltron Capital, Norrsken Impact Accelerator, Ventures Platform, and Sovereign Capital.
In an interview with TechCrunch, Rotimi Thomas explained that the financial resources would help SunFi expand operations and improve its ability to match subscribers with the best and most affordable systems.
Before SunFi, in 2019, the CEO took part in the creation of Aspire Power Solutions, a solar installer that completed over 500 solar projects in Nigeria. His professional career really started in 2005, when he joined the financial services corporation TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. as an investment representative.
About three years later, he joined the financial firm PTC Accounting & Finance as a recruiter before returning to TD Waterhouse in 2009 as a senior investment representative. In 2011, he was hired by The Walt Disney Company as a renewable energy consultant.
In 2012, he was a leadership development intern and risk analyst at Constellation Energy. He was then recruited by the energy company Siemens as a senior associate controller and commercial project manager. In 2014, he was promoted to performance assurance manager for the company's Smart Generation Solutions portfolio in Germany.
The following year, he was appointed head of finance and strategy for Siemens Microgrids USA and, in 2016 he became the investment manager for the company's development fund in Africa. From 2017 to 2018, he was the market development manager for Siemens Power Generation's Gas 2 Power project in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Melchior Koba
As a digital architect, he develops and supervises digital spaces. He was introduced to programming at 10 and started working for Google at 13. His professional experience includes working with American celebrities like Nipsey Hussle and Kanye West.
Iddris Sandu (photo) is a Ghanaian-born digital architect living in the U.S. He is the founder and CEO of Spatial Labs, a California-based tech infrastructure company that develops Web3 hardware and software.
On its website, Spatial Labs (founded in 2020) presents itself as "a technology infrastructure company that is powering the next generation of Augmented Reality, Blockchain, Omni-channel, and Immersive Experiences - collectively known as the Metaverse." Its LNQ One chip allows brands to integrate loyalty benefits, authentication and tracking services into their products.
On January 26, 2023, it announced the closing of a US$10 million seed round led by Blockchain Capital, with participation from Marcy Venture Partners, a VC firm co-founded by U.S. rapper Jay-Z.
"The metaverse to us is not a virtual space that people go to spend time in. It’s a world in which we can add more context to your real world and make your real world more enjoyable. [...] We’re going to be responsible for catalyzing a completely new generation to be more conscious of their environment; more conscious of how they spend and how they buy," Iddris Sandu told Techcrunch at the time.
The tech enthusiast was introduced to programming at 10. At 11, a Google designer who spotted him at a library offered him an internship position with the Mountainview company. Two years later, he signed his first professional contract with the giant, working on several projects such as Google Plus, a defunct social network. At 15, he designed an app that allowed Narbonne High School (his high school)'s students to easily find their classrooms. For that innovation, former U.S. President Barack Obama awarded him a commendation certificate.
After high school, he declined an MIT offer and instead focused on internships to gain more experience. Between 2014 and 2015, he interned at Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Raytheon. In 2016, he was contracted as a consultant for Snap Inc. In January 2017, he joined Uber where he created the Autonomous Collision Detection Interface, a driver activity recognition system.
In 2018, he founded ethosDNA and Hakt Labs, respectively design and software development companies.
As a cultural programmer, he worked with U.S. rapper Nipsey Hussle to create The Marathon Clothing, a smart clothing store where he served as the chief technology officer between 2017 and 2018. He also worked as a design and tech consultant for Kanye West's Yeezy LLC. In August 2019, he also worked as an independent contractor for Beautycon Media. Months earlier, he was a mixed reality specialist for Innocean USA.
He has built a tech literacy school in Ghana and implemented several educational programs in California. From 2020 to 2022, he was an internal/external partner for Facebook (now Meta). He has received several awards, including a US$100,000 scholarship from the Peter Thiel foundation.
Melchior Koba
The serial entrepreneur has launched and sold several companies. He is focused on the fintech segment, developing solutions that dynamize the sector. With Fyatu, he allows businesses to generate virtual credit cards when needed.
Felix Maroy (photo) is a Congolese entrepreneur and the founder-CEO of fintech startup Fyatu.
