African startups rethinking ride-hailing, credits, and banking

Startups on Our Radar is a bi-weekly column that spotlights new startups across Africa taking unconventional approaches, filling fundamental gaps, and creating value in a way that feels fresh, focused, and meaningful. Know a startup we should feature next? Please nominate here.

In our second edition, we featured 10 African startups opening markets, cutting CO₂, and seafarming no one’s talking about yet. If you missed it, catch up here. Expect the next dispatch on June 12, 2025.

Let’s get into today’s picks.

1. Tendo is unlocking entrepreneurship by removing inventory risk for thousands (E-commerce, Ghana)  

I first heard about Tendo while doomscrolling on LinkedIn. Someone was raving about how it’s helping everyday Ghanaians start online businesses without the usual headaches of inventory or capital. 

Founded in 2021 by Felix Manford, Evans Boateng, Derrick Mungai, and Primerose Katena, Tendo enables tens of thousands of individuals to launch and grow online businesses without upfront capital. The platform connects aspiring entrepreneurs with suppliers, handles inventory and delivery, and empowers users to sell directly via social channels like WhatsApp and Facebook. 

Why we’re watching: By removing inventory risk and simplifying operations, the company is unlocking entrepreneurship for people who’ve traditionally been sidelined by capital and logistics challenges. This model could redefine how digital commerce scales across Africa’s informal economies, especially for women and youth. The company is also backed by Y Combinator and Renew Capital..

2. eMaisha Pay is building a neobank tailored for agribusinesses (Fintech, Uganda)  

When I came across eMaisha Pay, I was fascinated by its focus on agribusinesses. Unlike most neobanks chasing urban SMEs, eMaisha is laser-focused on farmers and small agribusinesses who’ve been left out of the financial system for too long. Founded in 2021 by Sserubiri Joseph Uhuru, its mobile app and prepaid card make it easy for these businesses to save, transact, and get loans without the usual paperwork nightmare.

Why we’re watching: Agriculture remains the heartbeat of Africa’s economy, yet financial services for farmers and agribusinesses are still stuck in the past. eMaisha’s laser focus on this underserved segment means it offers a lifeline for rural entrepreneurs who need tailored financial products that fit their unique cash flows and risks. By integrating savings, payments, and credit into one seamless platform, eMaisha could unlock a wave of productivity and resilience in African agriculture, with ripple effects on food security and rural livelihoods.

3. Zeeh Africa is bringing AI-powered open banking to Nigeria’s fragmented financial landscape (Fintech, Nigeria)  

Zeeh Africa came into my radar when I attended the Ibadan Startup Fest last year. The startup was a headline sponsor. I had a quick chat with the founder and was struck by how the company is building tools that let people link all their financial accounts, get personalised advice, and unlock credit opportunities—all in one place. 

Launched in 2022 by David Adeleke and Frank Uwajeh, Zeeh Africa’s AI-powered open banking platform lets individuals and businesses link all their accounts, track spending, receive personalised financial advice, and unlock new credit and investment opportunities in real-time. By aggregating financial data and providing actionable insights, Zeeh is one of the open banking startups breaking down silos and giving users the tools to make smarter financial decisions

Why we’re watching: With Nigeria finally opening the door to open banking, Zeeh Africa is perfectly positioned to help shape what this new era looks like.  The startup feels like one of the few teams genuinely trying to make all the messy bits of personal finance—multiple accounts, scattered spending, random loan offers—make sense for regular people. If it can pull off what it’s building could mean less financial chaos and maybe even smarter money decisions for everyday Nigerians. 

4. Carrot Credit lets you borrow against your crypto and stocks without selling (Fintech, Nigeria)  

I first met Bolu Aiki-Raji, Carrot Credit’s founder, while interviewing the team for its $4.1 million seed raise. On that call, I was fascinated by the startup’s idea. He told me about the company’s approach to letting people borrow against their crypto and stock holdings without selling. It stuck with me because it’s such a fresh take on liquidity, giving investors access to cash without losing exposure to their assets.

Why we’re watching: In markets where traditional credit is scarce or inaccessible, being able to borrow against crypto or stocks without selling is revolutionary. This model not only preserves investment upside but also introduces a new form of collateral that’s native to Africa’s growing digital economy. As crypto adoption rises, Carrot’s frictionless, no-paperwork lending could become the go-to credit option for millions.

5. Kapsule is turning healthcare data into actionable insights (Healthtech, Rwanda)  

An investor first introduced me to Kapsule, the Rwandan healthtech startup. And within minutes, I was drawing parallels to PBR LifeSciences, a Nigerian startup with a similar business model. 

Founded in 2020 by David Chen and Hannan Hashmi, Kapsule is helping hospitals and pharmacy groups turn raw data into insights to improve patient care. The platform captures, processes, and analyses health data, providing multinational pharmacy groups with data and insights to make informed decisions, like product pricing, forecasting, and new product development, in the African markets it operates.

Why we’re watching: Healthcare in Africa is often hampered by poor data, fragmented, incomplete, or inaccessible. Kapsule is quietly building the infrastructure to change that by turning raw health data into insights that can save lives and improve care. Its work is foundational, enabling hospitals and health startups to make evidence-based decisions, optimise resources, and track outcomes. 

