Source: Benjamindada.com
Nigeria’s tech landscape has seen remarkable growth in recent years, with an impressive cohort of female-led startups making waves in various sectors. These women entrepreneurs are driving innovation, creating jobs, and contributing significantly to the nation’s economic development.
According to recent data, Nigeria boasts of over 481 active tech startups. Of these, 60 are led by tenacious and visionary female founders. These startups span a diverse array of industries, including fintech, health tech, agritech, and e-commerce, to name a few.
An analysis by The Big Deal showed female techpreneurs have significantly raised the share of funding they attract—from $52 million in 2019 to $288 million by Q4 of 2021. However, between January 2022 and April 2023, startups with female co-founders and CEOs raised a total of $119 million which is just 2.9% of total funds during the period and which is 58.6% less than the close of 2021, according to BD Funding Tracker.
Nonetheless, it is worth noting that these numbers however reflect a considerable shift towards gender diversity in Africa’s tech space. The support and recognition of female-led startups are growing, and this list aims to shine a spotlight on some of the most promising ventures in the ecosystem, led by women. These women have not only broken through gender barriers but have also demonstrated remarkable resilience and innovation in a highly competitive industry.
In this listicle, we will introduce you to 61 remarkable female-led startups in Nigeria. Each of these companies has its unique story, addressing specific challenges, and contributing to the broader tech ecosystem in Nigeria. From pioneering digital health solutions to redefining financial services, these women are shaping the future of tech in Nigeria and beyond.
Edukoya – Honey Ogundeyi
Edukoya is an ed-tech startup founded in 2021 by Honey Ogundeyi shortly after her time at Kuda and as Country Director at the UK-Nigeria Tech Hub. In December 2021, she led the team at Edukoya to raise $3.5 million, which happens to be the biggest pre-seed raise by an Edtech startup in Nigeria.
Sendsprint – Damisi Busari
Sendsprint is a cross-border fintech startup founded in 2022 by Damisi Busari, immediately after her 5 years stint at Flutterwave as the Head of Commercial Alliances & Strategy. Details about funding raised by the startup is unknown.
Fez Delivery – Seun Alley
Seun Alley founded Fez Delivery; a last-mile logistics startup serving businesses and individuals in Africa. She had previously worked as Director of Partnerships at Opay and most recently was Chief Operating Officer at Bloc. In 2022, the startup joined Techstars Toronto accelerator program and in March of 2023, raised $1 million bringing their total fundraising to $1.1 million.
Clafiya – Jennie Nwokoye
Clafiya, the health-tech startup was founded in 2021 by Jennie Nwokoye after her time at Amazon as Programs Manager. Clafiya is a digital primary healthcare service connecting individuals and businesses to health practitioners to provide convenience, quality, and affordable on-demand care. In 2022, the startup was accepted into the Google For Startups Black Founders Fund. In July 2023, the startup went on to raise $610,000 in pre-seed funding.
One Health – Adeola Alli
One Health is a health-tech startup founded in 2019 by Adeola Alli, after her time as a pharmacy manager at CVS Health. One Health is a mobile-first pharmacy & healthcare platform. According to Crunchbase, the startup has raised a total of $150,000 in funding.
Torche – Sisan Dorsu
The Lagos-based fintech startup was founded in 2021 by Sisan Dorsu after her 2 years stint at Accenture as an Innovation Strategy Consultant. Torche is making it possible for individuals and businesses to seamlessly access collateralized loans, customers get to deposit foreign currency or crypto stable coins as collateral and they receive the Naira currency they need to spend. The startup is backed by Techstars and has raised a total of $120,000.
Shuttlers – Damilola Olokesusi
Shuttlers is a scheduled ride-sharing platform founded by Damilola Olokesusi in 2015. The mobility startup allows individual and corporate passengers to take rides on multiple bus routes via an app. After bootstrapping for years, the startup raised a $1.6 million seed round led by VestedWorld in 2021. 18 months later, the startup raised $4 million, bringing total funds raised to $5.6 million.