Fyatu, founded in 2020, is a modern platform and simple application programming interface developed for innovators who want to issue virtual debit cards. With Fyatu, they can instantaneously create cards to be used for online payments and purchases from over six million websites. The cards come with 3D secure technology to avoid fraudulent use, and advanced and simple card management tools.
"We developed this solution to address the need for electronic payments in the Congolese and African markets, where there are still several businesses and individuals who do not have access to modern and secure payment methods," Felix told TechCabal.
His platform currently boasts over 158,000 active users, with more than 3,000 cards generated monthly and 48 countries covered. In 2016, the entrepreneur launched STREAMZEN, a free music and movie streaming app. With over two million downloads, the app was sold about a year after its creation.
In 2017, he also co-founded Pesapay, an online payment platform. The following year, he launched MerciPro, a software development business he ran until 2020.
Melchior Koba
He is a passionate tech entrepreneur who wants to leverage technologies to build a better Africa. Through his startup Clio, he provides businesses with the infrastructure needed to efficiently manage their teams.
Joshua Oguntade (photo) is a Nigerian impact entrepreneur and the founder-CEO of software development firm Clio.
Formerly known as Onboardly, Clio was founded in 2021. It provides fast-growing companies with best-in-class tools to manage employees and build great company cultures. It aims to help companies put their employees first by providing a platform that helps them take care of the tasks necessary for an efficient work experience.
It was launched after Joshua Oguntade and his teams noticed companies were still using fragmented processes and tools in their operations, wasting time and money.
The tech entrepreneur thus developed a modern human resources management infrastructure that manages recruitment, payroll, benefits, integration, HR, and IT tasks. Several notable companies, including Bumpa, Float, and Mono, use Clio's solution and appreciate its efficiency.
In 2018, Joshua had already co-founded Pennysmart, a convenient and automated online/offline savings and wealth management service for Africans. He entered the professional world in 2015, joining the SMS delivery platform as a software engineer.
From 2016 to 2018, he completed an entrepreneurship program developed by MEST Africa, and in 2020, he worked as a product and compliance manager for Flutterwave, a fintech company that builds payment infrastructures to connect Africa to the global economy.
Melchior Koba
The young computer scientist founded his fintech startup Gwala, in 2022, after his studies at the University of Stanford. With that startup, he helps firms boost productivity and retain talent.
Mossaab Abaouz (photo) is a Moroccan entrepreneur and alumnus of the University of Stanford where he studied computer science. In 2022, when he returned home after his studies, he founded Gwala, a fintech startup, which he is leading as the CEO.
His fintech startup aims to drive financial wellness by revolutionizing salary payment and helping companies increase employee productivity, retain talent, maintain healthy cash flow, and reduce human resource workloads.
Before launching Gwala, he co-founded several D2C e-commerce platforms between 2016 and 2018. From February 2020 to January 2021, he worked as an instructor and recruiter for Addictest, an ed-tech platform that helps students get admission into international universities, in the U.S mostly.
In 2021, the tech entrepreneur made a stint, as a research assistant, at the University of Stanford. He notably "developed an original algorithm that fused multiple Convolutional Neural Networks to increase the accuracy of image classification models by an average of 3%."
Recently, his startup secured an undisclosed amount of pre-seed financing from several investors including Ingressive Capital's Maya Morgan Famodu. The financing will be used to further develop Gwala and hire new talents to support growth.
"We’re thrilled to close this pre-seed funding round and to have the support of such a passionate group of investors. This investment will enable us to continue our mission of empowering Moroccans with the financial freedom they deserve and to build the future of work in Morocco," Abaouz said.
Melchior Koba
He is an IT consultant with over 20 years of experience working with multinationals like Google and Cosine Communications. As the General Partner of Partech Africa, he has invested in several African startups.
Tidjane Deme is a Senegalese investor and computer scientist. The Math-Physics and computer science graduate is one of the general partners of Partech Africa.
He was appointed to that position in 2016. Since then, he has overseen Partech's investments and strategic support to African startups that leverage technology to address key issues in emerging markets.
Some of the startups currently in the VC firm's portfolio are TradeDepot, Yoco, Wave, Nomba (ex-Kudi), Gebeya, ChatDesk, Reliance Health, MoneyFellows, TerraPay, Tugende, and Almentor.
