Two notable additions joined the continent’s unicorn ranks in late 2024 and early 2025 — Nigeria’s Moniepoint and South Africa’s TymeBank — pushing the total to nine. Investors increasingly prioritised profitability, unit economics and tangible impact amid global economic caution.
As 2026 unfolds, a fresh cohort of founders is addressing longstanding challenges: unreliable energy for hundreds of millions, post-harvest losses up to 40% in key regions, healthcare access gaps and fragmented cross-border trade across 54 currencies. Here are 10 entrepreneurs and startups positioned to drive Africa’s business evolution this year.
1. Olugbenga Agboola — Flutterwave (Nigeria, fintech)
Olugbenga “GB” Agboola, a former engineer at Standard Bank and PayPal, launched Flutterwave in 2016 to eliminate friction in cross-border payments across Africa. The company, with headquarters in San Francisco and Lagos, now processes billions in transactions yearly for global enterprises and local merchants.
Flutterwave maintains a valuation of over USD 3 billion, cementing its status among Africa’s most valuable startups. In 2026, Agboola targets further North African penetration, enhanced embedded finance offerings and a push toward profitability, building on recent regulatory approvals and product expansions despite past leadership transitions.
2. Tosin Eniolorunda — Moniepoint (Nigeria, fintech)
Tosin Eniolorunda transformed his 2015 software venture TeamApt into Moniepoint, achieving unicorn status with a valuation exceeding USD 1 billion after a USD 110 million Series C round in late 2024. The platform delivers point-of-sale solutions, loans and banking services to millions of small businesses.
Processing over USD 22 billion in monthly transactions for 10 million customers, Moniepoint reached profitability in 2025 — a standout achievement in African fintech. Eniolorunda, who began coding as a teenager, plans 2026 expansions into Kenya and new remittance corridors with the United Kingdom.
3. Jesse Moore — M-KOPA (Kenya, energy/fintech)
Jesse Moore co-founded M-KOPA in 2011 with a pay-as-you-go model for solar systems via mobile money. The company has since financed productive assets exceeding USD 1 billion for more than 7 million customers across East and West Africa.
Revenue climbed to nearly USD 416 million in 2024, with continued growth into smartphones, loans and insurance. Moore, a long-time Kenya resident, anticipates 2026 deepening West African presence and introducing electric mobility financing options.
4. Benjamin Fernandes — Nala (Tanzania, fintech)
At 32, Benjamin Fernandes, a former CNBC Africa presenter and Stanford graduate, established Nala in 2017. Starting as a consumer remittance tool, it evolved into Rafiki, a B2B payments infrastructure.
Profitable and handling remittances into 11 African markets, Nala secured USD 40 million in 2024. Fernandes targets 2026 positioning Rafiki as the primary payout network for global remittance firms tapping Africa’s USD 100 billion annual diaspora flows.
5. Moulaye Taboure — Anka (Côte d’Ivoire, e-commerce)
Moulaye Taboure created Anka to enable African artisans and creators to reach global buyers, managing payments and logistics amid forex restrictions through DHL partnerships.
Supported by Alibaba co-founder Joe Tsai’s family office, Anka nears profitability. Taboure, building on his prior Afrikrea success, eyes aggressive 2026 growth in Francophone Africa and expanded mobile money integration.
6. Jess Anuna — Klasha (Nigeria, cross-border payments)
Jess Anuna founded Klasha to connect African consumers and merchants with Asian suppliers, especially China, converting local currencies to yuan or dollars in under two days.
Backed by American Express Ventures and Greycroft, Klasha expands checkout tools across six countries. As one of few prominent female fintech founders in Nigeria, Anuna focuses on deeper Chinese e-commerce integrations in 2026.
7. Ayoola Dominic — Koolboks (Nigeria/France, climate tech)
Ayoola Dominic develops solar-powered refrigerators using ice and water cooling to maintain temperatures for days without sunlight, targeting off-grid small retailers.
Producing 2400 units annually in Nigeria, Kenya and Uganda, Koolboks seeks USD 23 million in funding to empower women entrepreneurs in perishables preservation. Dominic plans 2026 production scaling and West African market entry.
8. Owusu Akoto — Freezelink (Ghana, agritech/climate)
Owusu Akoto offers solar-powered cold storage as a service through Freezelink, reducing post-harvest losses for farmers and retailers while extending to dairy transport and pharmaceuticals.
With USAID grants secured, the company raises USD 3 million for expansion. Akoto aims to strengthen Ghana penetration and launch in additional West African markets during 2026.
9. Uka Eje — ThriveAgric (Nigeria, agritech)
Uka Eje co-founded ThriveAgric in 2017 to supply smallholder farmers with inputs, training and market linkages, supporting 800000 farmers across four countries and boosting yields over 300% in cases.
A Y Combinator graduate, the platform targets 10 million farmers by 2027. Eje, raised by a mango farmer, emphasises climate-smart agriculture financing in 2026.
10. Amr Abodraiaa — Rology (Egypt, healthtech)
Amr Abodraiaa launched Rology to combat radiologist shortages via AI-assisted teleradiology, connecting scans to specialists in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Kenya, with Nigeria and Ghana next.
Following a USD 3 million Series A, Rology addresses life-threatening diagnostic delays. Abodraiaa plans 2026 AI upgrades and broader pan-African rollout.
These founders share traits of local insight, economic discipline and continental ambition. With funding stabilisation, improved connectivity and clearer regulations, 2026 may elevate many from promising ventures to regional powerhouses.
Persistent hurdles — currency fluctuations, talent competition and geopolitical tensions — remain. Those mastering them could forge billion-dollar enterprises while advancing Africa’s broader economic promise.