Bitmama – Ruth Iselema
Bitmama is a crypto-fiat exchange that allows traders to buy and sell Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other digital assets was founded by Ruth Iselema in 2016. The startup has a diverse team of 50+ persons spread across Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Europe, Canada, and the UK. Ruth is fondly called the Bitmama of Africa’s blockchain space and has been recognized as one of the top 20 individuals shaping the blockchain space on the continent. Bitmama has raised $2 million in funding.
Herconomy – Ife Durosimi-Etti
Herconomy is a female-focused fintech startup dedicated to empowering women with access to financial services was founded by Ife Durosimi-Etti in 2018. It first began as a community for women to access opportunities, and grants, it later metamorphosed into a paid community of 1,500 members. They later went on to raise $600,000 from their community with participation from Oui Capital. In 2023, they received $150,000 from the Google Black Founders Fund, bringing their total fund raised to $750,000.
Bankly – Tomilola Adejana
Bankly is a fintech providing cash digitization services through its online/offline channels. The startup was founded by Tomilola Adejana following her time at Aledin Nano as Head of Business. The startup had raised a pre-seed of $100,000 from Greenhouse Capital in 2018, in 2021 they raised a seed of $2 million, bringing the total funds raised to $2.1 million. In August of 2023, the startup launched its micro-finance bank and announced the release of new product features.
Crowdyvest – Temitope Omotolani
Founded in 2019 by Temitope Omotolani after her one-year stint at Farmcrowdy as Chief Operations Officer. Farmcrowdy is an impact-driven fintech offering innovative online savings and investment opportunities to its customers. The startup in recent times has been riddled with challenges but it continues to push its way to come out of it. Details about funding raised by the startup are unknown.
Backdrop – Damilola Odufuwa
Backdrop is a go-to travel app founded in 2020 by Damilola Odufuwa. She had previously worked as Global Head Of Product Communications at Binance. The Travel-tech startup uses AI to simplify location discovery and travel planning for Gen Z and Millenials. Its LinkedIn profile and Crunchbase reveal that the startup has raised $50,000 in funding.
Hervest – Solape Akinpelu
Founded by Solape Akinpelu in 2019, Hervest is a fintech company providing inclusive finance to African women through goal-oriented savings, impact investing, and credit options for smallholder women farmers and women-led SMEs. The platform boasts over 40,000 users. Solape had previously worked as head of marketing and corporate Communications at Meristem Nigeria. According to Crunchbase, the startup has raised $650,000 in funding.
Tix – Folayemi Agusto
Tix is a self-service ticketing fintech platform for event creators founded in 2019 by Folayemi Agusto. She previously held a full-time role as a travel experience manager at Andela and she is also the Co-founder and Festival Director at EatDrink Media. The startup has raised a total of $100,000 in funding.
Pharmarun – Teniola Adedeji
Pharmarun is a health-tech startup that was founded in 2021, to provide fast and easy access to medication in Africa. They do this to find, finance, and deliver medications to users where and when they need them. Teniola was previously a Pharmacy consultant at Medsquare Pharmacy. The startup won $10,000 in equity-free funding at the Pitch2Win competition.
Famasi – Adeola Ayoola
Adeola Ayoola founded Famasi in 2021, the e-health startup that began as a medication management service but later expanded its vision to build pharmacy infrastructure to scale digital health. The startup raised an undisclosed pre-seed round of funding from Microtraction and other angel investors in Feb 2023.
Eha Clinics – Evelyn Castle
Founded in 2018 by Evelyn Castle, who has decades of experience working in the Health sector in Africa. Eha Clinics is a chain of primary healthcare clinics focused on ensuring access to affordable healthcare for people in local communities across Nigeria. It distributes medicines to consumers via an online pharmacy operation. In July of 2023, the startup received a $2 million investment.
