African venture capital funding is rebounding in 2025, with East Africa, led by Kenya's solar startups, outperforming other regions. Total funding has already reached over US$2 billion across 500 deals this year, doubling that of 2024 figures for the same period.

• East Africa has attracted over US$865 million across more than 100 deals through August, surpassing Southern Africa.
• Kenyan solar companies like Sun King and d.light were major beneficiaries, solidifying the country's role as a regional energy hub.
• The median deal size has recovered to US$1 million, with debt financing crossing the US$1 billion mark for the first time.

Fincra and Reap have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to innovate card and cross-border payment solutions, specifically aimed at enhancing trade between Africa and Asia.

• The partnership is Reap’s first strategic alliance in Africa, leveraging Fincra’s African payment rails with Reap’s stablecoin-enabled infrastructure.
• Both companies will explore Card-as-a-Service (CaaS) solutions and programmable spend controls for African fintechs and SMEs.
• Sub-Saharan Africa recorded an average remittance cost of 8.37% in Q2 2024, while accounting for 43% of global crypto transactions in 2024, highlighting the need for efficient cross-border payment alternatives.