DFS Lab

Stable Sea operates a global platform that facilitates the conversion of stablecoins to traditional currencies, ensuring compliance and cost-effectiveness. This service bridges the gap between digital and traditional finance, enabling businesses to access more competitive exchange rates and deep liquidity pools, thereby fostering growth in the stablecoin ecosystem.

Chargel is a freight brokerage platform that facilitates connections between shippers and carriers, enabling efficient matching of available loads. The platform is designed to help carriers identify freight opportunities at any time, thereby minimizing empty miles and maximizing revenue. Additionally, Chargel offers value-added services, including GPS plotters, fuel purchasing assistance at reduced rates, and support for repairs in case of breakdowns. This approach not only allows shippers to access transportation solutions at competitive prices but also helps carriers enhance their operational efficiency and profitability.

Payday is a fintech platform that provides global payment solutions such as virtual mastercards and payments for foreign employees. Payday can also be used to handle payroll, taxes, and compliance by foreign companies with African employees. Payday was established on May 1, 2021 in Vancouver, British Columbia by Favour Ori.

Terraa is a B2B distribution platform based in Morocco that focuses on the fresh food supply chain. The company develops a platform designed to store produce collected from farmers, including vegetables, fruits, and dried fruits. Terraa's approach emphasizes the hygienic processing and quality grading of these products, ensuring that resellers receive fair prices. By streamlining the distribution process, Terraa helps resellers save time and reduce costs associated with transportation and storage.

Cutstruct operates a technology-driven platform designed to enhance the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of construction projects. The platform serves various construction needs, including price discovery and comparison of materials, optimized procurement processes, and comprehensive project monitoring and management. By facilitating the purchasing of materials, hiring of labor, and overseeing of project logistics, Cutstruct aims to empower construction stakeholders to execute their projects with greater confidence and value. The company's applications are geared towards maximizing the potential of every investment in construction, making it easier for individuals and businesses to navigate the building process.

Bumpa is a company that develops a digital commerce infrastructure platform tailored for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) across Africa. Its user-friendly mobile application allows small business owners to establish an online presence, showcase their products, and securely process payments. Bumpa also provides tools for recording sales data, issuing professional invoices and receipts, and accessing comprehensive financial reports. By enabling efficient order management and offering essential digital tools, Bumpa seeks to empower African sellers and transform the e-commerce landscape, helping businesses start, manage, and grow successfully from their mobile devices.

Tanda is a fintech startup aimed at enhancing access to essential digital financial services for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) across Africa. The company focuses on micro-retailers, who play a vital role in local economies by supplying over 70% of essential goods, yet face significant challenges in accessing credit. Tanda enables these retailers to obtain inventory credit and become access points for services such as airtime, utility payments, mobile banking, and insurance, thereby helping to drive financial inclusion. Additionally, micro-retailers can diversify their income streams by earning commissions from transactions related to these services. By addressing the financing gap and providing essential tools, Tanda seeks to empower low-income MSMEs and support their growth within the community.

Logistics Hub is a technology-driven freight and logistics company that specializes in last-mile delivery solutions. It offers a digital platform enabling businesses to schedule deliveries, connect with riders, and monitor progress in real-time. The company's services cater to various needs, including on-demand e-commerce deliveries, inter-state transportation, and import services, all aimed at streamlining workflows and enhancing customer satisfaction.

Pastel is a company focused on supporting African businesses by providing financial applications that enhance operational efficiency. It offers various tools, including quick receipt management, bookkeeping solutions, and financing options tailored for small businesses in developing countries. By leveraging artificial intelligence and data science, Pastel develops digital tools that empower clients to improve their financial accountability and streamline their business processes. The company's mission is to unlock the potential of these businesses, enabling them to thrive in a competitive landscape.

Terminal Africa operates a delivery aggregator platform that facilitates the efficient sending and receiving of products globally. By partnering with various local and international couriers, the company streamlines the delivery process. When a delivery request is made, Terminal Africa directs the information to the chosen courier of the sender or receiver, allowing for quick and reliable service. In addition to logistics, the company also focuses on providing eCommerce and payment solutions for entrepreneurs, ensuring a stress-free experience in managing their business needs.

