Ugandan fintechs Chipper Cash, Tugende and Asaak have been named in the top 100 Most Funded African Startups in research compiled by Digest Africa, a Pan-African data and intelligence startup headquartered in Kampala.
Startups, according to Forbes, is a term used to refer to young companies founded to develop a unique product or service, bring it to market and make it irresistible and irreplaceable for customers. Startups are high-growth companies, and instead of bootstrapping, they turn to investors to grow at the pace they want to. This model is followed globally, and Digest Africa has tracked this funding data for African startups since 2016.
The list is dominated by Nigerian startups with 27 appearing in the top 100. Our neighbours, Kenya were second, having 23 startups while South Africa (19) and Egypt (15), rounded off the top 4. The four countries accounted for 84% of all the 100 startups.
Topping the list was Jumia Group which operates in over 10 African countries including Uganda, but is based in Lagos, Nigeria. Jumia raised $885m across 6 funding rounds before it went public in 2019 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Two other Nigerian startups, OPay ($570m) and Flutterwave ($476m) followed in second and third respectively. The first non-Nigerian startup on the list is the solar startup, Sun King($427m), in 4th, having raised across 4 funding rounds in its mission to bring electricity access to underserved communities. Sun King also operates in Uganda.
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The first Ugandan startup is Chipper Cash which came in 10th having raised $302m across 6 funding rounds. Chipper Cash was founded in 2016 by a Ugandan Ham Serunjogi and a Gahanain Majid Moujaled as an inter-border money transfer service but has since expanded into other services like investing in stocks and cryptocurrencies.
Tugende, which has raised $51m so far, was ranked in 50th position. Tugende is the brainchild of Micheal Wilkerson, a British expatriate living in Uganda. The startup was one of the pioneers of consumer credit that enables Ugandans to purchase motorcycles (boda bodas) on a lease-to-own model. The startup has over 800 full-time staff and over 50,000 clients. It has since expanded its offerings to taxis (matatus), fridges, smartphones, fridges and even boat engines.
The last Ugandan startup to feature on the list is Asaak which operates a similar model to Tugende though its consumer credit services are limited to just motorcycles, smartphones and fuel.
To access the full list, please click here