Startups On Our Radar highlights innovative African startups addressing critical local challenges. In our previous issue, we showcased seven pioneering companies revolutionizing sectors such as payments, AI, commerce, and transportation. Stay tuned for our next feature dropping on October 10, 2025.
This edition focuses on the standout startups that reached the final stage of TechCabal Battlefield at Moonshot 2025. Explore what makes these ventures exceptional.
Ulé Homes: Simplifying Rent Payments for Nigerians (PropertyTech, Nigeria)
In Nigeria, the common practice of demanding one or two years’ rent upfront creates a significant barrier to housing access, often forcing individuals to exhaust savings or resort to costly loans. Ulé Homes, founded by Omolade Akinwumi, Azeez Abdulyekeen, and Chisom Okorie, tackles this issue by enabling tenants to pay rent in affordable monthly installments, easing financial pressure.
Starting with a simple Google Form and a minimal viable product website, Ulé Homes is now building a comprehensive web platform to scale its offerings. Prospective renters undergo a thorough Know Your Customer (KYC) process, including financial evaluations through bank statement analysis and credit checks from Nigeria’s top bureaus: CRC Credit Bureau, FirstCentral Credit Bureau, and CreditRegistry Nigeria. Upon approval, Ulé Homes pays landlords the full rent upfront, guaranteeing that funds are dedicated exclusively to housing.
Clients authorize automatic salary deductions through fintech partners such as Mono and Paystack, facilitating monthly repayments aligned with paydays and capped at 30% of income. Ulé Homes generates income through a one-time 2.5% facilitation fee plus monthly interest. Collaborations with seven financial institutions, including traditional banks and neobanks, have helped reduce interest rates from 2.9% to as low as 1.7% monthly.
Why it matters: Beyond making rent payments manageable, Ulé Homes empowers users to build equity. Its mortgage product, launched in August 2025, enables home purchases with payment plans at an annual interest rate of 9.75%, transforming monthly payments into property investments. To combat the widespread lack of formal credit histories, the startup is developing a system where consistent rent payments improve credit scores. Additionally, Ulé Homes employs a B2B2C approach by partnering with employers to offer housing benefits. Since starting disbursements last August, it has financed over ₦700 million ($479,455) in rent for more than 150 clients. Ulé Homes recently won the TechCabal Battlefield at Moonshot 2025, validating its innovative model.
ResQ-X: Nigeria’s Comprehensive Driver Support Platform (Mobility, Nigeria)
Founded by Nosa Okoroji, ResQ-X integrates on-demand fuel delivery, round-the-clock roadside assistance, and fleet management into a unified platform aimed at minimizing vehicle downtime and enhancing driver safety. Users can request assistance via a mobile app or hotline, specify their needs, share their location, receive transparent upfront pricing, and track the responder’s real-time location.
With an average response time of 25 minutes, ResQ-X monetizes through fuel delivery margins (₦80-₦120 [$0.055-$0.082] per litre), subscription plans ranging from $58 to $150 annually, pay-per-use rescue services for non-subscribers, B2B fleet management with API integration, and a 20% commission from towing partners. Operating mainly in Lagos with 175 verified responders, ResQ-X has served 752 customers and reports a monthly recurring revenue of $5,200.
Distinctive features: By consolidating fragmented services into a tech-driven platform, ResQ-X fosters trust and dependability through live tracking and OTP verification. Future initiatives include launching a full automotive marketplace, collaborating with insurers for accident response, and developing electric vehicle charging stations. Partnerships with Dangote Refinery, Porsche Nigeria, Kia Nigeria, Fez Delivery, and Qoray Mobility bolster its growth. The startup is currently raising $1.5 million to expand services to Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt by 2026.
Sporous Energy: AI-Powered Solar Solutions for Consistent Electricity (Energy, Nigeria)
Co-founded by Oluwasomidotun Amujo and Omozue Gregory, Sporous Energy provides reliable, cost-effective electricity through AI-optimized solar mini-grids serving both homes and businesses. Customers pay per unit consumed (₦220 [$0.15]) via smart meters linked to an AI platform that forecasts demand, monitors consumption, optimizes distribution, and predicts prepaid credit expiry.
