Startups

Emerging ventures, startup ecosystems, new products, accelerators, incubators, venture building and disruptive business ideas.

Founders

Oct 30, 2026

Inside the 14-person Lagos company quietly beating the global software giants

No sales team, no outside capital, one price. Ledgerline’s founders explain why they think the era of bloated business software is ending — and why their customers agree.

Adaeze Okonkwo

· 12 min read

Founders

Oct 30

The Next 50: Zainab Bello and Africa’s new generation of founders

Our Next 50 list of founders under 30, and what the continent’s youngest builders have in common.

Startups & Innovation

Kigali’s accelerator class of 2026: ten startups to watch

Adaeze Okonkwo

THIS WEEK

Latest in Startups & Innovation

Funding

Oct 29

Kora Pay raises $40m to fix payroll for remote African teams

The cross-border payroll startup doubles its valuation in 18 months as companies hire across borders.

Energy

Oct 27

The cement startup that wants to make African cities breathe

Basalt’s low-carbon cement is already in the supply chains of three of West Africa’s biggest builders.

Oct 24

The second wave of African AI startups is boring. That’s the point

After the hype cycle, the AI companies quietly making money are automating invoices, claims and compliance.

Exits

Oct 22

Inside the $90m exit nobody saw coming

How an Abidjan logistics startup sold itself to a pan-African group in eleven days.

Funding

Oct 20

Pre-seed is dead. Long live the friends-and-family round

With early-stage funds pulling back, founders are going back to the oldest source of capital there is.

Latest in Startups & Innovation

The business stories worth knowing.