Sabi – Anu Adedoyin
Sabi is a B2B commerce startup founded in 2021 by Anu Adedoyin. She previously worked as Head, JForce Transformation and later as the Chief Operating Officer of Rensource Energy. Sabi is a platform that provides access to physical goods, logistics, financial services, business tools, and data insights. The startup has raised a total of $66 million in funding.
Pivo – Nkiru Amadi
Pivo was founded in 2021 by Nkiru Amadi immediately after her time at Kobo360 as the Port Operations Lead. Pivo is a fintech startup offering an all-in-one financial service platform for supply chain SMEs. They provide access to working capital, bank accounts, and more. The YC-backed startup raised $2 million in seed funding in 2022, bringing its total capital raise to $2.5 million.
Okra – Fara Ashiru
Fara Ashiru is a software engineer. She founded Okra in 2020, after her time at Canva as an Engineering Consultant. Okra is the operating system for financial service platforms. Companies of all sizes, from startups to multinational banks use Okra to build digital financial products & services. In 2021, the startup announced a seed raise of $3.5 million, bringing its total capital raise to $4.5 million.
Klasha – Jessica Anuna
Founded in 2021 by Jessica Anuna, Klasha is a cross-border fintech startup solving payment issues for African merchants and consumers. The startup has a suite of business and consumer-facing products connected via one API. Jessica worked as a Director at RestockChina and later as an E-commerce Consultant at Shopify Plus. In 2022, the startup raised $2.1 million, bringing its total capital raise to $4.8 million.
Healthtracka – Ifeoluwa Dare-Johnson
Healthtracka is a health-tech startup founded in 2021 by Ifeoluwa Dare-Johnson, a marketing executive who was previously a Part-time Lecturer on Consumer Insights at the Chartered Institute of Marketing. Healthtracka makes lab testing easy and convenient with at-home sample collection and digital results in 1-3 days. The startup raised $1.5 million in July of 2022 and then later got accepted into the Google Black Founders Fund where they got $100,000 bringing their total capital raise to $1.6 million.
Reel Fruits – Affiong Williams
Founded in 2012, the startup’s vision is to be Nigeria’s largest end-to-end fruit processing company. The startup raised a series A of $3 million in September of 2021, bringing their total fund raised to $3.1 million.
LifeBank – Temie Giwa-Tubosun
Lifebank is a health tech startup founded in 2016 by Temie Giwa-Tubosun who has 9 years of management and health policy experience. LifeBank is digitizing the supply chain for healthcare facilities in Africa. Their marketplace connects hospitals to the products they need and their multimodal delivery gets it delivered safely and quickly. They also further connect hospitals with the best blood banks in the region. In 2018, the startup closed a seed round of $200,000 and won a $250,000 grant prize from The Africa Netpreneur Prize Initiative in 2019. In 2022, the startup also received $50,000 bringing the total funding to $500,000.
Pocketfood – Omolara Olalerin
Omolara Olalerin, who used to be the Project Manager at SterlingPro founded Pocketfood in 2022. Pocketfood is a food-tech startup automating healthy eating for Africans, one subscription at a time. The startup enables corporate businesses to cater to their staff meals with no logistics or operational costs by connecting to independent chef meals. The startup has raised $22,000 in funding.
Pennee – Emmanuella Majero
Founded in 2019 by Emmanuella Majero, the SME lending startup is enabling businesses to never run out of money. In 2022, the startup launched a small business accelerator program to support 100 exceptional businesses with financial and intellectual tools to grow into big businesses. The Techstars-backed startup has raised over $385,000 in funding.
Babymigo – Kemi Olawoye
Kemi Olawoye was the Chief Communications Officer at Bora but in 2018, she founded Babymigo, Nigeria’s fastest-growing community for expecting mothers and parents. Bbaymigo is an educational platform that eases the pressures of pregnancy and parenting with access to experienced mothers, Doctors, Lactation experts, etc. The startup received $100,000 in 2021 from the Google Black Founders Fund.
