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.

Smart Applications International Limited (Smart), a leading biometric and healthcare technology firm, has been recognized as a Superbrand, affirming its position among Africa’s most trusted and innovative companies. This recognition highlights their significant contributions to healthcare access and administration across 12 African countries.

• Smart serves over 1.6 million users across more than 9,000 healthcare facilities.
• Group Managing Director Harrison Muiru emphasized that the recognition strengthens their resolve to innovate in healthcare delivery.
• Their solutions, including the Smart Access App, have helped clients achieve between 25% and 40% savings on medical scheme expenditure.

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.