Neither Nigeria nor Kenya dominates Bloomberg’s 2026 African startups to watch list

Bloomberg released its second edition of African Startups to Watch in 2026. Out of the big 4- South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria tied in representation, having 4 startups each, Egypt fell short, having one.  

Bloomberg Television’s Chief Africa Correspondent and Anchor further notes this, saying, “This list shows how businesses across the continent have increasingly mobilized local capital…”

She added that almost half of the funding raised by companies on this year’s list came from African investors.

Recently, the Financial Times released its list of the fastest-growing companies, with 30 startups on it. South Africa led with ten, Nigeria followed with nine, Kenya with three, while Egypt, despite topping the overall rankings, had two 2 startup entries. Bloomberg’s list says the same.

To build this year’s list, Bloomberg editors and Bloomberg Intelligence analysts evaluated companies based on the scale of the problem they were solving, the originality of their approach, and their traction with investors and customers. The result is a list of 25 privately held companies spanning 10 sectors — healthcare, fintech, security, climate resilience, waste management, transport, and technology, etc. The central theme is that the featured companies are all building solutions in environments where infrastructure or systems have failed to deliver.

Here are the startups that made Bloomberg’s 2026 Africa Startups to Watch list: 

Nigeria

1. 10mg Health – (Healthcare)

Founded in 2022 by pharmacist Christian Nwachukwu. 10mg helps hospitals and pharmacies access capital when upfront medical costs often delay treatment. Positioned at the intersection of fintech and healthcare, the startup uses medical and behavioral data to assess risk and expand access to care across underserved communities.

2. Remedial Health (Healthtech)

Founded in 2021 by Samuel Okwuada and Victor Benjamin, Remedial Health provides software that helps healthcare providers manage inventory, verify pharmaceutical suppliers, and access financing. Backed by Tencent, the company has helped finance tens of millions of dollars’ worth of medicines across Africa’s fragmented distribution system.

3. Sycamore (Fintech)

Founded in 2019 by Babatunde Akin-Moses, Sycamore offers digital lending and investment products to individuals and businesses in Nigeria, with a focus on fast, accessible credit. The platform is also expanding internationally, including into the UK, to serve Africans in the diaspora.

4. Terra Industries (Security)

Founded in 2024 by Nathan Nwachuku and Maxwell Maduka, Terra Industries develops mid-range unmanned aerial systems and defense technologies to address rising drone-based security threats in the Sahel. The company has raised $34 million in funding and is backed by 8VC, which is tied to Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale. A second manufacturing facility is being built in Ghana.

South Africa 

1. Amesect (Waste management)

Founded in 2023 by Elsje Pieterse, Brendes Gresse, and Dave Stewart, Amesect converts organic waste into fertilizer and animal feed. Led by entomologist Pieterse and backed by Dean Wetton Advisory, the company targets fast-growing African communities where waste management infrastructure has largely failed.

2. Aura (Health and Security)

Founded in 2017 by Warren Myers and Ryan Green, Aura connects users to private emergency response and security services via an app, filling gaps left by unreliable public systems. The company raised $14.5 million in Series B funding from the Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund.

3. Jem (HR)

Founded in 2020 by Simon Ellis and Caroline van der Merwe, Jem uses WhatsApp-based software to give employees access to payslips, employment documents, and salary-linked deductions. The platform serves around 200,000 workers across 200 companies, including McDonald’s franchise operators.

4. Omnisient (Fintech)

Founded in 2019 by Jon Jacobson and Anton Grutzmacher. It uses AI and alternative consumer data — from retailers, telecoms, and everyday transactions to help banks and insurers assess creditworthiness for people outside the formal financial system. Backers include TransUnion, Arise, and Shoprite Holdings.

Kenya

1. BuuPass (Transport)

Founded in 2016 by Sonia Kabra and Wyclife Omondi, BuuPass lets users search, compare, and book bus, train, and flight tickets across Africa’s largely informal travel industry. Founders Factory Africa and the Google Black Founders Fund back the startup.

2. Leta (Logistics)

Founded in 2021 by Nick Joshi, Leta helps businesses plan, assign, and track deliveries in real time, aiming to address the high costs and inefficiencies of last-mile logistics across Africa. The Google Africa Investment Fund backs the company.

3. Oye (Fintech)

Founded in 2022 by Kevin Mutiso, Oye bundles accident insurance and credit access with everyday fuel purchases for motorcycle taxi (boda boda) drivers. Backed by Britam Holdings, the company is targeting one million driver enrolments.

