The South is an astonishing region of the African continent. It’s mostly known for its plains, savannah, safari, and exotic wildlife, which makes it a magnet for tourists visiting the continent. But rich culture and beautiful nature aren’t the only things southern Africa has to offer. The region has in recent years produced several startups that are creating innovative solutions for technological and economic advancement across Africa.
Here is an overview of 12 early-stage startups contributing to technological development from the Southern region of Africa.
Homefarm
Homefarm is an AgTech startup bringing innovative designs into home gardening to foster food security and healthy living. The company designs and develops automated indoor farming systems for homes and small businesses.
Homefarm’s products make it easy for users to grow fresh herbs, vegetables, and fruits right in their own homes. Thanks to their innovative ideas, the company raised $104,000 in seed funding in August 2022.
HealthDart
HealthDart is a health-tech startup that provides virtual primary care services to patients. The company connects low-middle income earners with a network of local independent pharmacies and healthcare providers to give them easy access to quality healthcare and medicine.
Through the HealthDart platform, patients connect with licensed medical professionals to receive medical advice, diagnoses, and prescriptions from the comfort of their homes.
To further develop its platform, HealthDart raised $125,000 in a seed funding round led by Ardent Capital in June 2021.
Ollie Health
Ollie Health is a healthcare technology startup focused on using intelligent solutions and big data to provide better healthcare for users. The company uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to personalize healthcare recommendations for individuals.
Ollie’s health-tech platform integrates with wearables and other health data sources to provide customized recommendations and interventions for users.
Ollie Health raised $300,000 in pre-seed funding led by Launch Africa in December 2022.
Strove
Strove is a fitness and wellness-focused company providing solutions to help companies be more involved in their employees’ wellness. The company implements a proactive and comprehensive well-being solution enabling employers to meet the needs of their employees across the health spectrum.
Strove raised $360,000 in a seed funding round held in October last year. The company is using the funds to expand its operations across Africa to serve more markets.
Contro
Contro is a South African telehealth startup offering an online prescription and delivery service for sexual health and confidence products such as birth control and erectile dysfunction medications.
The company helps individuals to obtain a repeat prescription for the aforementioned conditions by offering a one-off digital consultation with a verified doctor. Essentially, Contro is a facilitator and provides a convenient, affordable, and discreet service for individuals to obtain their sexual health medication without any stigma, hassle, or additional expenses.
Contro raised $585,000 in pre-seed funding in November 2022.
Revio
Revio is a payments API company running a unified subscription billing and payment platform that helps businesses automate their revenue life cycle. Revio’s platform primarily focuses on preventing revenue loss through failed transactions. They help users reduce failed payments and churn, and expand into new markets at pace.
Revio raised $1.1 million in November 2022 through a seed funding round led by SpeedInvest. The company intends to use the funds to further its efforts in preventing and solving payment failures in emerging markets.
Qwili
Qwili is a South African e-commerce startup that provides a hybrid sales product to micro and small merchants in South Africa. The company primarily targets digitally excluded customers who do not have bank accounts. It hopes to promote digital and financial inclusion for micro and small businesses in South Africa.
The company raised $1.2 million in seed funding led by E4E Africa in July 2022, just about a year after closing an undisclosed amount in a pre-seed funding round.
EnvisionIt Deep AI
EnvisionIt Deep AI is a computer vision and AI company that provides solutions for various industries, including healthcare, retail, and manufacturing. Their platform uses deep learning algorithms to analyze images and video data and provide actionable insights for users.
EnvisionIt Deep AI raised $1.65 million in a seed funding round led by New GX Venture in February 2023.
FoondaMate
FoondaMate is an EdTech startup using AI solutions to improve learning for students in South Africa. The company operates an AI chatbot platform where students can ask a variety of questions relating to their schoolwork and get rapid answers.
FoondaMate raised $2 million in a seed funding round that featured eight investors last May.
Synatic
Synatic is an integration platform as a service (iPaaS) company that provides businesses with a platform to integrate various data sources and automate workflows. Their platform offers pre-built connectors and tools to simplify the integration process.
Synatic raised $2.5 million in seed extension funding in November 2022 led by Allan Gray E-Squared Ventures and UW Ventures.
Skrmiish
Skrmiish is a South African startup running a play-to-earn platform where players compete in skill-based games for prizes. The platform integrates with popular AAA+ games and allows players to bet on their skills against other players.
In August 2022, Skrmiish raised $2.5 million in a seed funding round led by Launch Africa Ventures towards its ultimate goal of building a go-to competitive app with digital banking for gamers globally.
Talk360
Talk360 is a communication platform that provides affordable, high-quality international calling services to people around the world. Their platform uses VoIP technology and offers low-cost calling rates.
In their latest funding round, Talk360 raised $ 3 million in a seed extension round in October 2022. It had earlier secured $4 million in seed funding led by HAVAIC in June 2022 to expand its operations across Africa.