Apart from being an investor, Tidjane is also an entrepreneur. In 2002, he co-founded CommonSys, an IT project management, and strategic consultancy firm he led, as the CEO, till 2008.
He gained international fame in 2009 when Google recruited him as its Francophone African Lead. In 2014, he was promoted to the position of head of business development in Africa. In that position, he worked on Project Link, a project that aimed to boost access to affordable broadband internet by deploying the needed infrastructure.
He is the initiator of several programs to advance internet use in Senegal. They include "Tablette Cafe" (an internet cafe where only computer tablets are used) in Dakar and Journal Rappé, a Youtube channel whose news presenters "rap the news."
His professional career started in 1999 when he joined the IT company Capgemini as a junior consultant (later senior consultant) in the telecom and media sectors. In 2002, he was recruited by Silicon Valley startup Cosine Communications, as a consultant.
Melchior Koba
He is an IT professional with extensive experience in growth management, policy formulation, IT operations, and digital transformation. Above all, he has earned the trust of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Kashifu Inuwa (photo) is a Nigerian tech expert. The Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University graduate is the Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).
He was reappointed to that position in February 2023, after a first 4-year term that started in 2019. The renewed confidence shown by President Muhammadu Buhari is the result of the successful actions he carried out during his first term.
During that term, Kashifu Inuwa successfully implemented various digital transformations, talent development, digital innovation, entrepreneurship and regulation development, and emerging technologies' exploration of indigenous IT content promotion programs, among others. When he joined the NITDA in 2017, he was the technical assistant to the then-director general. In that position, he was actively involved in the designing, planning, coordination, and execution of the agency's activities.
His professional career began in 2005 at Galaxy Information Technology & Telecommunication Ltd. where he was a network engineer and designed the Abuja wireless network that was serving over 50 clients. He also provided first and second-level support to over 1000 users.
In 2007, he joined Galaxy Backbone as an IP network field engineer before being promoted to senior network engineer (2009) and senior solution architect (2011). With his team, he designed more than 10 national IT systems that have helped promote the rollout of e-government platforms in Nigeria.
In 2014, he was hired by the Central Bank of Nigeria as a technology architect.
Melchior Koba
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She is a passionate entrepreneur who wants to give back control over the entire food value chain to significantly reduce crop losses in Egypt. With her brother, she developed a tech solution for that purpose.
Farah Emara (photo) is the CEO of Egyptian agritech startup Freshsource, which she launched with her brother Omar Emara.
Her startup leverages data and tech tools to transform the lives of producers, businesses, and consumers by creating sustainable food systems. It was launched after its two co-founders realized that in Egypt, food security is jeopardized because close to 30% of crops are lost due to poor post-harvest, storage, and transportation conditions. They also noticed that the high number of intermediaries in the supply chain and the lack of transparency generate an about 80% income shortfall for farmers.
Therefore, with over 80 employees, the startup launched in Cairo, in 2018, manages the entire fresh food value chain, including transportation, storage, and packaging in cold storage and appropriate facilities. It buys from farmers at consistent prices and sells the products at reduced rates. Nowadays, it serves clients in 11 cities in Egypt, with the aim of becoming the leading agricultural supply chain platform in the Middle East and North Africa region and changing the way fresh produce is bought, transported, and sold. It has already transported more than 10,000 tons of produce and claims over 1,000 deliveries weekly.
"FreshSource is disrupting the Egyptian agriculture industry by streamlining the value chain through technology. We are the region’s first B2B platform for fresh fruits and vegetables, connecting producers to businesses by leveraging data and technology and providing last-mile solutions," Farah Emara said in 2022.
Before founding FreshSource, between 2012 and 2016, she worked for Endeavour, a global community of high-impact entrepreneurs, as an entrepreneur selection and growth analyst and then as an entrepreneur selection and growth manager. In March 2016, she joined the consumer goods company Procter & Gamble where she worked as a Strategic Business Manager for the Middle East until 2018.
Let's note that her startup is among the 14 businesses selected for the 2023 Africa Tech Summit (February 15-16). In 2022, she received the Digital Agriculture Award of the year, issued by the World Bank and the IFC.
