Bhluemountain is effective, reliable, and easy to work with. Schedule a free consultation and we’ll show you why we were named one of the top IT firms in Nigeria
start Now
We are a team of top-accredited professionals who are unceasingly committed to delivering trailblazing solutions that ensure your maximum productivity. We help our customers build the core foundation for a successful and secure digital transformation journey
Quality is at the heart of everything we do, and we continuously challenge ourselves to improve our services to meet or exceed the needs and expectations of our customers, while always complying with regulations and specifications.
Whilst we have a big smile on our faces about our recognition, we never forget that our team and our clients work together as one, so thank you for all of your support.
Together with our team of accredited experts, we assist businesses in navigating their current IT estates and digital future through informed and cost-saving IT models.
At Bhluemountain we help small and large enterprises, run their mission-critical systems and operations while modernizing IT, optimizing data architectures, and ensuring security and scalability across public, private and hybrid clouds. We deploy our technology solutions and services to enable businesses drive performance, competitiveness, and customer experience.
Whatever your industry area, we provide full-spectrum IT support services to help you meet changing business needs.
Effective Cloud Solutions and strategies that help you drive overall efficiency and scale effortlessly.
Gain key insights from data to drive impactful outcomes for strategic objectives.
Technology and industry consulting expertise to help you drive your digital transformation journey.
Startups On Our Radar spotlights African startups solving African challenges with innovation. In our previous edition, we featured five game-changing startups pioneering agritech, fintech, HRTech, and cleantech. Expect the next dispatch on January 9, 2026. This week, we explore three African startups in the ecommerce, HRTech, and mobility sectors and why they should be on your watchlist. Let’s dive into it: Vinlogs wants to end vehicle fraud with its blockchain-powered verification platform (Mobility, Kenya) Morris Wairimu founded Vinlogs in 2025 to combat the vehicle fraud crisis in emerging markets, where tampered histories, odometer fraud, and the resale of stolen vehicles from North America result in significant financial losses and contribute to higher accident rates, as unsafe vehicles remain in circulation. Vehicle fraud in the used-car market is a global issue, as data shows that roughly 2.45 million vehicles are suspected of having odometer tampering, with buyers losing an average of $3,300 to $4,000 per vehicle due to misrepresented mileage. For consumers, insurers, and financiers in these regions, the lack of reliable verification tools often makes buying used cars a risky gamble. Vinlogs’ solution is a blockchain-secured vehicle history verification platform that aggregates automotive data from multiple sources, including government registries, inspection bodies, insurance claims, and service centres. The data is then aggregated to create tamper-proof vehicle histories, which users can access through a web dashboard, and businesses can integrate verification directly into their workflows using APIs. Vinlogs collects data from verified sources, including the UK Ministry of Transport, Quality Inspection Services Japan (QISJ), and the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) in Kenya. It then cross-checks records for consistency and stores them on blockchain infrastructure to prevent tampering. On top of this data layer, Vinlogs applies AI-powered analysis to detect fraud patterns, flag mileage discrepancies, and generate risk scores that support decision-making for buyers, dealerships, banks, and insurers. Its business model combines pay-per-report pricing for retail buyers, subscription plans and API access for enterprise clients, and a marketplace layer for vendors. Vinlogs reports over 100 committed users, including car sellers and brokers, ready to onboard before its MVP launch. The startup says it is in active discussions with regulators in Uganda, South Africa, Ghana, Ethiopia, and Tanzania to expand its presence. Why we’re watching: The Kenyan used-car market size is expected to reach $1.50 billion (KES 193.5 billion) by 2030. Vinlogs is positioning itself at this intersection. Unlike competitors such as Autocheck, Carfax, CarChek, and CarVertical, Vinlogs emphasises blockchain storage, AI-driven fraud detection tailored for emerging markets, and multi-country regulatory alignment. Its advantage also lies in its integration with Japanese vehicle exports and African import markets. The startup plans to expand into five key African countries within the next 12 months and aims to reach operational break-even by the end of its first year. Cedisaver wants to unite Ghana’s informal clothing sellers on one platform (E-commerce, Ghana) Founded in 2015 by Moriah Adika, Cedisaver aims to address a fragmented fashion market that Adika noticed, where shopping for affordable clothing is plagued by stress, online fraud, inconsistent quality, and overpriced products, while local artisans and informal clothing retailers struggle to scale beyond scattered social media pages. Cedisaver is a centralised e-commerce platform that aggregates trusted informal clothing sellers and artisans into one