After a tumultuous 2023 where over a dozen startups bit the dust, 2024 began with steady optimism and a gradual rebound of funding. The consistent theme this year was unit economics and the global ecosystem course-corrected.
2024 has reached its tail end once again. The question on everyone’s minds is what can the tech sector look forward excitedly in 2025? Which startups should we watch out for? We ask some VCs, founders, and tech leaders to come up with this answer.
1. Octavia Carbon
Octavia Carbon is a Kenyan-based company using direct air capture (DAC) technology to filter CO2 from the atmosphere and turn it into rock. “With the consistent talk of climate change, Octavia Carbon is one of the very few figuring out the concept of direct air capture, which is very intensive,” said Uwem Umemakpan, Head of Investment at Launch Africa Ventures. The company was founded in 2022 by Martin Freimüller and Duncan Kariuki.
2. Midddleman
Founded by Omolara Sanni and Adeola Owosho in 2023, the Nigerian startup is on a mission to transform e-commerce for African businesses by addressing trust and logistic challenges associated with trading in China. The business supports seamless currency conversions to Yuan (CNY) for vendors ordering from China. In 2024 alone, Midddleman’s popularity has soared upward, especially after winning several grants. Some of the grants include First City Monument Bank (FCMB) HERccelerate, First Bank Fintech Innovators Pitch and the PitchHER competition organised by Wetech. Midddleman ended 2024 doing over ₦1 billion in Total Transactions Value.
3. Konnect Ventures
Konnect Networks is a Tunisia company founded in 2021 by Amin Ben Abderrahman. Konnect’s goal is to make digital payments more accessible, secure, and user-friendly. The company also operates in the cross-border space and is concerned with reducing the reliance on cash for transactions in the region. This month, it raised $1.5 million in a funding round led by a consortium of investors, including Attijariwafa Ventures, Renew Capital, Digital Africa Ventures, Sunny Side Venture Partners, Plug and Play Africa and 54 Collective. The company is the only payment service provider (PSP) in the North African country.
4. Deep Echo
Founded in 2020, by Youssef Bouyakhf and Saad Slimani, Deep Echo is a Morrocan startup that uses AI on ultrasound dynamic imagery to prevent avoidable fetal mortality. This health-tech innovation has caught the eye of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) who launched a programme that will grow the startup and seven others. The work the company is doing in preventing birth defects was recognised at GITEX Africa 2024 where it won the prestigious Supernova Challenge in the Healthtech category. It also received the Forbes and Aviram Foundation’s awards for the most impactful startup in the Middle East and North Africa region in 2023.
5. Aspyra Foods
Aspyre Foods is a biotech startup that was founded in 2022 by co-founders Thomas Bartleman and Inge Mendelsohn. The South African-based startup is concerned about producing affordable dairy products under ethical conditions. The company claims that these products are sustainable and without compromise. The startup secured fresh funding which it refused to disclose in December 2024 after laying off a significant amount of staff in November 2024.
6. Tyms
Tyms is a bookkeeping and accounting startup that was founded in 2021 by Adepoju and Chineye Ochem. Tyms helps African businesses manage their accounts payable and accounts receivable, along with their bookkeeping and general accounting activities through its Tyms Book platform. The Nigerian company will adopt AI to automate its process in 2025 following an announcement by Ochem on LinkedIn. According to her, many users just want to generate an income statement from just uploading a bank statement in PDF. The team now has an accounting assistant known as Tyms AI.
7. MyFoodAngels
Founded in 2018 By Olapeju Umah, MyFoodAngels is a farm-to-table startup that is redefining the future of groceries. The Nigerian company has operated for six years without raising money and conducted a backwards integration project to sell quality tomatoes and palm oil. Even though MyFoodAngels doesn’t produce everything it sells on its platform, it takes extra care to make sure the source is fresh and verifiable. Even down to the bag of rice it gets from farmers. Umah who leads the team claimed the company has been profitable since day one even though she declined to share figures. MyFoodAngels concluded 2024 as the Premia BN startup of the year alongside several grants in their trophy haul.
