South African startup campus 22 On Sloane has launched KUMii, an AI-powered platform designed to connect African startups and MSMEs with funders, markets and support services, while also announcing plans to raise R1 billion (approximately $63 million) through its investment arm, Sloane Capital.
Both initiatives were unveiled at the Global Entrepreneurship Congress Africa (GEC+Africa) 2026 in Cape Town.
KUMii is intended to address fragmentation in Africa’s entrepreneurial ecosystem by bringing entrepreneurs, investors, mentors, policymakers and service providers onto a single digital platform. Its core features include:
- AI-powered matching of businesses to relevant funders and investment opportunities
- Market-access tools that link companies to tenders and procurement opportunities
- Business-readiness tools for developing plans and preparing for funding
- Access to mentorship, learning resources and business software
More than 4,000 startups and MSMEs have already registered on the platform, according to 22 On Sloane.
Sloane Capital has secured a Category II licence and a National Credit Regulator (NCR) licence. The fund aims to provide capital to high-potential startups and MSMEs across Africa, with a focus on moving businesses beyond investment readiness toward sustainable growth and scale.
Executive Head of 22 On Sloane, Kizito Okechukwu, said access to appropriate and patient capital remains one of the most significant barriers facing African entrepreneurs. The capital mobilisation effort builds on the organisation’s nine-plus years of supporting businesses through development programmes, capacity building, market access and investment readiness.
22 On Sloane positions itself as Africa’s largest startup campus. The dual launch of a matching platform and a dedicated fund reflects an attempt to tackle two related constraints: difficulty discovering relevant capital and markets, and the actual scarcity of growth capital for many early-stage and SME businesses.
The announcements come amid a challenging funding environment for African startups, with fewer early-stage deals recorded in the first half of 2026 compared with recent years.
