In 2017, we published a list of startups from across Southern Africa that looked promising at the time. Nearly a decade later, some of those companies are still operating, some have pivoted into very different businesses, and some appear to have stalled, shut down, or become difficult to verify.
This updated version does not pretend every company on the original list is still thriving. Instead, it answers the more useful question: what happened next?
For this refresh, each startup was checked against the most current evidence available through official websites, app-store listings, company pages, ecosystem databases, and credible reporting. Where the evidence is strong, the update is direct. Where the evidence is mixed or thin, that uncertainty is stated plainly.
Status labels used below: Active | Active but changed shape | Unclear | Inactive or defunct | Not really a startup anymore
Quick status snapshot
| Startup | Original market | 2026 status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saith Technologies | Zimbabwe | Active, but claims heavily disputed | Official site and social channels remain live; recent publicity exists, but core technology claims are still unverified and contested |
| Dr CADx | Zimbabwe | Unclear / likely inactive | Older startup profiles still exist, but current public operating evidence is weak; one company database lists it as out of business |
| BitFinance / BitcoinFundi | Zimbabwe | Inactive in original form | BitFinance became Golix; Golix later shut down after Zimbabwe’s 2018 banking crackdown on crypto exchanges |
| Custos Media Technologies | South Africa | Active | Still operating as a blockchain-enabled content protection company with active commercial positioning |
| Hashtag South Africa | South Africa | Active | Conrad Travis’s company is still live, positioning itself around digital training, consulting, and media services |
| Lumkani | South Africa | Active and evolved | Now combines fire alarms with insurance, discounts, cashback, and related protection products |
| Promeo | Seychelles | Unclear / likely inactive | Current verifiable public footprint is too thin to confirm that the original music startup is still operating |
| ZamSolar | Zambia | Active | Still listed as a Zambia-based solar installer and continues to market solar products online |
| Tupuca | Angola | Active and expanded | Now operates as Tupuca+, a broader super app covering delivery, taxi, payments, and services |
| Onja | Madagascar | Active and scaling | Still active, hires openly, publishes annual reports, and places trainees into remote software roles |
| Business M+ | Mozambique | Programme, not startup | Better understood today as an Ideialab women-entrepreneurship programme rather than a standalone venture |
| Djuaji | Kenya / Malawi | Defunct | Founder accounts indicate the venture failed years ago |
| Code Blue Africa | Lesotho | Active brand, broader than original framing | Website is live, but the current business appears broader than the original Lesotho-only startup framing |
1. Saith Technologies — Zimbabwe
What they were doing in 2017
Saith Technologies entered the original article as a bold invention story built around Maxwell Chikumbutso’s energy and transport claims. Even then, the company sat in a strange place: attention-grabbing, hard to verify, and surrounded by scepticism.
Where they are now
Saith still maintains an official web presence and continues to market products such as its “Greener Power Machine,” electric vehicles, drones, and helicopters. The company’s own materials say it operates from Zimbabwe with a base in California and continues to invite investors.
What changed
The controversy did not disappear. In early 2025, Zimbabwean tech outlet Techzim published a detailed critique of Chikumbutso’s “free energy” claims following a high-profile demonstration to President Emmerson Mnangagwa. Saith is still visibly active as a brand, but its most extraordinary claims remain disputed and publicly unproven.
2. Dr CADx — Zimbabwe
What they were doing in 2017
Dr CADx was one of the strongest ideas on the original list: an AI-assisted diagnostic imaging startup from Zimbabwe aiming to improve radiology outcomes in under-resourced settings.
Where they are now
The trail is mixed. Legacy profiles on Seedstars, LinkedIn, F6S, and partner directories still describe the company and its mission, and its LinkedIn page remains visible. But current public evidence of active operations is weak — its official website does not surface strongly, and one company database now classifies it as out of business.
What changed
This is a classic case of a startup that generated real early attention but no longer leaves a strong public operating footprint. That does not prove it is closed beyond doubt, but it does mean the company cannot currently be described as active without qualification.
3. BitFinance / BitcoinFundi — Zimbabwe
What they were doing in 2017
BitFinance was one of Zimbabwe’s early crypto stories, built around the BitcoinFundi exchange during a period when the country’s cash shortages made cryptocurrency unusually relevant to local debate.
Where they are now
BitFinance evolved into Golix, one of Zimbabwe’s best-known early crypto exchanges. But the business ran directly into Zimbabwe’s 2018 banking restrictions on cryptocurrency-related platforms. Subsequent reporting on the sector confirms that Golix eventually closed because losing access to banking services made continued operations unviable.