Tushop is a community group buying platform that enables members to sell groceries within their social networks and communities. By aggregating demand for groceries, Tushop allows users to access wholesale prices, making it more affordable for them to purchase essential items. The platform is designed to facilitate convenient delivery to end-customers, ensuring that communities receive regular support and access to necessary goods. Through its innovative approach, Tushop aims to enhance the livelihoods of community members across the country.

Caantin is focused on enhancing the contribution of restaurants to the global economy by providing a comprehensive platform tailored for the African food industry. Their solution facilitates food supply procurement, short-term credit access, and overall business management for restaurants. By developing vendor management and payments software, Caantin simplifies onboarding and operations, which improves customer satisfaction and business performance. The platform streamlines procurement processes, supplier payments, and inventory financing, while also offering payment reminders and a collection system for accounts receivable. This enables clients to obtain necessary products at competitive prices, ultimately supporting the growth of food businesses across Africa.

NALA Incorporation Company Limited is a FinTech firm based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, founded in 2017. The company develops a mobile payments application that facilitates various financial transactions, including peer-to-peer payments, bill payments, and airtime top-ups, all without the need for an internet connection. NALA's platform is designed to enhance financial inclusion by offering services that include money transfers, budgeting tools, and transaction tracking. The application also features advanced security measures such as bank-grade encryption and multi-factor authentication, ensuring safe and reliable transactions, particularly in areas with limited internet access. Through its services, NALA aims to support mobile money transfers for Africans worldwide, promoting seamless international payments and digital financial services.

Sendchamp is a unified communications platform designed for businesses in Africa, facilitating improved communication and relationship-building with customers. The company offers a range of Communication APIs and CRM solutions that enable businesses to reach their audiences through various messaging channels, including SMS, Email, Voice, Whatsapp, and other digital platforms. With a focus on customer onboarding, engagement, service, and retention, Sendchamp provides both APIs and no-code tools that empower developers and organizations to personalize their communication strategies and enhance customer interactions.

Tushop is a community group buying platform that enables members to sell groceries within their social networks and communities. By aggregating demand for groceries, Tushop allows users to access wholesale prices, making it more affordable for them to purchase essential items. The platform is designed to facilitate convenient delivery to end-customers, ensuring that communities receive regular support and access to necessary goods. Through its innovative approach, Tushop aims to enhance the livelihoods of community members across the country.

PesaKit is a technology company based in Nairobi, Kenya, that specializes in providing a platform for last-mile agent networks in the mobile money and digital finance sectors. Established in 2018, PesaKit utilizes artificial intelligence to develop a virtual assistant that streamlines the management of liquidity and conversion processes for mobile money agents and merchants. The company's software application features an API-driven interface, enabling users to digitize distribution and access channels effectively. PesaKit aims to enhance financial inclusion by supporting mobile money agents with innovative tools that improve their operational efficiency.

Appetito is an online grocery delivery platform that specializes in providing customers with a variety of food and grocery products. The company focuses on delivering daily fresh baked goods, along with a wide selection of savory and sweet snacks. By offering convenience and quality, Appetito enables customers to easily order essential items and have them delivered directly to their doorstep, enhancing the grocery shopping experience.

Bumpa is a company that develops a digital commerce infrastructure platform tailored for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) across Africa. Its user-friendly mobile application allows small business owners to establish an online presence, showcase their products, and securely process payments. Bumpa also provides tools for recording sales data, issuing professional invoices and receipts, and accessing comprehensive financial reports. By enabling efficient order management and offering essential digital tools, Bumpa seeks to empower African sellers and transform the e-commerce landscape, helping businesses start, manage, and grow successfully from their mobile devices.

The ANDO platform offers an end-to-end technology stack that begins when an order is placed and ends when an order is delivered and guest feedback is collected. The company's technologically advanced commercial kitchens ensure that all food is produced while keeping very sensitive prep times and quality requirements in mind.

GoBEBA is a quick-commerce retailer specializing in essential household goods and groceries, including bulk utilities such as LPG gas and drinking water. The company operates a network of micro-fulfillment centers, also known as dark stores, which facilitate rapid order fulfillment. GoBEBA offers a multi-channel ordering system supported by an AI-driven logistics and inventory management platform, enabling delivery within 30 minutes for daily essentials. Its business model connects local merchants with consumers and logistics providers through a curated digital marketplace, providing a wide range of services such as grocery shopping, food delivery, and access to essential commodities at competitive prices.