digital marketplace. Rather than holding bulk inventory, it operates a hybrid direct-to-consumer model that sources products directly from vendors. When a customer places an order, Cedisaver picks up items from retailers and delivers them through local depots, a system that allows users to bundle purchases from multiple sellers into a single delivery. By avoiding bulk inventory and focusing on logistics, vendor partnerships, and digital marketing, Cedisaver reduces overhead costs and maintains healthier margins. Cedisaver reports an accumulated revenue of GHS64,115 ($6,000) as of April 2025, with over 500 products sold to over 218 customers. Why we’re watching: The size of Ghana’s fashion market is projected to reach $1.30 billion (GHS 13.6 billion) by 2030. Cedisaver is attempting to modernise the region’s fashion e-commerce market by organising the informal sector rather than competing directly against it. By integrating informal sellers into a single platform, Cedisaver differentiates itself from traditional retailers with high overhead costs and from social media sellers with limited reach and trust gaps. The startup plans to adopt a data-driven approach to trend forecasting and near-shoring-inspired production. WorkFlowsHR wants to streamline workforce management for Nigerian SMEs (HRTech, Nigeria) Founded in 2024 by Funsho Oke, WorkFlowsHR was developed to address the fragmented HR systems Nigerian businesses face, which often lead to data inconsistencies, compliance risks, and lost productivity. WorkFlowsHR addresses these pain points with a unified cloud-based platform that handles the entire employee lifecycle. It is an integrated human resources and CRM software built to help employers manage the operational complexity of running a workforce, from payroll and onboarding to time tracking and performance management. The startup began its journey as a recruitment agency, where its team encountered recurring challenges in employee retention, engagement, and payroll as both its own operations and those of its clients grew. WorkFlowsHR automates core HR functions, including payroll management, employee onboarding, attendance, leave management, and compliance with local labour laws. Its onboarding module offers self-service workflows with real-time status tracking, automated employee invitations, and categorisation of employment types. It also includes performance management tools that align individual goals with organisational objectives, an Employer of Record (EOR) service for companies hiring across jurisdictions, and the management of complex tasks such as terminating employees, conducting background checks, and handling workers’ compensation for companies expanding into new markets. The startup targets African startups and growth-stage SMEs, particularly companies with about 10 to 200 employees. The startup operates on a subscription-based revenue model with tiered pricing ranging from ₦500 ($0.35) to ₦4,200 ($2.91) every six months. Additional revenue streams include advertising on social media and newsletters, and partnership revenue sharing. Since its launch in 2024, WorkFlowsHR says it has onboarded over 200 companies, and claims to have delivered 22.2% cost savings for its users, an 18.5%
Read More
A fintech executive, a mobile-gaming pioneer, a nuclear scientist, the first African engineer to work at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and a first-generation banker who helped build the rails for modern African finance were among the notable figures Africa’s technology, banking, and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) ecosystems lost in 2025. This is a partial list, focusing on people whose impact was felt across startups, finance, academia and the broader technology ecosystem. Senamile Masango, South African, 37 Senamile Masango, South African nuclear scientist. Image Source: Photo shared on LinkedIn by Colleen Larsen/American Nuclear Society South Africa’s first Black female nuclear scientist, Masango’s career symbolised what was possible when more women gained access to advanced STEM training. She died on February 9, 2025, after an illness, leaving a legacy that stretched beyond research into representation and role‑modelling. Her work in nuclear physics, including research at the European Council for Nuclear Research (CERN), the world’s largest particle physics laboratory based in Meyrin, a western suburb of Geneva, Switzerland, and leadership roles at South Africa’s nuclear energy corporation. Her visibility as a young Black scientist inspired students across the continent. Adetunji “Teejay” Opayele, Nigerian, 32 Adetunji “Teejay” Opayele. Image Source: Bumpa. Adetunji “Teejay” Opayele, who died in a car crash in Lagos on March 4, 2025, was co-founder of Bumpa, a Nigerian startup helping small businesses digitise sales, inventory, and customer engagement. A self-taught mobile developer and former e-settlement engineer, he built much of Bumpa’s technical stack, helping the e-commerce startup close a $4 million seed round in 2022 and grow to tens of thousands of merchants using its tools to run informal and micro-retail businesses. His colleagues and co-founder Kelvin Umechukwu described him as a builder at heart, always full of ideas. Pascal Gabriel Dozie, Nigerian, 85 Pascal Gabriel Dozie, founder of defunct Diamond Bank and co-founder of African Capital Alliance. Image Source: The ICIR Founder of Diamond Bank, the Nigerian tier-2 bank acquired by Access Bank in 2019, and pioneering chairman