What changed
The accurate 2026 update is not that BitFinance is still one to watch. It is that BitFinance mattered historically — it became Golix, a pioneering exchange that helped define Zimbabwe’s early crypto market before regulatory pressure forced the model to break. That is a meaningful story, even if it is a closed chapter.
4. Custos Media Technologies — South Africa
What they were doing in 2017
Custos stood out for a genuinely differentiated anti-piracy model: blockchain-linked incentives and watermarking used to trace media leaks back to the source.
Where they are now
Custos is one of the clearest survivors from the original list. Its official site is active, it still positions itself as a content-protection company, and it now markets solutions for video security, digital rights management, and educational content protection.
What changed
The company has matured from an intriguing startup narrative into a more commercial, productised protection platform — exactly the kind of evolution you want to see when revisiting an old “startup to watch” list.
5. Hashtag South Africa — South Africa
What they were doing in 2017
The original article framed Hashtag South Africa as a digital media and communications company rather than a venture-backed startup in the narrow tech sense.
Where they are now
The company is still active online. Its current site positions founder Conrad Travis around digital strategy, training, consulting, and media-related services. The company also highlights more than 15 years in operation, more than 20,000 people trained, and multiple industry recognitions.
What changed
By 2026, Hashtag South Africa looks less like an early-stage startup and more like an established digital services business led by a founder brand. That is still a meaningful outcome — just a different kind of story from the others on this list.
6. Lumkani — South Africa
What they were doing in 2017
Lumkani was already one of the most compelling companies on the original list: a fire-detection system built specifically for informal-settlement conditions, where conventional smoke alarms are often a poor fit.
Where they are now
Lumkani is still active, but the business has broadened significantly. Its current offering pairs fire-protection hardware with financial products — including cover for homes and businesses, funeral-related protection, and cashback and discount features.
What changed
This is not just survival. It is deliberate business-model evolution. Lumkani has moved from a single-device social-enterprise story into a wider protection and insurtech-style offering that speaks to the same communities it originally served, but with a much larger product footprint.
7. Promeo — Seychelles
What they were doing in 2017
Promeo was described as a platform connecting musicians with industry professionals for reviews, recommendations, and potential opportunities.
Where they are now
The honest answer is that the current public trail is too thin to confirm continued operations. The original 2017 article already admitted difficulty finding details about the company. That problem still holds in 2026 — current search results do not produce a reliable, verifiable operating presence for the original Seychelles music startup.
What changed
Nothing solid enough to claim continued life. Until direct evidence surfaces, Promeo has to be treated as unverified or likely inactive.
8. ZamSolar — Zambia
What they were doing in 2017
ZamSolar was presented as an off-grid energy answer to a very real Southern African problem: unreliable power supply and expensive access for rural households.
Where they are now
ZamSolar still shows signs of active operation. It remains listed in current solar-industry directories as Zambezi Amigo Solar Energies Ltd in Lusaka, and its social channels continue to market solar products and services.
What changed
The company now reads less like a startup pitch and more like an operating solar solutions business. That is a positive outcome — the shift from speculative promise to evidence-led continuity is exactly what longevity looks like.
9. Tupuca — Angola
What they were doing in 2017
Tupuca started as a food-delivery platform in Luanda, framed in the original article as an African counterpart to delivery apps such as Just Eat or Deliveroo.
Where they are now
Tupuca is very much alive, and considerably larger in scope. Its current Android and iOS listings describe Tupuca+ as an all-in-one super app offering food delivery, taxi rides, mobile wallet functions, and other essential services — now operating across Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
What changed
This is a substantial expansion. Tupuca did not just survive as a delivery app; it evolved toward a broader convenience and payments platform, following a trajectory similar to super-app plays seen in other emerging markets.
10. Onja — Madagascar
What they were doing in 2017
Onja was introduced as a social enterprise training talented students from low-income communities in Madagascar to code, then linking that training to paid work and a pay-it-forward model.
Where they are now
Onja is still active and significantly more mature. Its official site is live, it publishes annual reports and maintains a press room, it openly recruits for multiple roles, and it states that members of its first cohort are now working remotely for companies in Europe and the United States.
What changed
Onja has moved from a promising mission-driven concept to a structured talent-development and remote-work pipeline. It also now speaks clearly in the language of workforce development, tech talent, and measurable social impact — a sign of an organisation that has grown into its own model rather than outgrown it.