Rivy is making it easier to finance small and medium sized businesses in Africa. There is a need for financing of $158 bn for SMEs in Nigeria alone. To start, Rivy o helps SMEs access and spend lender capital effectively. During their first full operational year in 2020, the Rivy o co--founders leveraged their domain expertise and founding experience to beat their 2020 goal by 50%.

Caantin is focused on enhancing the contribution of restaurants to the global economy by providing a comprehensive platform tailored for the African food industry. Their solution facilitates food supply procurement, short-term credit access, and overall business management for restaurants. By developing vendor management and payments software, Caantin simplifies onboarding and operations, which improves customer satisfaction and business performance. The platform streamlines procurement processes, supplier payments, and inventory financing, while also offering payment reminders and a collection system for accounts receivable. This enables clients to obtain necessary products at competitive prices, ultimately supporting the growth of food businesses across Africa.

Boost Technology provides financial B2B commerce platforms. The company provide services that create a tipping point and services that listen, learn, build, and iterate on a shared platform. Boost assists distributors in the trillion-dollar informal economy. Boost is a single, adaptable platform that allows clients to be served in numerous languages and currencies, with multiple catalogues and prices available across channels.

ORDA is a cloud-based restaurant operating system built for African chefs and food business owners. ORDA's ePos, integrations, and lending solutions enable Africa’s millions of food business owners to scale and grow their business. The company was founded in 2020 and is based in Lagos, Nigeria.

ORDA is a cloud-based restaurant operating system built for African chefs and food business owners. ORDA's ePos, integrations, and lending solutions enable Africa’s millions of food business owners to scale and grow their business. The company was founded in 2020 and is based in Lagos, Nigeria.

Side is an e-commerce distribution channel that leverages the power of “community” or “group buying” to provide goods to end customers more cheaply.

GoBEBA is a quick-commerce retailer specializing in essential household goods and groceries, including bulk utilities such as LPG gas and drinking water. The company operates a network of micro-fulfillment centers, also known as dark stores, which facilitate rapid order fulfillment. GoBEBA offers a multi-channel ordering system supported by an AI-driven logistics and inventory management platform, enabling delivery within 30 minutes for daily essentials. Its business model connects local merchants with consumers and logistics providers through a curated digital marketplace, providing a wide range of services such as grocery shopping, food delivery, and access to essential commodities at competitive prices.

Tanda is a fintech startup aimed at enhancing access to essential digital financial services for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) across Africa. The company focuses on micro-retailers, who play a vital role in local economies by supplying over 70% of essential goods, yet face significant challenges in accessing credit. Tanda enables these retailers to obtain inventory credit and become access points for services such as airtime, utility payments, mobile banking, and insurance, thereby helping to drive financial inclusion. Additionally, micro-retailers can diversify their income streams by earning commissions from transactions related to these services. By addressing the financing gap and providing essential tools, Tanda seeks to empower low-income MSMEs and support their growth within the community.

Koa is a savings and financial services platform that offers technology solutions and financial services applications through its API. Co-founded by Alexis Roman and Delila Kidanu, the company specializes in embedding financial services, effectively delivering savings-as-a-service to its clients.

TaniHub is a B2B agriculture marketplace based in Indonesia that connects farmers with businesses in the food, hotel, restaurant, and catering sectors. Established in 2015 by co-founders Ivan Arie Sustiawan, Eka Pamitra, Michael Sugianto, Miftahul Choiri, Wahyu Setyo Nugroho, Wawan B. Setyawan, and William Setiawan, TaniHub provides an e-commerce platform for agricultural products. The platform empowers local farmers by facilitating market access and financial opportunities, allowing them to sell their crops to individuals and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) across various regions.

NALA Incorporation Company Limited is a FinTech firm based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, founded in 2017. The company develops a mobile payments application that facilitates various financial transactions, including peer-to-peer payments, bill payments, and airtime top-ups, all without the need for an internet connection. NALA's platform is designed to enhance financial inclusion by offering services that include money transfers, budgeting tools, and transaction tracking. The application also features advanced security measures such as bank-grade encryption and multi-factor authentication, ensuring safe and reliable transactions, particularly in areas with limited internet access. Through its services, NALA aims to support mobile money transfers for Africans worldwide, promoting seamless international payments and digital financial services.

