All time, Africa has 10 tech Unicorns: here are the founders
Africa’s tech ecosystem is thriving, with a growing number of startups achieving unicorn status. As these unicorns, valued at over $1 billion, drive innovation, they also create new opportunities for economic growth and development.
In recent years, several African startups have joined the ranks of unicorns, showcasing the continent’s potential for technological advancement and entrepreneurial spirit.
This article introduces you to ten African unicorn founders who are transforming the region’s tech startup landscape.
Meet the founders below:
1. Drew Durbin and Lincoln Quirkmet (Wave)
Senegalese-based Wave Co-founders, Drew Durbin and Lincoln Quirkmet, met as hallmates in their freshman year at Brown University in the US. Senegalese-born Durbin struck up a close friendship with his American friend over a shared passion for building simple products that make a social impact.
They both launched Sendwave in 2012 to address high fees for international money transfers to Africa. After experiencing the challenges of domestic mobile money in Africa, they realised the need for a better mobile money platform.
In 2021, they sold Sendwave to WorldRemit for $500 million and focused on building Wave.
Wave rose to unicorn status with a $200 million Series A funding, becoming Francophone Africa’s first unicorn. While Durbin is the CEO, Quirkmet serves as Head of Products.
2. Coen Jonker and Tjaart van der Walt (TymeBank)
Coenraad Jonker and Tjaart van der Walt co-founded Tyme Bank. Jonker (South African) began his career as a lawyer with Edward Nathan Corporate Law Advisers (now ENS) in 1996 and left in 2005.
Six years later, he joined Deloitte as a Partner in the strategy and innovation practice, and a year later, a new venture, called Tyme, was birthed from Deloitte.
With a 40% stake, TymeBank is majority-owned by African Rainbow Capital (ARC), which was founded by South Africa’s billionaire, Patrice Motsepe, making it the country’s first majority black-owned bank.
In December 2024, TymeBank became Africa’s 9th unicorn with a $250 million Series D funding round.
3. Olugbenga Agboola and Iyinoluwa Aboyeji (Flutterwave)
Olugbenga Agboola and Iyinoluwa Aboyeji (both Nigerian) co-founded Flutterwave in 2016 with a run of plays.
Before founding the Nigerian-based startup, Agboola worked as an application engineer at PayPal and held roles in product management at Google. He is also the Vice Chairman of the U.S.-Africa Business Centre Board and a member of prominent business organisations, including the Wall Street Journal CEO Council.
Before co-founding Flutterwave, Aboyeji co-founded Andela, a global job placement network for software developers in 2014. Aboyeji is currently the general partner and co-founder of Future Africa, a platform that provides capital, coaching, and community for mission-driven innovators.
In 2021, Flutterwave raised a $170 million Series C funding round to reach a valuation of over $1 billion, making Flutterwave a unicorn.
4. Mounir Nakhla (MNT-Halan)
Mounir Nakhla founded Egyptian-based Fintech MNT-Halan in January 2007, taking on the role of CEO from inception. Nakhla has over 15 years of experience in the telecoms and technology industry and has been honoured for his contributions across Africa.
Nakhla has established himself as an entrepreneur and a significant figure in the fintech sector. His journey began over a decade ago, focusing on delivering microfinancing solutions to SMEs and individuals.
He is also the founder of Mashroey and Tasaheel, both Egyptian financial companies for micro-projects.
MNT-Halan reached unicorn status in 2023 and is Egypt’s first-ever private tech firm to break above $ 1 billion.
5. Jeremy Hodara, Sacha Poignonnec, Tunde Kehinde, and Raphael Kofi Afaedor (Jumia)
French entrepreneurs, Jeremy Hodara and Sacha Poignonnec, alongside Nigeria’s Tunde Kehinde and Ghana’s Raphael Kofi Afaedor, co-founded Jumia as an online retailer in Nigeria. In addition to their role in Jumia’s birth, the founders have respective contributions.
Tunde Kehinde co-founded Lidya in 2016, a Series B startup that provides SMEs with access to finance, while Raphael Afaedor co-founded Kyosk Digital in 2019, a platform that connects informal retailers using kiosks to FMCG companies.
Jeremy Hodara has over 20 years of experience scaling and operating businesses in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. He also serves as a Board Member of some incredible organisations.
Sacha Poignonnec worked at the consulting firm McKinsey & Company in Paris and New York, advising large corporations on strategic and operational matters between 2007 and 2012. In 2022, Sacha left as Jumia’s co-CEO to focus on two companies in the circular economy.
