Nigerian startups to watch out for in H2 2026, according to VCs

Nigeria has remained one of Africa’s hottest startup markets by leading the continent in funding deals in H1 2026. The ecosystem has continued to churn out innovative companies despite unique challenges such as a high cost of living, insecurity, volatile exchange rates, and stringent regulations. 

These startups are introducing new ways of living and doing business across finance, logistics, the environment, human resources, defence, and other industries. H1 2026 saw some interesting startups raise capital, expand into new markets, and achieve other impressive milestones.

So which startup should you watch out for in H2 2026? Condia turned to VCs from top Nigerian investment firms to find out, with one catch: they couldn’t name their portfolio companies.

Passpoint

Passpoint is the financial orchestration layer for Africa, Europe, and the G20. The company brings payments, compliance, liquidity, and settlement together into a single governed control plane. That means businesses can operate across African and global markets with a single integration, instead of rebuilding infrastructure for every new corridor. 

Also read: The top 10 Nigerian startups

Founded by Kelechi Uchegbulem and Adejuwon Oyebanjo, Passpoint operates across 16 corridors spanning Africa, Europe, the United Kingdom, China, and the United States. The company holds a direct licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria, operates under FINTRAC in Canada, holds a Virtual Asset Service Provider licence from Poland’s Ministry of Finance, and provides PSD2-compliant infrastructure across 24 EU countries and the United Kingdom.

Scale

Scale is a financing and superapp for delivery drivers and logistics operators, spun out of the Nigerian logistics company Renda. Launched first as an internal pilot and now live, it provides drivers with credit for repairs, fuel, insurance, and other services. Operating as both a B2C and B2B platform, Scale lets drivers access mechanics, fuel stations, spare parts and health insurance on credit, while its AI tools help drivers, fleets, unions and logistics firms manage operations and grow. 

Renda pays providers in full and manages collections, leveraging operational data to underwrite risk. Following a successful pilot, Scale is now expanding with external finance partners. It was founded by Ope Onaboye and Bimbo Onaboye.

Arone Technologies

Arone Technologies is a Nigerian deep tech startup founded in 2018 by Emmanuel Ezenwere and based in Enugu. It began as a drone delivery service for last-mile healthcare logistics and has grown into a hardware manufacturer focused on aerospace, AI, and sustainable energy. 

Arone builds Aurora drones for medical delivery and surveillance, modular solar systems like the Luminar 2.0 with 1.35 MWh deployed nationwide by late 2025, and QView AI, an on-premises platform that reduces dependence on third-party cloud services.

In early 2026, Arone announced a ₦12.95 billion partnership with the state-owned Institute of Management and Technology in Enugu. The project will build Nigeria’s first tech manufacturing plant to produce 5,000 drones and 30,000 Luminar systems yearly, and train 20,000 hardware engineers.

Also read: 5 Top Nigerian KYC startups

Miri Africa

Miri Africa is an environmental technology startup that provides real-time air quality and weather monitoring solutions across Africa. The company deploys high-grade sensors that measure PM2.5, CO2, NO2, temperature, and humidity to deliver data-driven insights for governments, businesses, and communities. 

The startup currently operates more than 100 active devices in Lagos, Accra, and Nairobi. In Nigeria, Miri Africa has secured a contract with the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency to install 2,000 air quality devices, and it also has a data partnership with Climate TRACE along with reseller agreements covering Nigeria and East Africa. 

Its solutions support urban air quality monitoring, agriculture through weather stations for rainfall and wind tracking, public health, and climate research. By the end of 2026, the company aims to significantly expand its network to help bridge the data gap in environmental decision-making across the continent. The CEO of Miri Africa is Temidayo Oniosun, PhD.

RavenPay

Raven is a digital bank that provides fast, secure, and affordable financial services. The company began as a centralised dashboard for managing multiple bank accounts and has since grown into a full digital bank serving over 500,000 individual customers and 5,000 businesses. RavenPay’s ecosystem includes a personal banking app with low-cost transfers at a flat fee of ₦10, high-interest savings of up to 14% per annum, bill payments, and virtual and physical cards. 

