These 5 startups sort out waste, job search & procuring in new methods

Startups On Our Radar spotlights African startups fixing African challenges with innovation. In our earlier version, we featured 5 game-changing startups pioneering software program improvement, fintech, training, and synthetic intelligence. Anticipate the subsequent dispatch on January 2, 2026.

This week, we discover 5 African startups within the agritech, fintech, HRTech, cleantech, and synthetic intelligence sectors and why they need to be in your watchlist. Let’s dive into it: 

BioSPACE GH is popping plantain waste into egg cartons (AgriTech/CleanTech, Ghana)

Dominic Singban Ugai, founding father of BioSPACE GH, noticed that poultry farmers in Ghana face challenges in safely storing and transporting their eggs as a result of excessive prices, quick shelf life , and an unreliable provide of egg trays. The startup sees egg packaging as a vital constraint to constructing a sustainable poultry enterprise. Its  answer is an  eco-friendly egg tray made utilizing plantain fibre and sawdust amongst different uncooked supplies. The startup’s manufacturing course of entails sourcing uncooked supplies, that are then processed by way of chopping, boiling, pulping, moulding, and drying to create eco-friendly trays. This native manufacturing mannequin permits the startup to supply a pack of egg crates, sometimes containing 100 items, at ₵70 ($6.19). 

The startup claims to have aggregated 5,000 uncooked materials provides and studies 400 potential clients. It says it has additionally formalised agreements with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Analysis (CSIR-IIR), the Ministry of Meals and Agriculture (MoFA), and the Plantain Farmers Affiliation in Ghana.

Why we’re watching: Globally, over 100 million tonnes of banana stems are discarded yearly after harvest, which BioSPACE GH claims can produce over 800 million egg trays. By changing agricultural waste into packaging, BioSPACE GH positions itself as an import-substitution supplier for poultry farmers in Ghana who nonetheless import egg crates from China. This issues in a sector with rising financial significance. In 2024, livestock manufacturing in Ghana contributed over $300 million to the nation’s gross home product (GDP), practically 13%, with poultry farming main this cost. BioSPACE GH is betting that fixing a primary however neglected enter, equivalent to packaging, can unlock effectivity throughout Ghana’s poultry worth chain.

ADJOAA desires to make African style and way of life manufacturers globally accessible (E-commerce, Pan-African)

ADJOAA is a web-based e-commerce platform based by Pinaman Owusu, a Ghanaian entrepreneur and former New Zealand public coverage official, to deal with the logistical and market-access boundaries that forestall African designers from scaling globally. Owusu’s publicity to African designers whereas working the Africa Vogue Pageant in New Zealand revealed a recurring problem that worldwide patrons confronted wanting  to buy African-made merchandise. Regardless of urge for food, designers struggled with market entry, funds, logistics, and the price of delivery past their house international locations.

ADJOAA focuses on giving African style and way of life manufacturers entry to international markets whereas dealing with the operational complexities that hinder cross-border commerce. The platform combines market entry, built-in funds, logistics coordination, high quality assurance, advertising and marketing help, and customer support into one providing.

Designers apply by way of a model signup course of that features KYC and vetting. Acceptance is just not automated, as some manufacturers are suggested to enhance operational readiness earlier than becoming a member of. As soon as onboarded, ADJOAA creates devoted model touchdown pages that enable clients to buy by designer, nation, or class. The platform helps style, equipment, magnificence merchandise, and homeware, with a powerful emphasis on sustainable and moral manufacturing, that’s, manufacturers that utilise conventional textiles (like Kente or Bogolan), deadstock materials, or artisanal craftsmanship.

ADJOAA claims to work with about 120 rising and established manufacturers, primarily from Nigeria, Ghana, and Côte d’Ivoire, and likewise consists of some African diaspora manufacturers primarily based within the UK and the US that manufacture on the continent. Orders are shipped globally by way of a partnership with DHL, and most style gadgets are made-to-order to scale back waste and overproduction. ADJOAA at present operates on a commission-based enterprise mannequin, performing as an middleman the place funds are held till profitable supply.

Why we’re watching: ADJOAA stands out by positioning itself as an operational extension of African style and way of life manufacturers. Not like typical dropshipping platforms, ADJOAA makes use of native companions on the bottom in key markets like Nigeria and Ghana, such that when a buyer locations an order, the designer delivers the merchandise to those native companions, who then carry out high quality assurance to make sure there aren’t any defects earlier than the package deal is handed over to DHL for international delivery. This course of permits ADJOAA to mix shipments from a number of designers into one package deal for the shopper, versus fragmented dropshipping fashions. 

Reasonably than focusing solely on high-end, established labels, ADJOAA prioritises rising designers and a number of product classes past clothes. The startup’s strategy to sustainability can also be differentiated. As a substitute of focusing solely on environmental metrics, ADJOAA emphasises cultural sustainability, preservation of conventional craftsmanship, and long-term revenue for artisans. 

With ambitions to onboard as much as 300 extra manufacturers and increase past West Africa, ADJOAA is constructing infrastructure that would make African manufacturers extra aggressive and visual on the worldwide stage.

Annita desires to be the all-in-one digital working system for African MSMEs (Tremendous App, Liberia)

Based by Christopher Fallah, Annita is addressing the fragmentation of enterprise instruments and monetary exclusion  that hampers the expansion of African micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Annita is a digital platform that integrates e-commerce, fintech, logistics, synthetic intelligence, communication, advertising and marketing, social networking, adverts administration, way of life companies, and vendor coaching right into a single ecosystem.