Aku – Adaeze Onwumere
Adaeze Onwumere founded Aku; a fintech startup in 2019. She was previously Chief Operating Officer of Ecocash Holding, after a 6-year stint at Econet Global where she last held the role of Head, Commercial and Operations, Cassava Fintech. Aku is said to be a digital bank licensed by CBN, the startup offers easy payments and simple banking for everyone. One can send/receive money and pay bills via USSD, app, cards, and more. The startup has raised $177,500 in funding.
Dukka – Keturah Ovio
Founded in 2021, Dukka is supercharging businesses to manage their finances better. The startup provides digital payment and bookkeeping technology that enables businesses to collect payment from customers, however they choose to pay. The Fintech startup was accepted into the Mercury Raise Seed W23 program
Flick – Ruth Olojede
Flick was founded by Ruth Olojeded in 2021, shortly after time as Chief Product Officer at Dthriz.com. Flick is a fintech startup enabling fast contactless payment across Africa. In 2022, the startup was accepted into the Techstars accelerator program where they raised $120,000.
Indicina – Yvonne Johnson
After an 8-year career at First Bank, where Yvonne Johnson last held the role of Head of Strategy & Corporate Development, she founded Indicina in 2018. Indicina is a fintech infrastructure startup making it possible for every current and potential credit provider in Africa to be able to offer credit risk-free and hassle-free, by leveraging the power of AI and Machine Learning. In 2022, the startup raised a seed round of $3 million, bringing their total fund raised to $7.5 million.
Keza – Aisha Hussaina
Founded in 2022 by Aisha Hussaini, who was previously a B2B associate at Autochek Africa. Keza is a Fintech startup making it possible for Africans to buy mobile phones with flexible monthly payments using embedded finance. The Techstars-backed startup has raised a total of $120,000.
Ladda – Oluwatosin Olaseinde
Oluwatosin Olaseinde founded Money Africa in 2018 to change consumer behavior by leveraging personal and business finance courses; the endgame was to simplify financial literacy. Along the way, she saw an opportunity to help the fast-growing Money Africa community access properly vetted and curated investment mediums like stocks, mutual funds, and savings. This was what led to the birth of Ladda in 2021, which is a “one-stop” investment platform. The startup raised $100,000 from On Deck.
MyStash – Onyinye Oguego
MyStash was founded by Onyinye Oguego in 2021, who was Head Of Programs at Feed Me Foundation. MyStash is a financial management platform that allows Nigerians to automate savings, for every time a user spends, a determined percentage is automatically “stashed”. Details around funding to the startup is unknown.
Owoafara – Tale Alimi
Tale Alimi is an award-winning Fintech for inclusion leader, she founded Owoafara in 2019. The startup is described as the digital bank for the informal economy, providing access to financial and business support to under-served small businesses. Details about funding to this startup is unknown.
Oystr – Ifedolapo Lawal
Founded in 2021 by Ifedolapo Lawal. Oystr is the credit infrastructure for emerging markets, it offers APIs and SaaS products that allow fintech and mobile money operators, and gig platforms to extend micros loans to their users, without having to worry about compliance, capital, risk assessment, bureau reporting, and repayments. The Techstars-based startup has raised $120,000 in funding.
Regxta – Rukayat Kolawole
Founded in 2018 by Rukayat Kolawole, Regxta is a digital bank for 600 million underserved Africans. The startup is helping micro-businesses in Africa access business and financial support like savings, loans, business incorporation, data reporting, etc. Funding raised by the startup is undisclosed.
TalentX – Victoria Popoola
After a one-year-plus stint as an Investment Professional at Consonance Investment Managers, Victoria founded TalentX in 2019. TalentX is building the operating system for Africa’s creator economy value chain, starting with financing. Funding for this startup is unknown.