of MTN Nigeria, Dozie helped lay two of the core rails that today’s African tech ecosystem runs on: modern retail banking and mass‑market mobile connectivity. As Diamond Bank’s founder, he backed consumer and SME banking decades before “fintech” became a buzzword, and as MTN Nigeria’s first chairman, he helped steer the telecom firm’s entry and expansion in what became one of its most important markets. He died on April 8, 2025; many of today’s fintechs, neobanks, and mobile‑first startups are effectively building on the infrastructure he helped put in place. He was father to Uzoma Dozie, former group managing director of the now-defunct Diamond Bank and CEO of digital bank Sparkle, and Ngozi and Chijioke Dozie, both cofounders of digital lending and microfinance bank Carbon. An influential figure, the Dozie patriarch was mourned by Nigerian President Bola Tinubu after his passing. Abiola Olaniran, Nigerian, 36 Abiola Olaniran speaking on a panel at a Standard Chartered–supported tech event held at Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos, in June 2016. Image Source: Disrupt Africa Founder of Gamsole, one of the continent’s most downloaded mobile game studios, Olaniran was a pioneer of African mobile gaming, an early backer of the ecosystem, and the first angel investor in Techpoint Africa, the Nigeria-based tech publication. He died on July 16, 2025, aged 36. His titles, such as Gidi Run, Monster Ninja, and a styled version of the popular game Temple Run, collectively surpassed 10 million downloads worldwide, proving that African‑made games could compete on global platforms. He left behind a catalogue of games and a generation of younger developers he quietly mentored. Susan Kamengere Njoki, Kenyan, 48 Susan Kamengere Njoki. Image Source: Discover JKUAT A registered nurse, lactation specialist, and certified infant massage instructor, Njoki founded Toto Touch Kenya to support children and parents with mental health and nurturing care, blending clinical practice with digital community building. Her death on July 16, 2025, shortly after a forced admission to a Nairobi mental‑health facility, and a post‑mortem finding of death from manual strangulation, sparked public outcry and renewed scrutiny of how Kenya’s mental‑health and patient‑rights laws are applied in practice. Leon Kiptum Kidombo, Kenyan, 44 Former Flutterwave East Africa VP Leon Kiptum. Image Source: Flutterwave on X A respected fintech executive and mentor, Kidombo served as Senior Vice President for East Africa at Flutterwave, the Nigerian payments unicorn operating in more than 30 countries, where he played a critical role in expanding the company’s presence across the region. He rebuilt relationships with regulators and forged partnerships with banks and enterprise clients. He died on August 3, 2025, aged 44, after a battle with cancer, just weeks after stepping back from work to focus on his health. Beyond his day job, he served on the board of the Association of Fintechs in Kenya, where he pushed for more collaboration and standards across payment startups. Frank Marangu Ireri, Kenyan, 63 Frank Ireri speaking at a 2017 interview with Trading Bell, a capital market-focused analysis programme by Kenya’s Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE). Image Source: NSE Kenya/YouTube As managing director of Housing Finance (later HF Group) for over a decade, Ireri was one of the executives who sought to drag East Africa’s oldest mortgage lender into a digital, more competitive era. He died on October 26, 2025, after a long battle with cancer, leaving behind a generation of Kenyan bankers and operators he had mentored. His greatest impact at HF was diversifying the firm’s product offerings beyond traditional home loans and driving early digitisation of its lending services. Before his death, he held governance roles at Centum Real Estate, Habitat for Humanity Kenya, and the HR‑tech firm SeamlessHR, where he served on the startup’s Kenya advisory board. Madiassa Maguiraga, Malian, 82 Madiassa Maguiraga speaking at the Conférence Annuelle sur la Haute Technologie (CAHT) in November 2019, an annual tech conference held at Université Mapon in Kindu, Democratic Republic of Congo. Image Source: Université Mapon Madiassa Maguiraga, who died on November 5, 2025, was a towering figure
Read MoreIn 2025, Africa’s technology ecosystem stopped running on untested optimism. After years of speculation, the ecosystem has matured into something leaner and more calculating. The hopeful belief of outsiders no longer governs the market, but by a collective memory of what happens when the hype runs out. After a bruising two-year contraction, venture funding into African startups has climbed back across the $3 billion threshold, a 36% jump from last year’s $2.2 billion, according to data from Africa The Big Deal. However, while the headline figure suggests a return to the boom times of 2022, the market’s internal structure has undergone a fundamental shift. The days of sprinkling capital across a hundred early-stage experiments are over. Now, the money is moving in heavy, deliberate tranches, focusing on fewer bets, with rounds often exceeding $50 million. At the centre of this recalibration is an emerging class of “survivor” founders. They are a distinct minority because numbers show that while 68% of African founders walk away for good after a startup fails. In 2025, the stigma of failure no longer defines this group, nor are they celebrated with the uncritical “fail