African women founders entered 2025 with the same grit and persistence that have long defined their role in the continent’s technology ecosystem.
Even in a year marked by weak investor confidence, tighter capital flows, and cautious venture activity, these founders continued to push forward by securing million-dollar investments that underscored both their resilience and their rising influence.
While the broader funding landscape remained challenging, progress from female-led startups was steady and impactful, cutting through an ecosystem that frequently underestimates or overlooks women innovators.
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New data from Africa: The Big Deal reveals that female-led ventures accounted for just 2% of all funding in Q1 2025, attracting only US$10 million out of the US$460 million raised across the continent. However, between January and September 2025, women-led startups secured a combined US$45.4 million, a notable achievement given the global and regional downturn in venture capital activity.
This funding performance highlights both the strides being made and the significant gaps that persist. These founders are not just raising capital—they are building market-relevant solutions, scaling in difficult environments, and challenging a system that often gives them fewer chances.
Below is a list of the female-led African startups that raised US$1 million and above as of September 2025:
1. Intella — $12.5 million
Intella is an Egyptian AI startup specializing in Arabic-language speech and conversational intelligence. Co-founded by Nour Taher (CEO) and Omar Mansour (CTO), the company builds enterprise-grade AI tools, including advanced speech-to-text engines and Ziila, an Arabic conversational AI agent.
In September 2025, Intella raised $12.5 million in Series A funding led by Prosus Ventures. The investment will accelerate R&D, expand product offerings, enhance dialect-recognition models, and scale operations across the MENA region.
2. Odyssey Energy Solutions — $7.5 million
Founded by Nour Taher and Omar Mansour, Odyssey Energy Solutions supports the deployment of solar mini-grids and off-grid systems through a digital platform that manages procurement, logistics, financing and project workflows.
In September 2025, Odyssey secured a $7.5 million financing facility from British International Investment (BII) to support the World Bank-backed DARES programme in Nigeria, removing upfront procurement barriers for renewable-energy developers.
3. Afrigen Biologics — $6.2 million
South Africa’s Afrigen Biologics, led by CEO Prof. Petro Terblanche, is known for establishing Africa’s first mRNA vaccine technology hub. The company focuses on vaccine development, formulation science and transferring mRNA expertise across Africa.
In January 2025, Afrigen received a $6.2 million grant from CEPI to advance its vaccine and biologics manufacturing infrastructure.
4. Jetstream Africa — $5 million (part of a $13m round)
Jetstream is a Ghana-based e-logistics and trade-finance platform co-founded by Miishe Addy (CEO) and Solomon Torgbor (COO). It integrates logistics management with shipment-based financing to simplify cross-border trade.
The company raised $13 million in a bundled debt-and-equity pre-Series A round in June 2025, with $5 million attributed to growth financing. The capital supports expanded operations across West Africa.
5. Kasha — $4 million
Kasha, a Rwandan e-commerce and retail-health startup founded by Joanna Bichsel, improves access to essential health, hygiene and personal-care products—especially for women—through digital ordering and last-mile delivery.
The company raised $4 million in a venture round backed by Boehringer Ingelheim to scale distribution and strengthen its platform across more African markets.
6. Bidhaa Sasa — $2.6 million
Bidhaa Sasa, co-founded by Rocio Perez Ochoa and David Disch, distributes clean-energy, cooking, water and household goods to low-income families in rural Kenya and Uganda through a women-driven sales model and flexible payment plans.
The company secured $2.6 million in grant funding from MCFA to scale electric-cooking and clean-energy product distribution.
7. Neopenda — $2.6 million
Ugandan health-tech startup Neopenda, founded by Sona Shah (CEO) and Teresa Cauvel (CTO), develops wearable devices that monitor vital signs in newborns to improve neonatal outcomes in low-resource hospitals.
Through a successful $2.6 million venture round on WeFunder, the startup will scale device production and expand its reach to more healthcare facilities.
8. WeThinkCode — $2 million
WeThinkCode is a South African tech-education academy co-founded by Nyari Samushonga, offering tuition-free training in software engineering and emerging tech skills.
In June 2025, the academy received a $2 million Google.org grant to launch AI programmes aimed at upskilling 12,000 young people in South Africa and Kenya by 2026.
9. Altera Biosciences — $1.6 million
Founded by Alexandra Miszewski (CEO) and Prof. Michael Pepper, Altera Biosciences is developing a universal donor-cell platform to enable off-the-shelf cell and gene therapies.
The startup raised $1.6 million in pre-seed funding led by OneBio Venture Studio and E Squared Investments to support R&D and build scientific talent.
10. Farm to Feed — $1.6 million
Kenya’s Farm to Feed, founded by Claire van Enk with co-founders Anouk Boertien and Zara Benosa, tackles food waste by distributing surplus or imperfect produce from smallholder farmers to institutional buyers.
The company raised $1.6 million in seed funding from investors including Delta40, Catalyst Fund and Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation to expand operations, logistics and processing capabilities.
11. Liquify — $1.5 million
Liquify—co-founded by Nadya Yaremenko (CEO) and Alberta Asafo-Asamoah—is a Ghanaian invoice-financing platform enabling exporters to convert unpaid invoices into instant working capital.
The company raised $1.5 million in an oversubscribed seed round led by Future Africa to expand across Anglophone and Francophone Africa and upgrade its AI-driven risk tools.
12. Salpha Energy — $1.3 million
Founded by Sandra Chukwudozie, Nigeria’s Salpha Energy assembles and distributes solar systems for off-grid households, schools and small businesses, improving energy access across underserved communities.
The startup secured $1.3 million in debt financing from All On to scale deployment and strengthen its operational capacity nationwide.
13. Dabchy — $1 million
Dabchy is a Tunisian peer-to-peer fashion marketplace co-founded by Ameni Mansouri, Ghazi Ketata and Oussama Mahjoub, enabling users to buy and sell new and pre-owned items.
The company raised $1 million in a Pre-Series A round backed by Janngo Capital, Renew Capital and angel investors, intended to support expansion into new markets and enhance the platform experience.
Despite a tight funding climate in 2025 and women receiving only 2% of Africa’s Q1 startup funding, these 13 female-led companies raised more than $45 million between January and September.
Their solutions span AI, renewable energy, biotech, e-commerce, logistics, agritech and healthcare; demonstrating resilience in sectors vital to Africa’s future.
Together, these founders continue to break barriers, build innovative companies and push forward an ecosystem where women remain under-represented but undeniably impactful.
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