The Africa B2B Tech Report
Issue No. 87. Africa-Middle East B2B tech news & insights for 11 April 2025.
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The Africa B2B Tech News Digest
B2B Tech News & Insights for 11th April 2025
A Note from the Editor
Welcome back to the Africa B2B Tech Report. We have been on a rather lengthy hiatus and are excited to be back sharing news and insights about the companies that are using emerging technology to build solutions for African businesses.
We will also soon resume producing the BIG5D Podcast, which features engaging conversations with the region’s B2B technology thought leaders.
What we are most excited about right now is the 2025 BigFive Summit. Our annual Cape Town event has quietly earned its reputation as one of the hidden gems on the region’s tech conference landscape.
We will kick things off with an invitation-only dinner on 5th May followed by the Summit itself — “Africa’s Leading Business and Technology Event” — on 6-7 May at Innovation City Cape Town.
Charles Laughlin
BigFive Digital
Peach Payments Enters Francophone Africa via PayDunya Acquisition
Last week, South African fintech Peach Payments closed its second acquisition since it raised $30 million back in October 2023.
On 3 April, Peach Payments, led by past BigFive Summit speaker Rahul Jain, announced it has acquired the West African payments gateway PayDunya. The deal marks Peach's first entry into Francophone Africa.
PayDunya, founded in 2015, is headquartered in Dakar and currently operates in Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Burkina Faso, Togo, and Mali.
In a blog post announcing the acquisition, Jain said, "This acquisition represents an exciting chapter in our journey to build a truly pan-African payment ecosystem. By integrating PayDunya, we are expanding our footprint into the UEMOA and CEMAC regions, unlocking new opportunities for merchants who can now partner with us and access over 450m people across the markets we operate in."
UEMOA stands for the West African Economic and Monetary Union, while CEMAC is the Central African Economic and Monetary Community.
Last July Peach Payments acquired the custom software development firm Operativa, a transaction that, based on Peach’s description of the deal, had the hallmarks of an “acquihire”. That’s an acquisition focused on acquiring the acquisition target’s team.
Telkom-Huawei Deepen Partnership with MOU
South Africa’s Telkom is deepening its partnership with the Chinese telecommunications equipment maker Huawei. The two companies recently signed a memorandum of understanding in China to work together on furthering digital transformation in South Africa.
Specifically, Telkom will leverage Huawei’s data centres and digital power services to strengthen Telkom’s technology solutions.
Here is some of what Telkom had to say about the partnership with Huawei.
“This collaboration is a crucial step in advancing our OneTelkom strategy, aimed at strengthening our position as Africa’s leading convergent service provider.
“Our partnership with Huawei is set to enhance our ability to deliver seamless connectivity and innovative services. By focusing on advancements in mobile and home broadband, we aim to deliver superior network experiences to our customers. This collaboration will further drive enterprise business success through comprehensive solutions that meet evolving market demands.”
Back in October 2022, the two companies announced a partnership to roll out 5G Services in South Africa.
Cape Town’s MsFit Ventures Makes First Investment
South African venture firm MsFiT Ventures has chosen for its first investment Orisons Activations and Marketing, a 25-year-old Cape Town company founded and led by sisters Natasha and Lindy van Diemen.
MsFit, also based in Cape Town, is a venture firm that provides " flexible working capital and supply chain financing to early-stage, fast-growing African SMEs that use basic technology to scale infrastructure."
Orisons produces corporate wellness events for brands.
MsFit is led by Egla Ntumba and Jill Curr. Egla will be a panel speaker at the upcoming BigFive Summit, 5-7 May in Cape Town. She will sit on a panel led by Savant Partner Thaheer Mullins on “Supporting Startups -- How Both Financial and Non-Financial Resources Are Essential to Startup Success”
IC Announces Top 10 Startups of 2025
Innovation City Cape Town has announced the finalists for South Africa’s Top 10 startups in 2025. The 10 finalists will compete in a pitch competition on 23 April at Innovation City. The winner will be announced during an awards event at IC the following day.
The finalists are:
Botlhale AI — using AI to break down language barriers for businesses.
Callbi Speech Analytics — A SaaS speech analytics solution for contact centres.
Flood — The 'Shopify' for Bricks and Mortar retail.
Fynbos Money — helping young South Africans open tax-free savings accounts.
Sudor Apps — A platform for fitness creators.
Jem — An employee benefits and HR platform for ‘deskless workers’
JOBJACK — A platform for recruiting entry-level employees.
Lawyered Up — AI-driven legal services for SMEs.
Sensify — IoT solution to reduce LPG cylinder theft.
LeaseSurance — A fintech for rental real estate.
The Big5D Podcast
The BIG5D Podcast features in-depth conversations with the leaders building, investing in, and taking to market the digital products and services designed to make businesses more successful in Africa, the Middle East, and emerging markets.
The BIG5D Podcast has been on hiatus since Q4 2024 but will soon return with more great episodes featuring Africa’s technology thought leaders.
The 2025 BigFive Summit has been rescheduled to 5-7 May 2025 at Innovation City Cape Town.
Do you want to get involved with the 2025 Summit? Write to us at info@bigfivedigtial.org.
Consider sponsoring or purchasing a VIP Ticket to the 2025 BigFive Summit. Only Speakers, Sponsors, and VIP Ticket Holders can attend our VIP Dinner on 5th May at Judd’s Local Wine Bar as well as access to our coveted Summit Delegate List.
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