18 African Startups that Shut Down in 2023

The 2024 Startup Graveyard Report found that 18 startups shut down in 2023. Nigeria had the highest rate of startup shutdowns, followed by Kenya and Ghana.

54Gene

54Gene was a Nigerian-based health-tech startup founded by Abasi Ene-Obong, Damilola Oni, Gatumi Aliyu, and Francis Osifo in 2019. The company raised up to $45 million in funding. The company sought to refine the African healthcare system through genomics research and drug discovery.

54Gene closed down in July 2023 due to financial mismanagement. Rumours of a potential acquisition were hindered due to this factor. One of the co-founders, Abasi Ene-Obong, moved on to launch Syndicate Bio, a health-tech company accelerating precision medicine and drug discovery for Africans.

Lazerpay

Lazerpay was a Nigerian fintech startup co-founded by Njoku Emmanuel, Prosper Ubi, and Abdulfatai Suleiman in 2021. The company provided a novel means for companies to receive payments - by cryptocurrency. They raised $1.1 million in funding.

Lazerpay announced its decision to shut down in April 2023. Their lead investor pulled out of the business, leading to a major loss of funds. The company’s core team invested their personal monies to keep the business afloat, but this proved unsustainable and eventually led to their shutdown.

Vibra

Vibra was a Nigerian fintech startup co-founded by Allen Ng and Vincent Li in 2021. They amplified cryptocurrency adoption in Africa by P2P trading, sharing educational content and incentivizing their activities.

Vibra raised up to $6 million in funding and expanded its operations to Ghana and Kenya. In 2023, Vibra announced it would stop providing services to its African users. Vincent Li, one of its co-founders, informed TechCabal that the company was pivoting to remain active in other markets.

Pivo

Pivo was a Nigerian fintech startup founded by Ijeoma Akwiku and Nkiru Amadai-Emima in 2021. The company offered financial services to SMEs in Africa. Pivo raised $2.6 million in seed funding.

In 2023, Pivo experienced a conflict between its co-founders, and investors revamped the business guidelines to ensure functionality. However, this did not resolve the issue, and the company ceased operations in December 2023.

Zazuu

Zazuu was a London-based cross-border remittance platform founded in 2018 by Kay Akinwunmi, Korede Fanilola, Tosin Ekolie, and Tola Alade. It allows users to compare exchange and remittance rates before making international transfers.

After raising $2 million in seed funding, Zazuu had trouble securing operational licenses and attracting more investors. The company shut down in 2023 after failing to secure its growth funding round.

Hytch

Hytch was a Nigerian logistics startup founded by Laolu Onifade and Oluwafemi Omoniyi in 2021. The company originally launched as a carpooling business and soon expanded to offer B2B logistics services.

Hytch raised $150,000 in funding and announced its decision to shut down nine months after its inception. This was attributed to its inability to raise funds and harsh macroeconomic conditions.

Kippapay

Kippapay was a fintech startup launched in 2022 by Kennedy Ekezie. It was created as an offline agency banking business and raised $8.4 million in funding.

In November 2023, Kippa shut down Kippapay, planning to lay off staff the next month with adequate compensation. The shutdown was due to harsh macroeconomic conditions.

Bundle Africa

Bundle Africa was a Nigerian fintech startup founded by Yele Bademosi in 2021. The platform allowed users to trade cryptocurrencies and save in multiple currencies. The company raised $450k in seed funding. In 2021, Bundle expanded its operations to Ghana and had over $50 million in monthly transactions.

In 2021, Bademosi stepped down as CEO and was succeeded by Emmanuel Babalola. In 2023, the company announced that it would cease operations to restructure the business and focus more on Cashlink, its P2P platform.

Pillow

Pillow was a Singaporean-based crypto startup founded by Arindam Roy, Rajath KM, and Kartik Mishra in 2021. In 2022, the company expanded operations to Ghana and Nigeria to enable more users to invest in and save in cryptocurrency. Pillow raised $21 million in funding.

In 2023, Pillow announced plans to exit the Nigerian market, citing unfavourable regulatory policies and their impact on the country's financial infrastructure as major causes.