11. Business M+ — Mozambique
What they were doing in 2017
The original article treated Business M+ like a startup focused on helping women entrepreneurs formalise and strengthen their businesses in Mozambique.
Where they are now
Current evidence suggests Business M+ is better understood as a programme run through Ideialab rather than a standalone startup. Ideialab’s site still lists it as a project focused on training early-stage women entrepreneurs, and ecosystem references describe it in similar programme terms.
What changed
The main correction here is categorical rather than factual. Business M+ appears to have been misclassified in the original article. It is a real initiative doing meaningful work, but it does not fit the same bucket as product startups like Tupuca or Custos — and that distinction matters when evaluating a startup roundup.
12. Djuaji — Kenya / Malawi
What they were doing in 2017
Djuaji aimed to provide low-cost market intelligence through mobile-based surveys, addressing a real pain point for SMEs that could not afford expensive research.
Where they are now
This one has the clearest closure story. Founder Wiza Jalakasi has publicly written about co-founding Djuaji Research, joining Savannah Fund’s accelerator with a $30,000 investment, and then resigning in 2016 as the business ran out of time and money. Later reflections continue to describe it as an early venture that failed.
What changed
Djuaji did not become the enduring market-intelligence company the original article hoped for. But the story is still worth telling — it is a reminder that startup promise and startup survival are not the same thing, and that honest failure accounts from founders are more useful than silence.
13. Code Blue Africa — Lesotho
What they were doing in 2017
Code Blue Africa was presented as a Lesotho-based emergency medicine and training company providing first aid, CPR, and AED training, equipment, and ambulance-related support.
Where they are now
The Code Blue Africa website is still live, which suggests the brand remains active. What is less clear is whether the company still matches the original Lesotho-centred framing or now operates as a broader training and medical-services business.
What changed
The company appears to have outgrown or blurred the original article’s narrow geographic description. That is not a weakness — it may simply be growth — but it does require a more careful account than the 2017 article provided.
Why this list looks different in 2026
The original article treated all 13 names as if they belonged in one simple bucket: exciting startups to watch. That framing no longer holds.
By 2026, the more useful way to read this list is through four distinct groups. There are survivors that are still recognisably active — Custos, Lumkani, Tupuca, Onja, ZamSolar. There are companies that changed shape significantly — Tupuca expanded into a super app; Lumkani built out an insurtech layer; Hashtag South Africa matured into a founder-led services business. There are ventures that appear inactive or impossible to verify — Dr CADx, Promeo, and BitFinance’s original exchange. And there is at least one entry, Business M+, that was misclassified from the start.
Separating those groups does three things. It restores trust by not pretending uncertainty does not exist. It makes the piece more useful to readers who care about what actually happened after the startup spotlight faded. And it turns a loose roundup into something more durable: a realistic snapshot of startup outcomes across Southern Africa.
Final note
The most interesting thing about this old startup list is no longer the 2017 optimism. It is the 2026 spread of outcomes. Custos, Lumkani, Tupuca, Onja, ZamSolar, and Hashtag South Africa still show visible signs of life, though not always in the form first described. Saith remains highly visible but controversial. Dr CADx and Promeo are difficult to verify as current operating businesses. BitFinance’s exchange story became a landmark moment in Zimbabwe’s crypto history before running into a harsh regulatory wall. Djuaji failed. Business M+ was always a programme.
That is a better article than the original — because it tells the truth that startup roundups usually avoid: some ideas scale, some mature, some morph, some vanish, and some were never really the same kind of company to begin with.
Sources
- Original Southern Afro article (2017)
- Saith Group official site — FAQ
- Saith Group story page
- Techzim: critique of Chikumbutso’s energy claims (2025)
- Dr CADx on LinkedIn
- Dr CADx on Seedstars
- Pindula: cryptocurrency in Zimbabwe
- StartupBlink: Golix entry
- Custos Media Technologies official site
- Custos company profile
- Hashtag South Africa
- Lumkani official site
- ZamSolar / Zambezi Amigo Solar Energies — directory listing
- Tupuca+ on the App Store
- Tupuca+ on Google Play
- Onja official site
- Onja press room
- Onja careers page
- Ideialab projects page
- Wiza Jalakasi profile mentioning Djuaji
- Wiza Jalakasi essay on leaving Djuaji
- Code Blue Africa site