Pharmaceutical companies often struggle with excessive production volumes due to a lack of understanding of actual market demand. PBR gathers anonymised data—drug quantity, prices, and how frequently they are purchased—from various pharmacies to enable pharmaceutical companies to better match production with actual market demand.

6. Recital Finance is automating financial operations for Africa’s fintechs and corporates (Fintech, Nigeria)  

I came across Recital Finance during Accelerate Africa’s pitch event in Lagos. What stood out was the company’s pitch: automating the messy, manual financial operations that slow down African fintechs and corporates. From reconciliation to chargeback recovery, the platform promises to make finance teams’ lives easier and businesses more scalable.

Launched in 2023 by Cleopatra Douglas and Bobola Ojo-Ami, Recital offers modules for payment orchestration, automated reconciliation, centralised banking, chargeback recovery, transaction monitoring, and accounting.

Why we’re watching: Recital is run by experienced founders who have built and fixed the messy backend systems at some of Nigeria’s biggest banks and fintechs. One of the founders used to head application development and Business Intelligence at GTB and was a core engineer at Flutterwave.

The startup’s modular approach means it is not forcing a one-size-fits-all solution on everyone. A small fintech can just pick what it needs, while a bigger corporation can plug in more as things get complicated.

8. Bloom Money is digitising traditional savings circles for diaspora communities (Fintech, UK)  

Bloom Money came when an investor from HoaQ, a syndicate that has invested in startups like Chowdeck, retweeted the company’s post on LinkedIn. Launched by ex-Mastercard and ex-Klarna, Nina Mohanty, Bloom Money is digitising the community rotating savings tradition—popularly known as ajo or esusu—making it easy, transparent, and safe for migrants to save and borrow together.

Why we’re watching: Community savings groups like ‘ajo’ have powered African financial resilience for generations, but they’re often informal and vulnerable to fraud or mismanagement. Bloom Money is digitising this tradition for the diaspora, blending cultural trust with modern technology to create transparent, secure, and scalable savings circles. This fusion not only preserves a cherished practice but also opens doors to formal financial services, credit, and wealth-building opportunities for migrant communities often overlooked by mainstream banks. The founder is also an ex-Klarna with credit experience.

9. ChequeMate is bringing Nigeria’s traditional “ajo” savings system online (Fintech, Nigeria)  

Launched in 2025 by Elijah Kolawole Olusehinde, Chequemate is another startup digitising Nigeria’s traditional “ajo” savings system. The app serves as a platform for both cooperatives and individuals who want to save towards a goal. 

Why we’re watching: The way Chequemate is safeguarding its loan interests me. Users pay a small premium that goes into a pool to cover defaults. It’s a simple idea, but it means everyone in the group has skin in the game and if someone can’t pay back, the system cushions the blow instead of turning into a debt nightmare.

10. eDryv is changing how ride-hailing works in Nigeria (EV, Nigeria)  

I first met the founder of eDrv, Ahmad Damcida, on a call last year before the startup’s launch. Launched in 2024 by Foltï Technologies, eDryv offers ride-hailing, rentals, and corporate transport using electric vehicles powered by 95% green energy, mostly generated in-house from solar panels and battery storage. The service, which kicked off in Lagos Island, features EVs with up to 450km range and operates solar-powered charging hubs. Riders earn “Green Coins” for every kilometre travelled in a zero-emission vehicle, further incentivising eco-friendly choices

Why we’re watching: In a market where drivers and platforms are always fighting over pay and working conditions,  eDryv is taking a completely different swing at Nigeria’s ride-hailing headaches. First, it runs its whole fleet on EVs powered by solar.  It isn’t just swapping out fuel for EVs, the startup also puts its drivers on a monthly salary.  I want to see if paying drivers a steady wage actually works here, or if the old problems just show up in new ways.

11. PitchWise wants to change the way startups raise money (VC, Nigeria)  

Launched in 2024 by Larmin Darboe, Pitchwise is a fundraising intelligence platform that lets startup founders securely share pitch decks and track investor engagement in detail. Unlike DocSend, which only offers document tracking, Pitchwise shows who views your deck, time spent per slide, visit frequency, location, and investment likelihood. It supports gated access, disables downloads, and allows calendar bookings and investor questions within the deck. Forwarded decks become new investor leads, turning every share into a growth opportunity.

Pitchwise claims 1,500 founders are using the platform and that over 12,000 investor engagement data points were generated last quarter, helping founders close rounds faster. Recent updates include deeper analytics and visibility to a curated network of 500+ active investors. Pitchwise wants to make the pitch deck a live fundraising asset, not just a static document.

Why we are watching:  Founders spend time sending out decks and wondering if investors are opening them. Pitchwise shows who’s looking, what slides get attention, and when people drop off. Turning every deck forward into a new lead is smart, and controls like disabling downloads or gating access are better than blasting out PDFs. In a market where closing a round can feel like shouting into the void, Pitchwise gives founders real signals to work with. I want to see if this kind of transparency helps more African founders close faster and cut through the usual fundraising noise.

That’s all the startups on our list for today. Expect our next dispatch on June 12th. Know startups we should feature next? Please nominate here.

Mark your calendars!  Moonshot by TechCabal is back in Lagos on October 15–16! Join Africa’s top founders, creatives & tech leaders for 2 days of keynotes, mixers & future-forward ideas. Early bird tickets now 20% off—don’t snooze! moonshot.techcabal.com.