Kenya’s dominance in Africa’s startup ecosystem continued in 2023 with several startups and venture funds trooping to the country for growth opportunities.
According to a report by Briter Bridges, Kenya emerged top among the countries that received highest startup funding in the first six months of 2023 – ahead of Egypt and South Africa.
This article looks at some of the startups that entered Kenya or choose Nairobi as their regional hubs.
Nigerian Fintech Startups Grey
In May, Nigerian fintech startup Grey picked Kenya as its East African hub in its plans to expand operations into the larger East African market.
Coming on the back of a Ksh273.8 million fundraiser from investors, the company embarked on the endeavor to launch operations in the East African region with focus on Kenya and Tanzania.
As per the company’s announcement, the expansion drive would eventually turn to Uganda and Rwanda.
In a statement, Grey Chief Executive Officer (CEO) AIdorenyin Obong mentioned Kenya’s high remittance from the diaspora as a factor in the move.
“Kenya’s Diaspora remittance is very vibrant as remittance inflows to Kenya have increased tenfold in the last 15 years,” Obong said.
Treepz
Nigerian shared mobility and transportation tech start-up Treepz announced its expansion to Kenya in February 2023.
Treepz’s scope is wide and encompasses ride-hailing business and car hire- among other mobility services.
Founded in 2019, the startup was handed a boost after securing Ksh.150.7 million raised from investment deals.
In addition, Kenya became its fourth nation of operation after previously launching operations in Uganda and Ghana a year earlier.
As per the company, the expansion would start in Nairobi before extending to Mombasa.
Onyeka Akumah , the company’s CEO and Co-founder expressed his delight with the new milestone noting that it was part of the company’s goal of building a centralized solution across the four countries to provide Africans with excellent mobility services.
Zandaux, South African B2B startup
South Africa-based business-to-business (B2B) platform in December became the latest startup to announce its entry in Kenya.
Franck Obambi Ngatse, the CEO of the company that connects sellers (manufacturing, wholesale, or distributors) to their buyers, announced a series of launch events in Nairobi, Kenya, South Africa, and Nigeria to take place from December 13, 2023.
Also Read: Reasons Behind Startup Failures in Kenya and Africa
As per the announcement, Zandaux will have trade merchants from the three countries on board by April 2024 before expanding wings to other nations in Africa.
The plan, according to the company, was to have 5,000 traders in Egypt, 5,000 in South Africa, 3,000 in Kenya, and 10,000 in Nigeria by April 2024.
Roam
E-mobility startup company Roam in July opened a state-of-the-art electric motorcycle assembly plant named Roam Park.
The facility, more than 10,000 square meters in size would help the e-mobility company expand production and have an annual capacity of 50,000 motorcycles while staying a carbon-neutral assembly.
Also Read: Nairobi-Based Startup Secures Ksh765M Funding
The company also launched the Roam Hub, a multi-purpose charging station for electric motorcycles.
Furthermore, these launches came as Kenya continued to gear up for the shift to electric motorcycles as an alternative to the petroleum-powered engines.
Kenya has taken position in the shift to green mobility with several e-mobility startups having already opened operations.
In general, the Kenyan ecosystem platform has continued to stand out in the continent as evident in the sustained streaming of funding for Kenyan startups.