4. WorkPay (HR)

Founded in 2019 by Paul Kimani and Jackson Kungu. WorkPay started as a payroll tool and has expanded into a full HR, compliance, and financial services platform operating across more than 30 African countries. The company has raised over $10 million and is backed by Visa, Norrsken22, and Y Combinator.

Egypt

1. WideBot (AI)

Founded in 2016 by Mohamed Nabil and Mohamed Mostafa, WideBot builds Arabic-first conversational AI and customer experience solutions that address gaps in large language model performance across non-English languages and regional dialects. The company is targeting hundreds of millions of monthly interactions across MENA.

Mauritius

1. AzamPay (Fintech) 

Founded in 2018 by Firas Ahmad and Abubakar Bakhresa, AzamPay builds payment infrastructure for Tanzania and East Africa, reducing the cost of digital transactions in largely cash-driven economies. BKash’s success inspired the company in Bangladesh.

Tanzania

1. Black Swan (Fintech)

Founded in 2022 by Derick Kazimoto and Rwebu Mutahaba, Black Swan uses AI and alternative data, including electricity bills and digital transaction histories, to assess creditworthiness for individuals and small businesses without formal credit records. Germany’s develoPPP Ventures backs the startup.

2. SafeSip (Healthtech)

Founded in 2023 by Faith Kuya and Constantine Edward, SafeSip develops AI-monitored, solar-powered water purification systems that make contaminated water safe for drinking while reducing reliance on single-use plastics.

Madagascar

1. Bôndy (Climate resilience)

Founded in 2019 by Gabriel Tasso, Nelson Maillard, and Max Fontaine, Bôndy restores forests and promotes regenerative agriculture to address food insecurity driven by climate change and land degradation. Unlike most startups on this list, the company has grown without external equity funding.

Ghana

1. Complete Farmer (Agritech)

Founded in 2017 by mechanical engineer Desmond Koney, Complete Farmer uses supply-chain data to connect African farmers with buyers and vendors, improving traceability and quality assurance for export markets. The company has raised a Series A with support from Alitheia Capital.

Botswana

1. Deaftronics (Healthtech)

Founded in 2019 by Tendekayi Katsiga and Sarah Molema, Deaftronics develops solar-powered hearing aids designed for markets with unreliable electricity access. The company has received support from Johnson & Johnson as it works to expand affordable hearing care across the continent.

Somalia

1. Ecosom (Climate resilience)

Founded in 2019 by Musab Omar, Hisham Said, and Muna Warsame. It converts agricultural waste and invasive mesquite trees into biochar, biofuel briquettes, and charcoal. The company aims to restore soil health and strengthen food security in drought-prone parts of Somalia.

Ivory Coast

1. HUB2 (Fintech)

Founded in 2017 by Ashley Gauzere and Jean-Remi Kouchakji, HUB2 builds unified payment infrastructure connecting mobile money, bank accounts, cards, and digital wallets across a fragmented African payments landscape. The company focuses on the CFA franc zone, with Gauzere bringing experience as a former Orange executive.

Cameroon

1. Nkwa (Fintech)

Founded in 2021 by Akwo Ashangndowah, Alice Ndeh, and Claude Andui, Nkwa is a savings platform built for informal economies with low financial literacy. The company is backed by Cameroon’s Ministry of Finance and local angel investors.

2. Waspito (Healthtech)

Founded in 2020 by Jean Lobe, Waspito is a telemedicine platform that lets patients connect instantly with available doctors online, without appointments. Launched during COVID-19 and inspired by a personal family health emergency, the platform targets vulnerable and underserved communities across francophone Africa.

Pan-African

1. PawaPay (Fintech)

Founded in 2020 by Nikolai Barnwell, PawaPay helps businesses navigate fragmented African payment networks, processing millions of transactions daily across around 20 countries. The company raised approximately €6 million in seed funding and has been profitable since 2023.

Chad

1. Telemedan (Healthtech)

Founded in 2021 by Abakar Mahamat. It uses solar-powered stations to connect patients with doctors remotely, expanding healthcare access in regions with extremely low physician density. The company describes its approach as “frugal innovation” — reducing reliance on physical health infrastructure.

Things to note

1. All 25 companies are privately held.
2. Nearly half their combined funding came from African investors.
3. Fintech accounts for 36% of the list, but the fintech companies here are largely infrastructure plays, not consumer apps.
4. Several names appear on both the Bloomberg and FT lists: Nigeria’s Sycamore and Remedial Health, and South Africa’s Omnisient and Aura.

Last updated: June 2, 2026