In 2016, Jumia became Africa’s first unicorn and is present in at least 9 African countries. However, it ceased to be a unicorn in 2019 after it fell short of investors.
6. Zhou Yahui (OPay)
Zhou Yahui is a Chinese billionaire and entrepreneur. In 2008, he founded Kunlun Tech Co. Ltd, one of the largest web game developers in China.
In 2016, a consortium of investors, including Beijing Kunlun, acquired Opera SoftwareX, with Beijing Kunlun acquiring 48%, effectively granting ownership to the company (and Zhou Yahui) by majority.
Aside from founding the Nigerian-based fintech in 2013, Zhou is the CEO of Brothersoft and currently serves as chairman and co-CEO of Opera.
In 2020, Zhou Yahui resigned as chairman of Beijing Kunlun due to the COVID-19 pandemic to focus on OPay. His estimated net worth is $2.2 billion.
OPay reached unicorn status in August 2021 after a $400 million Series C funding round.
7. Mitchell Elegbe (Interswitch)
Current Valuation: $1 billion+
As the founder and CEO of Interswitch, Mitchell Elegbe has led the company since its inception. Elegbe’s background as an Electrical/Electronic Engineering graduate from the University of Benin, Nigeria, and his experience working at Schlumberger and TELNET played a crucial role in his entrepreneurial journey.
Through his professionalism, the Nigerian identified the opportunity to transform electronic payment processing in Nigeria’s financial sector.
Interswitch achieved unicorn status in November 2019 after Visa acquired a minority equity stake in the company. From Nigeria, Interswitch has expanded its physical presence to several African countries, including Uganda, Gambia, and Kenya.
8. Tosin Eniolorunda and Felix Ike (Moniepoint Inc.)
Founded: 2015Attained unicorn status: 2025
Current Valuation: $1 billion+
Tosin Eniolorunda (Nigerian) joined Interswitch as a software engineer in 2009. At Interswitch, he worked as a senior software manager, unit head of application development, and product manager. In 2015, Eniolorunda left his role at Interswitch and co-founded Moniepoint (formerly TeamApt).
Before co-founding Moniepoint, Felix Ike (Nigerian) spent 20 months as a software developer at Interswitch. In 2015, he left to join Eniolorunda at Moniepoint, becoming Chief Technology Officer in 2017.
Alongside Eniolorunda, Ike is an Endeavor entrepreneur.
For Moniepoint, its valuation reached over $1 billion in October 2024, making it Africa’s latest unicorn and its fastest-growing fintech.
9. Jeremy Johnson, Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, Nadayar Enegesi, Brice Nkengsa, Ian Carnevale, and Christina Sass (Andela)
Founded: 2014Attained unicorn status: 2021
Current Valuation: $1.5 billion+
Andela, a private marketplace for technical talent, was co-founded in 2014 after Ian Carnevale (Canadian), Nadayar (Nigerian), Brice (Cameroonian), and Aboyeji (Nigerian) shut down Fora, a distance learning platform for African universities, which they co-founded in 2013.
While Fora didn’t work due to a capital shortage, the inclusion of Jeremy (American), then a co-founder at 2U, into the new idea (Andela) brought in the needed funds. Christina Sass (American) also joined the team after dropping out of her PhD program at Harvard. Despite having to shut down Fora, many of its early investors continued to support Andela, according to Aboyeji.
Andela achieved unicorn status in September 2021 after raising $200 million in a Series E funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2.
10. Ham Serunjogi and Maijid Moujaled (Chipper Cash)
Founded: 2018Attained unicorn status: 2021
Current Valuation: $1.25 billion
Both founders met while studying at Grinnell College and launched Chipper Cash in 2018. The idea that birthed the African cross-border payment services was developed by the founder during a 2016 road trip.
Serunjogi (Ugandan) had previously been a competitive swimmer and represented his country in the Youth Olympics. Before Chipper, he worked at Facebook in Dublin. Moujaled (Ghanian), who studied computer language, has a background in developing and growing various mobile apps, including Yahoo Mail, Yahoo Sports, Flickr, and Imgur.
An $100 million Series C round led by SVB Capital in May 2021 cemented Chipper Cash’s unicorn status, with a $1 billion valuation. A later extension of the Series C round in November 2021, led by FTX, further boosted its valuation to $2.2 billion.
The valuation was eventually slashed to $1.25 billion.
