Kenya is rapidly becoming a leader in the startup scene, with nearly 400 startups founded in the country. It ranks first in East Africa for the highest number of startups.
Moreover, the government has taken a proactive role in supporting these startups. For instance, the government launched the DeveloPPP Ventures startup program which gives talented Kenyan entrepreneurs grants of $100,000 to grow and expand their ventures.
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1. Greenlight Planet
Greenlight Planet was founded in 2009 with the sole aim of providing, affordable, high-quality lighting solutions to people and areas without electricity. The company was founded in India by a student Patrick Walsh who designed a solar lamp to replace kerosene lamps.
The company produces and distributes Sun King solar lamps home systems, and appliances serving over 50 million people in Africa and Asia. The company expanded to Kenya in 2012 and has so far sold about 2 million products in the country. It is the highest-funded startup in Kenya having raised $ 576 million.
2. M-Kopa
M-Kopa is an asset financing platform that provides digital financial services to underbanked customers.
The company operates in Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria and Ghana. It has given its clients access to several products including solar lighting, electric motorbikes and smartphones through an innovative financing model that gives instant access to the product while building ownership over time through flexible micro-payments.
M-Kopa is the second most funded startup having raised $ 492.1 million from investors such as CDC Group and Shell Foundation.
3. Tala
Tala is a popular money-lending app in Kenya, the Philippines, Mexico and India. The company offers instant credit scoring, lending, and other personalized financial services to clients. It offers affordable interest rates with the borrowing limit growing each time a client repays their loan.
The company has raised $350 million in over 12 rounds of funding. It has secured funding from investors such as Victory Park Capital Advisors, RPS Ventures and GGV Capital.
4. D.light
D.light offers “affordable, quality verified, solar lighting, and entertainment solutions designed for low-income households,” according to the company’s official website. The company offers solar energy solutions to people without access to electricity and enables them to pay for the services through Pay As You Go technology. The company was founded in 2007 and has raised $ 339.2 million.
5. Glovo
Glovo is a courier services company that buys, picks up and delivers ordered products be it food or groceries to its clients’ destinations. Put simply, clients are free to order food or any other products from their favourite supermarkets and restaurants through the Glovo app. The company was founded in 2015 and has so far raised $ 336 million in funding.
6. Twiga Foods
Twiga Foods is a business-to-business food distribution company. Founded in 2014, it connects consumers, vendors and suppliers, providing access to high-quality foods, products & retail services in Africa.
Twiga Foods offers a cashless mobile-based application through which vendors can place orders for whatever products they want usually fruits and vegetables. The company then sources the products directly from farms and delivers them to the vendors.
Twiga Foods has raised over $217 million from investors such as Goldman Sachs and TLcom Capital. That said, it is worth noting that the company has been experiencing some financial constraints despite their substantial funding. Twiga Foods has had several staff layoffs.
7. Wasoko
Wasoko formerly known as Sokowatch is a Kenyan e-commerce startup founded in 2013. The startup provides a mobile ordering and delivery service for small shops, offering a convenient and affordable way to access products and services. The company has raised over $ 143.6 million in funding.
8. Cellulant
Cellulant is a pan-African payments company that offers alternative payment methods for global, regional and local merchants. The company provides a single API payment enabling businesses to collect payments online and offline while allowing people to pay from their mobile money, local and international cards, or bank. Cellulant has raised $75 million from investors.
9. AZA Finance
AZA Finance is a cross-border payment solutions provider founded in 2013. The company offers FX trading, remittance services, and API integration to businesses and individuals. AZA has branches in Nairobi, Lagos, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Kampala, Accra, Johannesburg, Durban and Dakar. The company has raised over $69 million from investors.
10. Carepay
Carepay was founded in 2015 in Kenya. It is a health financing platform allowing users to pay for their healthcare services via their mobile phones. The company in partnership with PharmAccess Foundation and leading Telco Safaricom developed a health wallet for members and in so doing connected them directly to healthcare payers and providers through their mobile phones. Carepay has raised $62 million from investors including ELMA Investments Ltd., Omidyar Network, and Safaricom.