Through Raven Atlas, the company provides a banking-as-a-service platform that lets other businesses integrate customised payment experiences via APIs. It is also planning USSD services to improve access for unbanked users without smartphones. RavenPay is powered by Beststar MFB, a licensed microfinance bank regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria, and all deposits are insured by the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation. Prince Obinna Nwachukwu is the Chief Executive Officer.

Decide 

Decide is a Nigerian AI startup founded in 2025 by Abiodun Adetona, a former software developer at fintech company Flutterwave. The company runs with a lean team of three and has raised no external venture capital. Despite that, Decide has gained global recognition, ranking 4th worldwide for accuracy on spreadsheet tasks in the SpreadsheetBench benchmark. The platform scored 82.5 per cent on 400 verified, real-world Excel tasks covering formula writing and data cleaning, outperforming several well-funded competitors. 

Within 24 days of launch, Decide reached 1,000 users and now serves over 3,000 users, including paying customers. The product is an AI agent that not only suggests actions but also executes changes directly and explains them in plain language. Adetona built Decide to solve the inefficiencies professionals face in manual data analysis, drawing on his experience at Flutterwave to create a tool that tackles everyday spreadsheet problems without requiring massive computational resources or large teams.

Metrifox

Metrifox is a monetisation and billing platform built for AI startups, SaaS companies, and usage-based products. It lets you skip building complex billing systems from scratch and quickly launch pricing models like usage-based pricing, credits and prepaid, subscriptions, seats, or hybrid combinations, all without extra engineering overhead. The platform is entitlement-first and designed to help AI and modern SaaS companies model, test, and iterate AI native pricing. 

It also enforces feature and usage limits, automates billing workflows, and provides real-time visibility, enabling companies to scale revenue and improve margins. You integrate once using Metrifox’s APIs and never have to worry about embedding paywalls, provisioning entitlements, or chasing pricing updates in your codebase again. Abiodun Olowode and Adedapo Sobayo cofounded Metrifox in 2025.

Travevu

Tradevu is a financial operating system for global trade built for mid-market businesses across emerging markets. The platform helps importers, exporters, manufacturers, and commodity suppliers access affordable trade finance, streamline cross-border payments, and operate more efficiently across fragmented supply chains. By combining trade finance, multi-currency payments, and transaction intelligence in one place, Tradevu lets businesses move goods, access working capital faster, and settle international transactions seamlessly. 

Tradevu designed its infrastructure to reduce the friction that typically slows global trade, from long financing approvals and FX challenges to complex payment coordination. What makes Tradevu stand out is its founder’s market fit. Founder Nkiru Amadi Emina spent years in supply chain finance, including building Pivo, and previously led port operations at Kobo360. That background gives her direct experience with trade, logistics, and the financing constraints that limit African businesses.

Vendy

Vendy is a conversational commerce infrastructure platform that enables organisations to build and deploy secure commerce experiences within messaging channels. Its infrastructure powers payments, workflows, and digital services for banks, government agencies, enterprises, and SMBs. Customers can discover, pay, and transact directly within messaging apps, social media, and AI chatbots without ever leaving the conversation.

Since launching 20 months ago, Vendy has processed over $40 million in transaction volume and continues to expand its infrastructure partnerships. It integrates with major African banks and mobile money providers, including Kuda, OPay, and MTN MoMo. Vendy generates revenue through a 1% transaction fee and tiered SaaS subscriptions for businesses. Founded by Kayode Disu and Peter Ekunkoya, the company’s payment processor is licensed by the CBN, PCI DSS certified, and a Meta-approved WhatsApp Business Solution Provider.

Vectorhq.io

Vector is tackling a real pain point for African businesses: moving money across borders quickly, reliably, and at a reasonable cost. The startup provides the infrastructure for businesses to send, receive, and manage money globally through one secure platform. Its tools cover cross-border payments, FX and treasury management, and multi-currency accounts, all powered by stablecoin rails to make B2B payments faster and more efficient.

Licensed in Nigeria, the US, and Canada, Vector offers virtual accounts, cards, and treasury solutions through a dashboard, API, and OTC services, all built on strong compliance and risk controls. The company supports multiple currencies, enables real-time FX, and settles most payments within 24 hours. 

With offices in Lagos, London, Toronto, and New York, Vector has processed over $1 billion in payments and helps thousands of clients expand globally. That level of volume shows it is solving an urgent problem for businesses that cannot afford delays, failed payments, or expensive FX workarounds.