OkadaBooks

OkadaBooks was launched by Okechukwu Ofili in 2013 as a digital bookshop and publication platform. Based in Nigeria, the business encouraged the self-publication of authors from sub-Saharan Africa. It raised revenue by taking a 30% commission from published authors.

OkadaBooks raised a total of $1.2 million in funding. In November 2023, It officially announced its closure, citing a lack of funding and harsh macroeconomic conditions as major causes.

Jumia Food

Jumia Food was a pre-payment food delivery platform launched in Nigeria as an offshoot of Jumia. Founded in 2013 by Sacha Poignonnec and Jeremy Hodara, alongside Tunde Kehinde and Raphael Kofi Afaedor, the company rapidly expanded to other African countries.

Reported fraud and PR crises caused the company's shares to plummet. Sacha Poignonnec and Jeremy Hodara stepped down from their positions after this. In 2023, the new management ceased operations, citing stiff competition and economic factors as the causes.

Zumi

Zumi was a Kenyan e-commerce platform founded by William McCarren, Mohammed Nuur, Sabrina Dorman, Tomas Rosales, and Eric Njogu in 2016. The company started as a women-focused digital magazine and raised $250,000 in funding. However, it shut down due to low revenue from digital advertisements.

Zumi returned to the startup scene in 2020 as a B2B e-commerce platform. Before its second shutdown in March 2023, Zumi raised a total of $970,000 and was valued at $20 million. However, Zumi shut down due to fundraising difficulties and unsustainable macro environment factors.

Sendy

Sendy was a Kenyan startup founded in 2019 by Meshack Alloys, Don Okoth, and Evanson Biwott. It offers logistics services for on-demand delivery of goods. Sendy has raised up to $41 million in funding and expanded operations to Uganda, Nigeria, and the Ivory Coast.

In 2022, Sendy laid off staff at various intervals, cut expenses, sought $100 million in funding to expand further, and eventually shut down due to its inability to raise the money.

PrivPay

Privpay was a Kenyan fintech startup founded by Siri Yangu Ltd. in 2022 to provide data privacy for users during M-PESA transactions. Its business model relied on M-PESA’s payment API, which Safaricom, a major shareholder in the Kenyan telecommunications space, owns.

In 2023, Safaricom publicly acknowledged its disapproval of Privpay’s business model. This led to Safaricom suspending the company’s bill account, citing money laundering concerns and compliance issues. Unable to acquire operational licenses from the Central Bank of Kenya, coupled with Safaricom’s refusal to grant them access, Privpay shut down.

Dash

Dash was a Ghanaian fintech startup founded by Prince Boakye Boampong in 2019. Its goal is to create seamless transactions between digital money platforms and traditional banks. The company has raised $86.1 million and expanded operations to Kenya and Nigeria.

In 2021, internal audits revealed that the company’s user metrics were inflated significantly. The same year, the CEO was replaced due to reported fraudulent activities. In 2022, the Bank of Ghana stopped Dash from operating, claiming it lacked operational licenses. In 2023, Dash reportedly laid off all staff and ceased operations.

Redbird

Redbird was a Ghanaian health-tech startup launched in 2018 by Patrick Beattie, Andrew Quao, and Edward Grandstaff. Its focus was improving Africa’s healthcare system by providing access to rapid diagnostic testing at local centres.

The company raised over $2 million in funding. In February 2023, Andrew officially announced that Redbird was shutting down due to a lack of funding despite its significant impact on Ghana’s healthcare sector.

WhereIsMyTransport

WhereIsMyTransport was a South African startup founded by Devin De Fries in 2016 to offer logistics services. It raised over $27 million in funding and had about 140 employees. In 2023, Devin De Fries announced that his company would shut down due to its inability to raise more funding.

Capiter

Capiter was an Egyptian-based B2B startup founded by Mahmoud Nouh and Ahmed Nouh in 2019. The company raised up to $33 million in funding to support small businesses with capital. To meet their revenue target of $ 1 billion in 2022, they hired as many staff, incurring a lot of expenses in the process.

In September 2022, an official memo announced that the co-founders were being dismissed and replaced for mismanagement of funds.

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