Leaders: 5 African startup founders & CEOs to watch in 2022

 Leaders: 5 African startup founders & CEOs to watch in 2022

It's still a brand new year and everyone is full of expectations/aspirations, even as many plans are being mapped out for implementation

In corporate Africa, we expect to see plentiful deals being signed, especially in the startup space where foreign investors' interest remain keen. Also, with regards to new product launches, expansion and fundraising, expectations are high. 

Leaders: 5 African startup founders & CEOs to watch in 2022

The question then is this which African startup founders should we expect to see dominating 2022? Let's take a good guess based on what happened last year.  

5 African startup founders to watch in 2022

It should be noted that most of the startup founders we've included in this list dominated year 2021

So, it's only normal to keep an eye out for what they are set to do in the new year. We've also included a handful of other founders whom we believe are on track to do amazing things in 2022.

1: Ham Serunjogi and Maijid Moujaled, Co-founders of Chipper Cash 

In 2022, we expect to witness Chipper Cash's rapid expansion across more African countries. And the fintech startup's co-founders, Ham and Maijid, would be driving said expansion. The two co-founded the company in 2014 and quickly built it into one of Africa's most valuable startups. In 2021 alone, Chipper Cash raised $250 million and launched operations in both the US and the UK to facilitate global remittances to Africa. 

2: Dare Okoudjou, Founder & CEO of MFS Africa

Dare and his fintech startup are on a mission to make it easier for Africans to send and receive money, just as easy as it is today to make and receive phone calls. So, last year, he really set his plans in motion by raising a significant amount of money (about $100 million) through debt and equity. His company was among the top 20 African startups that raised the most funds last year. So, we are excited to see what he plans to do with all that money in the new year. 

3: Andrew Watkins-Ball, Founder & CEO of JUMO 

In 2021, Andrew's JUMO raised an impressive $120 million in equity funding from various investors including Visa, Kingsway Capital and Fidelity. The fintech company plans to use the money to facilitate its international expansion. Already, JUMO is present in more than six African countries, namely South Africa, Tanzania, Ghana, Kenya, Zambia, Uganda and Rwanda. 

4: Olugbenga GB Agboola, Co-founder & CEO of Flutterwave

This fintech startup was among the top fundraisers in 2021, having secured $170 million in equity funding during a Series C funding round that was led by Tiger Global and Avenir Growth

We look forward to seeing the new innovations Olugbenga and his team will be coming up with this new year. 

5: Peter Njonjo, Co-founder and CEO of Twiga Foods

Africa's fintech founders may have dominated the fundraising game in 2021, but other founders operating in other ecosystems also did pretty well. A good example is Peter Njonjo whose food tech company, Twiga Foods, raised an impressive $50 million last year to facilitate scale. Business Insider Africa understands that the company is aiming for a valuation of $1 billion within the next five years. So, it's really exciting to watch out for what Peter and his team are set to do this new year towards actualising that medium-term goal.