Tanzania startups

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Deals & Close Ups 🤑🤑

We’re excited to kick off this week with big news from Mazao Hub, one of Tanzania’s leading agritech startups. Mazao Hub has successfully secured an investment from Mercy Corps Ventures, marking a significant milestone in its journey toward transforming agriculture through technology.

Mazao Hub’s commitment to improving farming operations through data-driven technology continues to position it as a game-changer in Tanzania’s agricultural landscape.

Startup Spotlight🌟🌟

Dawa Mkononi to Represent Tanzania at the World Health Summit in Berlin

Dawa Mkononi, one of Tanzania’s innovative healthtech startups, has been selected to represent the country at the prestigious World Health Summit 2024 in Berlin, Germany. This opportunity, fully funded by their investor, Sanofi, will take place in October and provides a significant platform for the startup to showcase its solution in healthcare.

This is a powerful example of how strategic investors like Sanofi offer more than just funding—they provide startups with invaluable opportunities, connections, and guidance.

Community Highlights 🔥🔥

Ennovate Venture Launches New Fund for Early-Stage Startups

Ennovate Venture has officially launched a new fund aimed at investing in early-stage startups.

U.S.-Tanzania Tech Challenge Awards $250,000 to Innovators Enhancing Media Literacy and Civic Engagement

On 18th and19th September 2024, the U.S embassy Dar es salaam hosted the U.S-Tanzania Tech Challenge—a competition focused on innovative solutions to promote media literacy as well as support information integrity efforts that enhance civic engagements in local election. The award ceremony brought together leading technologists, government officials, civil society, academia and media professionals to address critical challenges and explore solutions in the areas of civic participation, media literacy, and information integrity. Three Tanzanian-based organizations were named winners and these are: Jamii Forums, The Launchpad Tanzania, and Smart Foundry.

Jamii Forums is a networking website in East Africa which emphasizes its use of user-generated content to avoid penalties faced by traditional media reporting issues in Tanzania. Jamii Forums advocates for freedom of media and digital rights, providing the users with a platform to discuss different matters ranging from political, social, and economic.

The Launchpad Tanzania is an NGO with the mission to work at the intersection of sustainable development and youth & women’s inclusion as well as development through capacity building and advocacy. The Launchpad Tanzania through its tool, LP Digital, use technology as an enabler and tool to develop content that shifts narratives around youth and women’s challenges and opportunities at the digital age.

Smart Foundry shapes the future of storytelling and digital content through Rifaly—a platform that offers access to thousands of magazines, e-books, newspapers and podcasts from all across Africa so as to give users information and enable them to make informed decisions

A total of USD 250,000 was awarded to the winners with the goal of supporting these local technological solutions that contribute to information integrity efforts and enhance civic engagement. Jamii Forums was awarded USD 100, 000, Smart Foundry USD 80,000 and The Launchpad USD 70,000.

PesaTech Accelerator II Demo Day

On September 20, Anza hosted the Demo Day for the second cohort of the PesaTech Accelerator program. This initiative, supported by the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), Anza Entrepreneurs, IPF Softwares, and NMB Tanzania, is funded by the European Union under the D4T program and the Netherlands Embassy in Tanzania.

During the event, several promising fintech startups presented their innovative solutions, showcasing a variety of financial and digital services aimed at addressing critical gaps in Tanzania’s economy.

Here are the key startups that pitched their solutions:

• Kiasi App: A Tanzania-based digital piggy bank designed for small money deposits, helping individuals save effortlessly.

• Amala Technologies: A fintech company that digitizes banking services for Savings and Credit Cooperatives (SACCOS) and Microfinance Institutions (MFIs). They currently serve over 32,600 clients and have disbursed over TZS 246 billion.

• Bizy Tech: A company blending agriculture and fintech by providing both financial and non-financial digital solutions.

• El-Dizer: A service offering emergency loans to university students and graduates in Tanzania, addressing a vital need in higher education financing.

• Hashtech Tanzania Limited: A transport sector IoT solution that currently serves over 300 transport companies and 2.4 million passengers.

• Linda Pesa: Focuses on providing micro-loans and business management tools for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

• Med Pack: Streamlines the medical supply chain by providing financial solutions that simplify procurement and distribution for pharmacies, hospitals, and clinics.

• Shule Yetu: Serves the education sector through a digital management and e-learning platform. They currently support 135 schools and 79,000 users and also offer loans for school fees.

• SimpliTech: Offers tax invoicing services through their flagship product, Simplify VFD, ensuring seamless financial compliance.

• Swahilies: Provides a financial operating system for SMEs with features such as inventory management, payment solutions, and real-time analytics.

The event highlighted the growing potential of fintech in Tanzania, particularly in addressing financial inclusion, education, healthcare, and transportation challenges.

Event Highlights 🌟🌟

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