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Welcome to Tech Safari!

Your tour guide on African Tech 🧭

Today is Startup Saturday - where we dive into startup news in Africa - the world's most exciting continent.

If this email was forwarded to you, sign up below and join thousands of others from companies like Google, Mastercard and Meta keeping up with African Tech.

Hey there! Welcome to this edition of Tech Safari.

It feels like we had our heads down and were staying inside in Q3 - getting settled into Nairobi.

For the rest of the year Tech Safari is very much outside. We launched our Nairobi Mixer (and filled up 200 spots in a day 😅).

And this week we announced our partnership with Latitude59 - the trailblazing Estonian festival at the center of Estonia’s tech ecosystem.

Estonia has an incredible startup story - a country that has produced the world's most impressive unicorns like Skype, Bolt, Wise and Pipedrive - with a population of just 1.3 million.

Now, you might be thinking - why would an African media company partner with an Estonian festival?

Well, they’re coming to Kenya - and Tech Safari will be their official host in Nairobi 🇰🇪 

We have put together an incredible lineup of speakers and a series of great events and parties to celebrate our tech ecosystem in Nairobi.

The lineup is incoming! Grab your tickets here (with a sweet 20% Tech Safari discount) here: https://shorturl.at/bDLR5 

And if you want to partner with us, shoot me an email.

Alright - let’s dive into the edition!

AI is Here, But Where is Africa?

Remember when AI seemed like science fiction straight out of The Matrix?

In 2023, AI is not just on movie screens.

It’s right here with us.

The global market for AI is growing at about 32% to 42% every year.

And by 2030, AI could contribute $15.7 trillion to the global economy.

But what even is AI?

Artificial Intelligence, or AI, is like teaching computers to be smart.

It's about making software and algorithms that let machines do things that usually require human brainpower.

AI makes computers smarter by programming them to:

• Learn from data.

• Figure out patterns.

• Process different languages.

• And make decisions from all this - just like us humans.

Thanks to AI, you can chat with customer support bots, brainstorm ideas with Chat GPT, or ask Alexa to find the nearest gas station.

So yes, AI is a level up when it comes to global technological advancements.

But where is Africa in all this?

While Africa’s AI ecosystem is still a baby, it’s taking its first steps.

And soon, it will run with the big kids.

Across different sectors, AI is reaching out to Africa, promising to make things easier.

And the continent’s problem solvers are going all in using AI to tackle Africa’s hardest problems and spur economic growth.

While we can't put an exact number on Africa's AI market yet, there are signs that it’s getting bigger.

Currently, Africa has over 2,400 AI companies.

They’re spread out across different sectors like health, agriculture, education, and insurance.

And if Africa continues to refine its booming tech talent, UNECA sees a $1.5 trillion AI economy in Africa by 2030.

We’re starting to see this already.

The biggest startup acquisition on the continent is not a fintech.

It’s a deep tech startup from Tunisia.

In January, Tunisia-born Instadeep gave Africa its biggest startup acquisition yet.

BioNTech, the company behind Pfizer's vaccine, and a frequent partner to Instadeep, acquired them in a massive $680 million deal.

And Instadeep has quite the story

It’s another example of innovation starting in Africa - then expanding to the rest of the world. 

And we’re here for more of it.

What do you think of Foondamate’s story? Let me know here

Deal Roundup

Startup raises

This week was pretty quiet!

• Yebo Fresh, a South African ecommerce startup that lets businesses purchase groceries, has raised a Pre-Series A from Enza Capital. Interestingly relevant - Yebo Fresh claims to be the only startup focused on businesses in South Africa’s township market.

• Gokada, a Nigerian last-mile delivery company, is raising $750,000 at a $10m valuation via crowdfunding platform GetEquity. This is one to watch, as Gokada’s last funding round was a $5.3m Series A.

Events + Opportunities

• Applications are open for the Future Africa Challenge 2023. The challenge explores the creative potential of young Africans on the continent and in the diaspora. Apply here.

• Tech Safari is hosting a panel on Investing in Africa! Featuring Joe Kinvi (Co-Founder of HoaQ Club), Boum III Jr (CEO of Daba Finance) and Eric Jackson (Co-Founder of Hisa). Sign up here.