Every day, week, and month there’s a startup or business venture coming out of Africa. Within the many enterprises, there are some worth highlighting and shedding light on. The following are 25 of them (in no specific order) that were written and spoken about highly from the start of January until end of December 2019. Enjoy African progressive development, progressive innovations, and progressive solutions at their finest!
Publiseer is a digital publishing platform that allows African artist of various talents to publish, promote, protect and monetize their body of work to the masses in Africa and elsewhere free of charge. This was founded in Nigeria. Their innovative platform is making it simple and easy for authors and artist in Africa to publish their content online.
Flutterwave a mobile application from Nigeria that allows Visa cardholders in Africa (Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, etc.) to send and receive money home and abroad. It also allows non-cardholders to create a virtual card via the app. Their innovative app is making it easier for Africans to send and receive online payments inside and outside of Africa.
Mara Phones 
has set up its 1st smartphone factory and launched the 1st made in Africa smartphone in Rwanda. This is a Pan-African multi-sector service provider based in Uganda. Their facility will help to increase access to cellphones, increase individuals connected to internet, and increase employment opportunities for Africans.
Cocoa360 is a community-based initiative in Ghana that uses proceeds from cocoa farms to run health clinic and tuition free schools for girls. This was founded in Ghana. This organization is helping farmers, families, and females to live a prosperous, healthy and literate life in Ghana respectively.
Bonga Power Bike is a gym bike that converts mechanical energy from pedaling it to electrical energy, which can then be used to light up rural areas in African countries. This was founded in Cameroon. This bike will help with transportation, health, and electricity in Cameroon and elsewhere.
Sawa Minerals uses smart contracts to enable a transparent process of buying and selling precious metals, gemstones, and crystals from African countries. This was founded in Kenya. Their decentralized app is helping to do mining business in an open and safe manner and is the 1st of its kind in Africa.
Uganics 
is a social enterprise that produces and sells mosquito repellent soaps. This was founded in Uganda. Their kind of soap is helping to prevent malaria in their region, especially for mothers with kids below the age of 5 living in rural areas.
Chipper Cash 
is a border-less mobile money payment platform that enables people in Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda to send and receive funds to each other without any fees. This was founded in San Francisco, CA, USA by a Ghanaian and Ugandan collectively. Their payment gateway is helping people in various African countries to do financial transactions with each other for free.
Seekewa 
is an online platform that allows internet users and companies to financially support small farmers in African countries via voucher system. This was founded in Ivory Coast. Their voucher system is helping to carry out agricultural projects for all involved participants.
ORide is a motorcycle-hailing startup that only carries 1 passenger per trip, includes first-aid boxes on-the-go, and allows users of their app to send and receive funds seamlessly. This was founded in Nigeria. Their app is helping locals get from 1 location to another conveniently.
Chaka is an investment platform that gives access to stock market trading in 40 countries. This was founded in Nigeria. Their platform will enable locals to invest globally.
NIMA Codes is an address app for 15 African countries. This was founded in Senegal. Their plans are to launch a simple and powerful phone number address system for places without formal street addresses in Africa.
Eat Me Straws are edible straws to help the environment. This was invented by Leila Siljeur, a South African. Her invention helps to reduce plastic pollution in South Africa and elsewhere.
Terraoak 
is a smokeless cookstove that is also able to convert heat energy to electricity, which can charge phones. This was founded by 2 African business partners in the United States. Their invention is a clean tech solution for renewable energy sector.
Survey54 
is a mobile survey platform that provides quality data to public & private sector in Africa and other emerging markets. This was founded in the United Kingdom. Through this platform people can survey millions across emerging markets and emerging communities at any time.
BeBlocky 
is a gamified learning app that teaches children the basics of computer science in a fun and interactive way. This was founded in Ethiopia. They’re gamifying learning to code for thousands of local kids.
Vistafront is an online platform that allows local users to co-fund vetted real estate property and make up to 12% on their investment. This was founded in Nigeria. Their platform enables locals to invest as a collective with potential to earn a decent return on investment.
BeepTool
is a startup that manufactures satellites and has developed smartphones for rural users to access digital services, such as finance, health, education, & communication. This was founded in Nigeria. Their integrated application solutions are creating a digital connectivity ecosystem of services for local Nigerians.
Shamba Records is a blockchain platform that uses artificial intelligence and data to collect harvest records of farmers. This was founded in Kenya. They’re not only helping local farmers with their harvest but also processing payments and issuing credit for them too.
Techfrica 
is an African tech and mobile app/web development company. They’re founded and based in Boston, MA, USA. Their technology business is helping Africans home and abroad to use and access online platforms, such as music streaming, ride sharing, video sharing, films/movies streaming, text messaging, collaborative workspace, and so on in the USA and Africa respectively.
RED CUP VILLAGE uses 3D printing to manufacture drinking cups that are made from sugarcane and cornstarch. This was founded in South Africa. Their innovative 3D printing is making it possible to use natural resources to produce cups for both personal and business needs.
Dignified Wear 
is a social enterprise that produces shoes and handbags from discarded tires and handcrafts local/traditional fabric and jewelry. This was founded in Ghana. Their enterprise is not only Eco-friendly but is giving job opportunities to disabled persons and rural Ghanaians.
Pelebox is a digital platform that enables patients to collect their chronic medication from a smart locker within 2 mins. This was founded in South Africa. Their service is helping to create a convenient medicine ‘ATM’.
Sparky Social Enterprise has designed an Eco-friendly dryer to cut food waste issues for small local farmers. This was founded in Uganda. Their agricultural product is helping to reduce natural resource waste from happening.
Carry1st is a startup that develops and produces interactive game apps for African consumers. They’re based and/or located in South Africa, Nigeria & New York. Their making digital games fun for Africans to play through mobile technology.
Well, those were My Top 25 African Business Innovations For 2019! #AfricanInnovators!
References:
https://tonyansah.com/2019/01/31/list-of-10-african-innovations-for-january-2019/
https://tonyansah.com/2019/06/28/list-of-10-african-innovations-for-mid-2019/
https://tonyansah.com/2019/07/31/list-of-10-african-innovations-for-july-2019/
https://tonyansah.com/2019/12/28/list-of-10-african-innovations-for-2nd-half-2019/
https://tonyansah.com/2019/10/27/african-innovations-for-october-2019/
https://tonyansah.com/2019/12/21/african-innovations-for-december-2019/
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tony K Ansah, Jr., M.P.A. is a self-published author and a social entrepreneur based in Rhode Island, U.S.A. He has written and published several books and content via poems, quotes, fiction, non-fiction, blogs and articles. Tony has received national & international recognition from Face2Face Africa, Modern Ghana, SDG Philanthropy Platform and Alliance Magazine (just to name a few) for his articles about African business, culture, and philanthropy.
Copyright © 2019 by Tony Kwame Ansah, Jr.
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