Innovation in Kenya is on the up and up, with lots of exciting new brands pushing boundaries and setting new standards of technological discovery. This guide explores some of the top tech startups Kenya 2024 for tech-heads to keep a close eye on.
10 Startups Leading the Way in Tech Entrepreneurship Kenya
- Wasoko
To start us off, a tech startup that’s driving innovation in Kenya and also inspiring positive change across the nation: Wasoko. Bit by bit, this e-commerce platform is transforming retail around Kenya and beyond its border, helping business owners make more sales and reach whole new heights of efficiency.
- BasiGo
The future of transportation is undoubtedly electric, and BasiGo is ahead of the game, boasting a fleet of electric buses that it leases out to local bus companies and owners in Kenya and beyond. It operates on a pay-as-you-drive model, contributing to the Kenyan tech ecosystem and the natural ecosystem, all at the same time.
- BuuPass
BuuPass is a bus, train, and flight ticket marketplace, serving both B2B and B2C users alike. It makes it quick and easy to compare and find tickets at the best possible prices, saving users time and freeing them up to do more fun things, like install Hollywoodbets app Spina Zonke, play games, and spend time with friends.
- Tushop
Some Kenyan families, like others around the globe, have been finding it increasingly difficult to afford everyday costs, like grocery bills, of late. Tushop aims to change that. This socially-motivated tech startup strives to reduce the cost of groceries via communal purchases, streamlining the supply chain and simplifying the purchase process for real people.
- Tala
Plenty of people need extra cash from time to time to cover unexpected costs or big purchases. Some try to get it via gambling on platforms like the mobile app. Others opt for a more traditional route of applying for loans. Tala serves that latter market, offering small loans you can apply for and access entirely on your phone, with no bank account and no long-winded application process.
- Pesapal
You may already have heard of Pesapal, as it’s a bigger name than most other startups on this list. It’s one of the top payment gateways not just in Kenya, but other African countries too, offering a whole smorgasbord of payment products and services for local people and businesses. Through Pesapal, card, phone, and wireless payments are easier and safer than ever.
- Kwara
Next, a bit of innovation in Kenya from the Fintech sector. Kwara is a tech startup focused on bringing credit unions into the 21st century, effectively turning them more into modern, digital banks, and thereby making them way more efficient, accessible, and putting them in a better place to serve their members, too.
- SunCulture
SunCulture is a really exciting tech startup with a dream of a brighter and more sustainable future. As you may be able to guess from its name, this startup’s all about solar power. Specifically, it aims to provide solar-powered irrigation networks to farms around Kenya (and beyond, in the future), helping with crop growth, yields, and efficiency. This is a dream come true for farmers in areas that frequently experience drought or low rainfall.
- Kidato
Kidato is a tech startup specialized in the education sector. This one wants to empower students Kenya-wide to learn more effectively, broaden their knowledge, and perhaps even become tech leaders themselves someday, contributing the Kenyan tech ecosystem in their own fresh and exciting ways. It basically provides an online learning space where kids can interact with teachers in real-time, from any location.
- Neural Labs Africa Ltd
AI is all the rage right now, and there’s such a lot it can do. Neural Labs Africa Ltd aims to exploit AI’s abilities to strengthen African healthcare. To be more precise, it’s finding ways to use AI to essentially diagnose patients, screening X-rays and scan results to spot things that doctors might have missed (or might not have time to see).
An Exciting Time for Tech Entrepreneurship in Kenya
With these companies, just some of many, leading the way in Kenya’s tech space, it’s a very exciting time for the country on the whole. Through innovative fields like AI, green energy, and digital learning, these young companies are driving the push towards a brighter and better future.