The platform permits companies to promote by way of the Annita International Market, a multivendor e-commerce platform supporting B2B, B2C, and B2G transactions with built-in product verification, stock management, and order administration, course of funds by way of AnnitaPay, a digital pockets and cost gateway which helps offline funds, cell cash and cross-border transactions, and handle provide chains utilizing Annita Logistics, a community integrating drones and electrical bikes for last-mile supply throughout city and rural areas. 

The app additionally consists of: Annita AI for enterprise automation, analytics, and personalised help for enterprise development and operations; Annita Join, a social networking hub for entrepreneurs; Annita Advertising and marketing Hub for advert administration and digital advertising and marketing and Annita Life-style Companies, offering on-demand shopper and way of life choices.

The startup operates a number of income fashions, primarily charging a 5% to fifteen% fee on market transactions. It additionally gives tiered month-to-month or annual subscription plans, generates income from transaction charges on fintech companies, logistics and fulfilment charges, and promoting revenue. Since its inception in August 2021, Annita claims to have onboarded over 3,000 MSMEs and 50,000 customers.

Why we’re watching: Annita is making an attempt to consolidate companies that are supplied as standalone platforms right into a single, Africa-focused tremendous app. Annita positions itself in opposition to international and regional gamers equivalent to Jumia, Flutterwave, Alibaba, and others by providing a completely built-in ecosystem with embedded fintech companies, AI-powered enterprise instruments, and rural and offline entry. The startup was lately onboarded onto Afreximbank’s MANSA Platform for cross-border commerce.

Sourzer is utilizing AI to match recruiters and candidates in minutes (HRTech/AI, Nigeria)

Sourzer is an AI-powered hiring and job-matching platform based by Tobiloba Odejinmi and Joshua Nwosu to deal with inefficiencies they noticed on either side of the recruitment market. The startup is tackling what it describes as a damaged hiring course of the place hiring cycles are delayed as a result of poor sourcing, many candidates discover on-line job purposes irritating, and recruiters spend a number of their time screening irrelevant candidates. Sourzer’s answer is a real-time AI sourcing engine that acts like a expertise agent for each recruiters and job seekers, immediately connecting the fitting candidates to the fitting roles.

On the recruiters’ facet, they add job descriptions and obtain ranked candidate matches in seconds, which is supported by an AI chat copilot for position briefings and shortlisting, prompt outreach templates, and ATS integrations. On the candidate facet, customers add their resumes or LinkedIn profiles to obtain job matches and have entry to ATS-optimised resume rewrites, interview teaching, profession roadmaps, and real-time job alerts.

Sourzer operates a dual-sided enterprise mannequin. For recruiters, it gives SaaS subscriptions starting from a free tier to a $899 month-to-month Professional plan, with an elective 7% pay-per-hire success charge. For candidates, pricing ranges from free entry with restricted resume tailoring and training to a $79 month-to-month plan for limitless options. The startup additionally plans to generate income from recruiting companions and integrating job boards.

Sourzer launched its MVP in August 2025 and studies early traction, together with 126 recruiters and 807 candidates on a ready checklist. The startup claims a 60% discount within the time taken to shortlist candidates for recruiters and a 3-time enhance in candidate resume-to-interview charges. 

Why we’re watching: Sourzer differentiates itself as a two-sided AI copilot that concurrently optimises the expertise for each recruiters and candidates, in contrast to opponents equivalent to Workable, which focuses on recruiter ATS, or Teal, which targets candidate instruments. Sourzer argues it may considerably cut back hiring friction and wasted effort on either side and is at present elevating a $250,000 pre-seed spherical for product improvement, gross sales, partnerships, and hiring.

AfricaCoach desires to make skilled teaching prompt and reasonably priced in Francophone West Africa (EdTech, Benin)

AfricaCoach is constructed round an issue noticed by the founder, Marius Chabi, that many early-career professionals in Francophone Africa lack entry to reasonably priced and immediately accessible personal profession teaching, which ends up in profession missteps and wasted time. The startup operates a digital platform that connects French-speaking African professionals, notably these with lower than seven years of expertise, with human useful resource (HR) consultants and specialised coaches for personalised 45-minute teaching classes. 

Customers can e book a session on the web-based platform immediately with out necessary registration, choose a coach primarily based on standards, equivalent to expertise, language, or nation and entry companies even on weekends. Teaching classes are carried out on instruments equivalent to Zoom and Google Meet, whereas funds are processed by way of integrations with platforms together with CinetPay and Stripe. 

The startup expenses a flat charge beginning at $29 per session, with a satisfaction-or-money-back assure, which ensures that if a person is just not glad, a refund is mechanically granted to them. Further income streams embrace ticket gross sales for on-line occasions and company teaching subscription plans for corporations. Since its institution in October 2020, AfricaCoach claims to have generated $15,000 in annual income and constructed a neighborhood of over 30,000 followers throughout West Africa.

Why we’re watching: AfricaCoach’s differentiation lies in its mixture of affordability, prompt availability, and weekend entry. Whereas opponents like Côte d’Ivoire’s Monrezo and Benin’s Entourage Africa provide networking or premium teaching, they’re restricted by weekday-only availability. They’re additionally costlier, as pricing for Entourage Africa begins at €200. The startup initiatives an influence of 129 direct jobs and 1,800 oblique jobs over the subsequent three years.

That’s all for immediately. Anticipate our subsequent dispatch on January 2nd. Know a startup we must always function subsequent? Please nominate right here.