Veridium Ltd, established in 2015 and based in Quincy, Massachusetts, specializes in biometric authentication solutions. The company has developed the VeridiumID platform, which integrates biometric capabilities into mobile applications through a front-end software development kit (SDK). Additionally, Veridium offers VeridiumAD, an enterprise solution that enhances Microsoft Active Directory and Azure AD with biometric authentication. Their 4 Fingers TouchlessID system provides multi-finger contactless biometric authentication for unmodified smartphones, while the 4 Fingers Export SDK facilitates fingerprint biometrics capture. Veridium positions itself as a leader in passwordless authentication, utilizing AI-driven behavioral biometrics to support multi-factor authentication and digital ID verification, thereby enhancing security for both employees and clients.

NALA Incorporation Company Limited is a FinTech firm based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, founded in 2017. The company develops a mobile payments application that facilitates various financial transactions, including peer-to-peer payments, bill payments, and airtime top-ups, all without the need for an internet connection. NALA's platform is designed to enhance financial inclusion by offering services that include money transfers, budgeting tools, and transaction tracking. The application also features advanced security measures such as bank-grade encryption and multi-factor authentication, ensuring safe and reliable transactions, particularly in areas with limited internet access. Through its services, NALA aims to support mobile money transfers for Africans worldwide, promoting seamless international payments and digital financial services.

Nobuntu is a company focused on designing and distributing community-oriented savings products aimed at assisting South Africans in preparing for retirement. Founded with the mission to ensure that all individuals can age comfortably, Nobuntu seeks to revolutionize the retirement savings landscape in South Africa. The company's offerings include a pension savings product and funeral cover, which are intended to provide financial security for employees and their families. Through these initiatives, Nobuntu aims to create accessible savings solutions that empower individuals, regardless of their planning timeline, to secure a stable and comfortable future.

Cherehani Africa is a financial platform focused on empowering women micro-entrepreneurs in rural and underserved areas by providing access to credit and personalized financial literacy resources. The company's innovative approach combines technology with a human touch, enabling it to deploy capital with enhanced efficiency. Cherehani leverages existing micro-savings group structures to offer various financial products, including asset financing for business tools and loans for agriculture, water, sanitation, and hygiene. Additionally, Cherehani Africa prioritizes financial education, delivering market information and training through a proprietary web-based platform complemented by in-person field visits. This comprehensive support system aims to foster the growth of micro-businesses and improve the financial stability of women in these communities.

Inclusive Financial Technologies is a Ghana-based company founded in 2016 that develops a mobile application designed to assist financial institutions in reaching customers through digital channels, including USSD and the web. The company specializes in ID verification and multi-factor authentication in Sub-Saharan Africa, offering a single application programming interface (API) for user onboarding, compliance with Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations, fraud detection, and document authentication. By leveraging machine learning, forensics, imaging, and voice capture technologies, Inclusive Financial Technologies facilitates the creation of thin file identities, thereby connecting unbanked Africans to the global economy. Its product suite includes Smart Bank, Inclusive ID, and iCapture.

Pezesha is a digital financial marketplace based in Nairobi, Kenya, that connects small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to various financing options, including working capital, float financing, and LPO financing. Founded in 2016, Pezesha aims to enhance access to affordable credit for micro-businesses by leveraging credit and data analytics to link lenders with low-income borrowers. The platform facilitates a shared economy by converging lending and other financial services, thereby enabling underserved SMBs to participate in the formal financial system. Through its innovative approach, Pezesha seeks to empower businesses and improve their growth potential by providing essential financial resources.

Serv'd is an impact enterprise focused on enhancing financial inclusion and economic empowerment for domestic help workers, including maids, cooks, nannies, and drivers. By leveraging technology, Serv'd aims to organize the largely unregulated sector, ensuring that workers receive fair treatment and dignity in their professional lives. The company has developed a payment management application that simplifies the processes of payment, attendance, and contract terms for contract workers. This application facilitates a smoother experience for workers, allowing them to manage their earnings and working hours more effectively. Through its innovative approach, Serv'd seeks to bring structure and support to an essential yet often overlooked segment of the workforce.