Sidebrief – Eunice Olopade
Eunice Olopade is a Tax expert and consultant with The World Bank, she founded Sidebrief Africa in 2021. Sidebrief is a one-stop solution for business registration, banking, and regulatory compliance. The Techstars-backed startup has raised $120,000 in funding.
ERA – Folake Owodunni
Founded in 2019 by Folake Owodunni, a skilled communicator and Prosci-certified Change Management Practitioner with over 9 years of experience in healthcare. Emergency Response Africa is a healthcare startup that provides medical care to victims at the scene of an emergency and facilitates advanced hospital care. The startup raised a pre-seed of $25,000 from Bulb Africa in 2020, also received $100,000 from the Google Black Founders Fund in 2021 and the Techstars startup also received $120,000 from the accelerator in 2022. The total fund raised by this startup is estimated to be over $400,000.
TranscendPharma – Mobolaji Ajayi
Founded in 2022 by Mobolaji Ajayi, who is also the founder of Purelife Pharmacy, the health tech startup is eradicating stressful medication sourcing and attaining 100% fulfillment. Funding for the startup is unknown.
Outsource Global – Amal Hassan
Amal Hassan is a leading Technopreneur and Serial Entrepreneur, she founded Outsource Global in 2013. The startup is a business process outsourcing firm with offices in Abuja, Lagos, and Kaduna helping businesses reduce operational costs and time. Details on funding for the startup are unknown.
Mwanga – Echika Obijiaku
Founded in 2018, Echika Obijiaku is a Business Process Outsourcing firm pioneering debt recovery for businesses in Africa. Echika is a serial entrepreneur and former Deloitte Corporate Finance consultant. Mwanga uses digital-first models to help businesses with debt recovery, customer support/engagement, telemarketing, etc. Details on funding for the startup are unknown.
TownTalk – Folake Edun
Founded in 2020 by Folake Edun, Towntalk is a data intelligence startup. Folake was formerly Head of Operational Risk at Chapel Hill Denham and a Manager at Deloitte. TownTalk gathers and analyses real-time location and behavioral data to build solutions that provide African businesses with operational and financial security. The Techstars-backed startup has raised a total of $405,000 in funding.
Zedi – Ized Uanikhehi
Founded in 2022 by Ized Uanikehi, she is one of the country’s foremost Marketing executives and a featured speaker at Product School. Zedi Africa is a Business Process Outsourcing Startup providing ROI and growth-driven, 360 Marketing, PR, Branding, and Human resource services to startups and corporates. Details about funding for the startup are unknown.
Mobihealth – Funmi Adewara
Funmi is a Multi-award winning health tech entrepreneur, she founded Mobihealth in 2017. She served as a Physician at NHS for 11 years before venturing to build the digital health startup. The telemedicine and digital clinic startup is revolutionizing access and delivery of healthcare across Africa and globally through an integrated telehealth platform using Artificial intelligence and IoT-powered remote point-of-care diagnostic tools. In 2022, the startup received a $1 million grant funding from the United States Trade and Development Agency.
Shecluded – Ifeoma Uddoh
Ifeoma Uddoh is a Social Entrepreneur passionate about women’s empowerment. She founded Shecluded in 2019 to improve the influence and financial strength of women beyond the African continent. Growing to a strong community of over 20,000 female entrepreneurs, the fintech startup is providing financial products and services to women-owned businesses. The startup received $100,000 from the Google Black Founders Fund.
Farmz2U – Aisha Raheem-Bolarinwa
Founded in 2019 by Aisha Raheem-Bolarinwa, Farmz2U is building the infrastructure for an informal demand side and a formal demand side for Agriculture. The Agritech startup helps smallholder farmers operate at a commercial scale. According to Crunchbase, the startup is said to have raised a total of $335,000 in funding.
Messenger – Amanda Etuk
Founded in 2018 by Amanda Etuk, who has 10 years of experience in healthcare, FMCG and logistics having served in Senior positions at 54GENES AND Zippy Logistics. Messenger is an order fulfillment and last-mile delivery startup offering end-to-end logistics and supply chain services, the startup provides also offers warehousing services to its customers. In June 2023, the startup raised an undisclosed round of pre-seed funding led by Nama Ventures.