This intelligent system surpasses traditional solar setups by dynamically managing energy flow, positioning Sporous Energy as a sustainable alternative to Nigeria’s common generator backups, which are expensive and require frequent maintenance.
Importance: Nigeria’s national grid has suffered frequent outages-12 collapses in 2024 alone and over 100 in the past decade-making dependable power critical. Sporous Energy guarantees uninterrupted electricity and has generated over ₦34 million (~$22,000) from pilot projects. It has signed an MoU to deploy its first full mini-grid in a major Lagos estate and is raising $100,000 in equity plus $500,000 in project financing to expand to three additional community clusters.
Trippa Africa: Simplifying Delivery Logistics for African Enterprises (Logistics, Nigeria)
Founded by Femi Kehinde, Ralitsa Nampijja, and Dipo Ojo, Trippa Africa offers an automated platform that streamlines delivery logistics for businesses navigating Africa’s fragmented shipping landscape. The platform enables companies to compare quotes from multiple logistics providers, select cost-effective options, and manage bookings, tracking, payments, and customer support through a single interface. Users can create free accounts, input shipment details, and instantly receive multiple price quotes.
Trippa Africa generates revenue via a flat $1 service fee per completed delivery. It partners with over 45 logistics providers, including DHL, Glovo, GIG, and Faramove. The startup has earned over $20,000 in revenue and is currently seeking $500,000 in pre-seed funding.
Why it matters: High shipping costs contribute to a 93% cart abandonment rate across the Middle East and Africa. Trippa Africa’s flexible pricing and aggregated demand model offer a competitive advantage over fulfillment services like Renda and logistics arms of Bolt and Uber, which often lack pricing flexibility and are pricier for scheduled or long-distance deliveries. Its centralized dashboard simplifies operations for businesses that would otherwise juggle multiple vendors and couriers manually.
Chao: Campus-Focused Food Delivery for Nigerian Students (Food Delivery, Nigeria)
Founded by Akobundu Gift and Senne Aya-Melvin, Chao is a food delivery platform tailored specifically for university students, connecting them with nearby restaurants, grocery stores, and pharmacies. The service was designed to offer a more efficient ordering experience on campus. Chao charges delivery fees ranging from ₦500-₦1000 ($0.34-$0.68), commissions from partner eateries, and service fees between 5%-10% of the order value. It currently serves communities including Babcock University and the University of Port Harcourt.
What distinguishes it: Unlike competitors such as Chowdeck and Glovo, Chao’s hyperlocal focus on campus communities enables faster, more dependable service and fosters strong brand loyalty among students. Since its beta launch, Chao has processed over 25,000 orders and generated more than ₦17 million ($11,643) in revenue.
BuyScrap: Digitizing Nigeria’s E-Waste Recycling (Cleantech, Nigeria)
Ndaman Joshua Olayinka’s BuyScrap is creating a digital platform to formalize Nigeria’s largely informal e-waste sector. The company manages the entire lifecycle of electronic waste, ensuring safe collection, refurbishment, and recycling. Through its app, individuals and businesses can schedule e-waste pickups, which agents then collect and transport to certified facilities for secure data wiping, sorting, and processing.
BuyScrap’s circular economy model refurbishes functional electronics for resale and recycles non-functional items for raw materials. Users receive payments based on the type and volume of e-waste provided. The startup operates on a B2B2C basis, offering subscription services to businesses for regular e-waste management and data wiping.
Revenue streams include a 20% commission on materials sold to recyclers, subscription fees (around ₦20,000 [$13.70]) from business clients, direct sales of refurbished electronics, and export earnings from sorted e-waste sent to international partners.