fast” worship of Silicon Valley’s past. For the modern African investor, a previous collapse is now a stress test. They are demanding a forensic accounting of why a company failed, separating unavoidable macroeconomic shocks, such as the regulatory shifts and funding droughts of 2023, from the self-inflicted wounds of unchecked cash burn and weak governance. They look for operational scars like missed hires, misjudged purchasing power in low-income markets, and flawed assumptions that can only be corrected by an expensive failure. In a landscape where trust is the most expensive currency, founders who returned unused capital to their backers, a practice recently documented in high-profile closures, are finding a much warmer reception than those who left a trail of unpaid creditors. These second-time founders are returning to the arena with a newfound sense of restraint, raising less capital upfront and treating every dollar as something to be earned through proven demand rather than assumed by right. 1. Meshack Alloys, from Sendy to TABB – Kenya Meshack Alloys built Sendy into one of East Africa’s most visible logistics startups, raising over $24 million before the company collapsed in 2023, according to Crunchbase. The promise of asset-light logistics across multiple markets collided with thin margins and operational complexity, producing scale without durability. Alloys’ return with TABB, a trade credit network that allows banks to extend revolving credit to small businesses using transaction data, reflects a rejection of that model rather than an attempt to refine it. The idea grew directly out of Sendy’s failure, where liquidity constraints repeatedly limited customer growth. Credit infrastructure offers higher margins and clearer regulatory pathways than physical logistics, provided relationships with banks and regulators are built early. TABB positions itself as a partner to existing financial institutions rather than a challenger, signalling a more conservative approach. 2. Tesh Mbaabu, from MarketForce and Chpter to Cloud9 – Kenya Tesh Mbaabu has become one of the most closely watched repeat founders of the cycle. Mbaabu’s B2B marketplace RejaReja, under MarketForce, shut down in 2024 after operational costs and FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) margins eroded sustainability, a diagnosis Mbaabu made publicly. His interim pivot, Chpter, an AI-driven conversational commerce platform, grew rapidly, onboarding about 1,500 merchants in four months, according to company statements. By late 2025, Mbaabu and his co-founder stepped aside to launch Cloud9, a digital bank aimed at younger users. Kenya’s fintech market is projected to reach $14.5 billion (KES 1.9 trillion) by 2028, making the sector attractive but crowded. Cloud9’s appeal to investors lies in its insistence on early usage data and unit economics, a response to lessons learned in earlier ventures. Mbaabu’s repeated reinvention invites debate about focus, yet his willingness to abandon models that fail quickly rather than defend them indefinitely aligns with the market’s current preference for evidence over narrative. 3. Abasi Ene-Obong, from 54gene to Syndicate Bio – Nigeria Abasi Ene-Obong co-founded 54gene and helped raise more than $54 million to build genomic datasets focused on African populations. Obong’s departure in 2023 and the company’s shutdown in September 2023 followed governance disputes that played out publicly. Ene-Obong returned with Syndicate Bio, launched in 2023, but moved into full operational mode in 2025 with the opening of its first sequencing laboratory. The company wants to provide genomic infrastructure for global medicine, positioning Africa as a foundational contributor rather than a peripheral sample source. Early backers include Nubia Capital, Techstars, African Union Development Agency-NEPAD, and StoryHouse Ventures, according to PitchBook. The decision to remain in biotech signals confidence that domain expertise accumulated over the years can outweigh reputational risk when paired with revised governance and operational discipline. Syndicate Bio is capital-intensive and slow by design, qualities that now attract investors seeking infrastructure-level businesses. 4. William McCarren, from Zumi to quieter second acts – Kenya William McCarren scaled Zumi, a B2B e-commerce platform, to $20 million in sales and roughly 5,000 customers before the company shut down in March 2023, a closure attributed less to demand failure than to the inability to secure follow-on capital amid heightened risk aversion toward African e-commerce. McCarren’s return has been deliberately low profile. He now works in South Africa as a co-founder of FARO, a re-commerce startup founded in 2023 but only gaining traction after a $6 million raise in 2024 led by Bloomberg President JP Zammitt. FARO runs physical stores that resell reconditioned fashion inventory, pairing software-led pricing with in-house garment refurbishment. Unlike the purely digital Zumi, FARO is built around tight control of stock and cash flow. In 2025, the model moved into execution, with physical retail openings and scaled reconditioning operations validating unit economics through repeat demand and disciplined inventory turnover. FARO’s model has helped retailers recover value from unsold goods while reducing environmental waste and offering shoppers high-quality products at lower prices. 5. Alexandria Procter, from builder to funder – South Africa In 2018, Alexandria Procter
Read More