Alajo – Olajumoke Oduwole
Founded in 2021 by Olajumoke Oduwole, a technical product manager, and has been recognized by Forbes Africa 30 under 30. She founded Alajo in 2021 based on the traditional banking methods called Alajo. The fintech startup is a smart saving solution for the unbanked and non-smartphone users in Africa. Details about funding for the startup are unknown.
Cleva Banking – Tolu Alabi
Tolu Alabi was a Product Manager at Stripe before she founded Cleva Banking in 2023. The fintech platform enables users to open a U.S.-based dollar account within minutes, even as non-US residents. With Cleva, users can receive payments from customers, employers, or investors across the globe. Details on funding for the startup are unknown.
Pocket Lawyers – Ngozi Nwabueze
Ngozi Nwabueze is a legal practitioner with over 12 years of experience advising startups and SMEs. In 2020, she founded PocketLawyers to provide access to affordable legal services to SMEs and startups. Details on funding to the compliance/legal startup are unknown.
HeelsandTech – Bisola Alabi
Bisola Alabi founded HeelsandTech in 2020, in her bid to help women unlock opportunities by acquiring tech education and upskilling. The Edtech startup has trained students across 22 countries, helping them transition into tech. Details on funding for the startup are unknown.
Alarrt – Olumide Shode
Olumide is a serial entrepreneur and software engineer, who founded Alarrt in 2021. The travel-tech startup helps commuters travel safely by providing notifications on verified road disturbances and access to fast help in the case of a road emergency. Details on funding for the startup are unknown.
Mycarebuddy – Ebere Okonkwo
Ebere Okonkwo is a Zurich scholar and a Mandela Washington Fellow. She founded Mycarebuddy in 2020, to create a world where mental health is prioritized, stigma-free, and accessible to all. Details on funding to the health tech startup is unknown.
Coachli – Sharon Onyinye
Sharon Onyinye is a Senior Product Designer at Hubspot, she founded Coachli in 2022 to help experts monetize their time and knowledge. The Edtech/Creator economy startup provides coaches, entrepreneurs, creators, and experts, schedule 1:1 sessions, host live classes, etc. Details on funding for the startup are unknown.
Enricher – Shakirat Animashaun
Founded in 2020 by Shakirat Animashaun, the fintech startup enables people to invest in real estate across the globe. Details on funding for the startup are unknown.
Sornegy – Faith-Titus Okaformbah
Founded in 2020 by Faith-Titus Okaformbah, Sornegy is a blockchain data integrity protocol helping businesses/individuals earn/succeed via quality, validated, and verifiable data. Details on funding for the data infrastructure startup are unknown.
Taeillo – Jumoke Dada
Founded in 2018 by Jumoke Dada, an award-winning Entrepreneur. Taeillo is an online furniture e-commerce store that specializes in creating contemporary and African-inspired designs. The startup runs a D2C model, where they manufacture and retail directly to the customer. In December of 2022, the e-commerce/lifestyle startup raised $2.5 million from Aruwa Capital bringing their total fund raised to $3 million in funding.
MaterialsPro – Ejide Akinbiyi
Founded in 2021 by Ejide Akinbiyi, who was a B2B Account Manager at Jumia, MaterialsPro is an on-demand B2B e-commerce platform for buying bulk building materials, providing timely and scheduled deliveries at great prices. Funding for the construction technology startup is unknown.
AutoGirl – Chinazom Arinze
Founded in 2019 by Chinazom Arinze, who is a Lawyer by profession. AutoGirl is a mobility startup that is making mobility easy and efficient in Nigeria. The startup offers vehicle sales, rentals, maintenance and diagnosis. Funding for the mobility technology startup is unknown.
Source: Benjamindada.com