Why it’s crucial: Nigeria generates the largest volume of e-waste in West Africa-461.3 kilotonnes valued at $166 million (₦64.2 billion) in 2019-yet management remains informal and hazardous. BuyScrap’s tech-enabled approach simplifies collection and recycling, promoting environmental safety. The startup serves over 800 households and 16 businesses, has diverted approximately 20 tons of waste, and partnered with Abuja-based SOSOCARE to offer micro health insurance in exchange for e-waste.
Expense AI: AI-Powered Automation for Expense Management (AI, Nigeria)
Manual expense tracking is often tedious and error-prone, leading to lost receipts and missed tax deductions. Expense AI, founded by Precious Arikeri and Wahab Balogun, automates expense management through AI-driven receipt scanning that accurately captures and categorizes expenses. The platform supports multiple languages and currencies and can automatically extract receipts from emails.
Users can generate customizable reports, monitor income, manage budgets, and access an AI chat assistant for financial advice. Expense AI offers subscription plans starting at $2.99 weekly, $8.99 monthly, and $65 annually, along with an API called Flora for business integration. The platform has attracted over 5,000 users across 20+ countries, processed more than 25,000 expenses in 91 currencies, and generated over $10,000 in revenue as of March 2025.
What sets it apart: Expense AI surpasses competitors like Expensify and QuickBooks by delivering a more sophisticated AI-native experience, including a personalized assistant, multi-source expense capture (PDF, email, images), multi-currency support, and multilingual capabilities. Its dual focus-serving both consumers and businesses via API-positions it as a versatile financial management solution.
Braudit: Revolutionizing Performance Management Across Africa (HRTech, Nigeria)
Emmanuel Kehinde and Kànmí Òshó developed Braudit, a performance intelligence platform that transforms work activities into actionable insights. Seamlessly integrated into company workflows, Braudit enables employees to manage tasks and projects while automatically capturing performance data. It addresses the lack of real-time visibility into employee productivity by linking tasks, KPIs, and goals, and providing AI-driven performance evaluations.
Operating on a B2B SaaS model, Braudit charges between ₦150 ($0.098) and ₦350 ($0.23) per completed task or review, plus an annual workspace fee of ₦100,000 ($65.28).
Why it’s groundbreaking: Braudit bridges the gap between traditional HR software, project management tools, and informal tracking methods like spreadsheets. Unlike project management apps that focus solely on task completion, Braudit connects these tasks to performance outcomes and strategic objectives. Its automatic capture of work actions offers a distinct advantage. In private beta, one client reported an 82% reduction in missed deadlines and a 66% increase in productivity after collecting over 8,000 data points.
Àlááfía: Building Trust-Based Credit for Africa’s Informal Economy (Fintech, Nigeria)
Founded by Samson Oladapo, Àlááfía is a microcredit platform designed to offer affordable loans to SMEs excluded from formal credit due to collateral demands and risk aversion. It employs a Triple-Layer Trust (TLT) model that replaces traditional credit checks with community-based trust mechanisms.
The first layer involves onboarding nano-businesses in groups, leveraging existing social networks to foster accountability. The second layer introduces a Market Leader-a respected community figure who vouches for members. The third layer requires each borrower to nominate a guarantor, such as a friend or family member, who assumes responsibility for the loan, reinforcing personal accountability.
Onboarding uses automated voice calls in preferred languages, supported by human assistance. Loans are repaid daily into a virtual wallet, with Àlááfía charging a flat 3.5% monthly interest rate.
Why it’s transformative: Nearly 80% of Nigerian MSMEs lack access to formal credit, pushing them toward expensive informal lenders. Àlááfía’s community-trust model aligns with cultural norms and offers scalability within the informal sector. Its transparent, flat interest rate contrasts with other digital lenders’ variable rates (2.5%-30%), fostering trust. A six-month pilot in Oyo State disbursed over $6,000 to 59 businesses, achieving a 97% on-time repayment rate with zero defaults. The startup currently has a waitlist exceeding 2,000 nano-businesses.
This concludes our current edition. Look out for our next update on October 30th. Know a startup we should spotlight? Submit your nomination here.