12 Female-Founded Tech Startups From Africa
Women have always been important role-players within the tech scene in Africa, and there have been an increasing number of female-founded tech startups emerging from the continent in recent years.
While gender diversity in the tech sector remains an ongoing challenge, women are making their mark on a male-dominated industry by launching their own startups and achieving success.
These women are role models, showing what a passion for tech and strong leadership qualities can produce in the African and global context.
Here are 12 female-founded tech startups from Africa.
Sources: DestinyConnect, BusinessTech, ITNewsAfrica, Techcabal, WIA.
SweepSouth
Aisha Pandor is the founder one of the fastest-growing startups in South Africa, SweepSouth. The home and office cleaning services tech firm became the first ever African firm to be accepted in the U.S.-based startup accelerator, the 500 Startups Program in Silicon Valley. Pandor was one of a selection of women tech entrepreneurs featured at the World Economic Forum on Africa in Durban, South Africa, earlier this year.
MedSaf
Vivian Nwakah is the the Nigerian founder of MedSaf. The startup works directly with leading pharmaceutical manufacturers, eliminating issues relating to quality control and ensuring fair pricing, to deliver medications to hospitals, pharmacies, and clinics across Nigeria. MedSaf won the Seedstars Lagos leg of the global startup competition.
Rekindle Learning
Rapelang Rabana is a computer scientist, entrepreneur, and popular keynote speaker. She is the founder of Rekindle Learning, a learning technology company, and previously co-founded Yeigo Communications, South Africa’s first free VoIP mobile services provider.
Ebony Street Market
Valerie Kerri is the Nigerian author and entrepreneur, who is CEO of Ebony Street Market (ESM), an online marketplace that brings African artisan products to customers in the U.K. This gives work to artisans while the online platform makes African wares available outside of the continent.
3D Power
Lethabo Motswaledi has always wanted to make a positive impact, and she has done so in South Africa as the co-founder and chief executive officer of 3D Power. Being a next generation startup, 3D Power’s products are in the age of Industry 4.0 and therefore often employ elements of Internet of things and additive manufacturing such as 3D printing.
ReWare
Nothando Moleketi-Williams is the founder of ReWare, a startup has become a trusted seller of certified pre-owned smartphones in South Africa. The company offers consumers all the quality of a new smartphone at a fraction of the price with a one-year warranty.
Obami
Barbara Mallinson is the founder and chief executive of Obami, a social learning platform that is used by hundreds of schools across Africa, the U.S. and Europe to promote education through use of online tools. Obami was recognised as one of the top 10 most innovative technologies in the world in 2011 by Netexplo, Unesco and partners.
!nnovate
Evelyn Namara is the founder of Ugandan tech startup , !nnovate, an electronic voucher system that uses simple feature mobile phones and Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) system to help small holder farmers redeem seed crops, fertilizers and pesticides
BeSpecular
Stephanie Cowper is the co-founder of BeSpecular, a South African startup that is solving a global problem by connecting sighted volunteers to visually impaired, blind and deaf-blind people across the globe. Her company is using mobile tech to make a difference in the world.
Ubongo
Nisha Ligon and Doreen Kessy (pictured above) are co-founders of Ubongo, Tanzania’s first homegrown cartoon series, designed to help children to discover the joys of mathematics through fun, local stories and songs.
Afroes Transformational Games
Another of the female-founded tech startups is Afroes Transformational Games. Anne Githuku-Shongwe is founder and chief executive officer of the company, which builds mobile game-based learning platforms in South Africa and Kenya. She has been instrumental in tapping into the potential for M-learning in Africa.
Shuttlers
Nigerians Damilola Olokesusi and Busola Majekodunmi are the founders of Shuttlers, a startup that enables professionals to access comfortable and efficient transport to and from work, using technology and a multi-staff bus system to get users to and from their places of work.