Melchior Koba
The tech enthusiast is a computer system and network administrator who graduated from ABCO Technology, an accredited Californian computer training academy. After years of experience in the U.S Tech environment, he decided to launch Zofi Cash, which provides instant salary advances to help Ugandans handle emergency needs.
Paul Kirungi (photo) is a Ugandan tech entrepreneur and the founder/CEO of Zofi Cash, a fintech startup that provides instant salary advances to employees.
The entrepreneur, based in the U.S. since 2012, founded Zofi Cash in 2020 to break the 30-day pay cycle in Africa. His solution allows employees to address their financial emergencies before payday with very low-interest rates without any collateral other than employers' approval.
"Zofi Cash is a financial services company focused on breaking the 30-day pay cycle. We seek to change the way employees or contractors get paid in this country and across Africa. That is why our salary advance service is now a market leader, and we haven’t stopped innovating. Our teams are intentional about the continuous improvement of the platform to allow more people to get paid daily," he said in an interview with entrepreneur ecosystem builder Innovation Village Uganda.
On January 31, 2023, Zofi Cash was selected, along with 13 others, to participate in the 2023 Africa Tech Summit (Feb 15-16) at the Sarit Expo Centre in Nairobi, Kenya.
Paul is an alumnus and ambassador of the Startup Africa Roadtrip, a non-profit organization supporting innovation in developing countries.
He entered the professional world in 2016, working as a systems support at Providence Hospital, in California. Months later, he joined Barkley Court Reporters as a system administrator. Thanks to Zofi Cash, he received the Next Generation Africa 2021 Best Fintech issued by Startup Africa Roadtrip.
Melchior Koba
The talented and passionate entrepreneur leverages his IT expertise to support local entrepreneurs and help them succeed.
Abdelsalam Safi (photo) is a Chadian social and tech entrepreneur. He is one of the co-founders and CEO of WenakLabs, the first startup incubator in Chad.
His incubator, founded in 2014, claims to be both a media lab and a tech hub that aims to help bridge the digital divide and promote tech entrepreneurship by all means. It also defines itself as a "space of collective intelligence and social innovation" that "defend a horizontal and transparent way of working."
Last January 18, it inaugurated its media lab, which is equipped with all the professional tools that can facilitate audiovisual and digital works and get training in related professions. Some of its equipment enables photo and video shooting, graphic designing, and the production of web TV shows.
" Our media lab is an interdisciplinary research lab where researchers, artists, designers, etc. can work together to leverage ICT potentials to solve problems and identify new opportunities", explained Abdelsalam Safi.
Since February 2020, the tech entrepreneur is the country director of the Chadian chapter of the American business incubator Founder Institute. Since 2006, he is also a member of the nonprofit organization Free Software Foundation.
His professional career began in 2012 when he started teaching system and network administration at the Chadian private school IPNT (Institut Polytechnique de nouvelles technologies). About a year later, he also started teaching Java object-oriented programming at the University Institute of Sciences and Technology of Abeche.
Melchior Koba
The talented entrepreneur combined tech tools and his experience in the event industry to offer an innovative solution to help event specialists in their work.
Haythem Dridi (photo) is the founder of the tech company Millesima Technologies. The Tunisian-born entrepreneur is a Mathematics and Physics graduate from the Faculty of Science of the University of Sfax, Tunisia. He is also a certified project manager.
Millesima Technologies, the startup he manages as the CEO, is a Startupact-certified Tunisian company. It specializes in data and on-demand video streaming. The startup launched in 2021 also offers face-to-face, hybrid and virtual solutions to event specialists.
In late 2022, it raised US$480,000 from private equity firm BH Equity to launch MYVIOO, a digital platform that allows firms and organizations to launch free or paid on-demand video and live-streaming channels that can be used as advertising spaces.
Haythem Dridi's entrepreneurial adventure began with the creation of Millesima Travel and Millesima Events in 2004. Millesima Travel is a licensed Tunisian travel agency specializing in B2B hotel booking and business travel management.
Meanwhile, Millesima Events is an events agency based in Morocco and Tunisia. The agency has already worked with 794 clients and organized 2,596 national, 60 overseas, and 150 virtual and hybrid events.
It is somehow the originator of Millesima Technologies, which was launched to allow it to continue its operations when the coronavirus pandemic forced a cessation of face-to-face events.
Melchior Koba