The startup ecosystem in Africa has until now been dominated by Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa and Egypt (‘the Big 4’), countries that continue to receive the bulk of venture capital and other forms of investment.

However, the situation seems to be slowly changing as noteworthy startups begin to rise from other countries within the continent, and as investors scout for fresh opportunities to spread their risk outside the Big 4.

Uganda is one of the countries creating ripples in high-profile tech programs like the Y Combinator accelerator and Google’s $50 million Africa Investment Fund, launched in October last year targeting early and growth-stage startups.

In December 2021, Uganda’s multi-service and digital payment technology platform became the first startup in the continent to receive investment from the Google fund. It has now been joined on the table of nobility by fintech , which emerged the first startup in the country to get into YC (W22). Numida joins 14 other startups from Africa that made it to the accelerator’s Winter batch, an opportunity that brings them on the radar of Silicon Valley investors.

“Being able to engage with people who have successfully built very large companies and succeeded, and receiving their feedback especially at our stage…that’s very relevant to us,” said Numida co-founder and CEO Mina Shahid while talking to TechCrunch about joining the YC.

Numida’s star has been shining since last year when it first bagged $2.3 million in seed funding. The startup offers risk-based credit to micro-businesses in Uganda and has since launch grown 30% month-on-month propelled by the demand for quick business loans, according to Shahid.

Numida’s credit limit is $3,500 but the amount extended to small businesses and interest rate paid is based on the risk profile of loanees. The fintech plans to enter Ghana later this year.

As it stands, the largest beneficiaries of this funding upsweep are in mobility and fintechs. In mobility tech, the attention has fallen on the motorcycle taxi category, a popular mode of transport in the East African country.

It is that there are over 200,000 motorcycle taxis in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, alone – where they are used by residents to beat the perennial traffic jams. Multi-service apps like Bolt, Uber and SafeBoda are already active in the motorcycle-ride hailing and delivery market.

The e-commerce industry in Uganda is also fast growing with by the country’s ICT department indicating that revenue from the sector will double to $421 million and user penetration will hit 29.1% by 2025. Already some businesses — like SafeBoda — have amended their strategic plans to capitalize on the sector’s uptick.

SafeBoda, has over the last few years changed its strategy from a single service provider to an integrated multi-service super-app offering ride-hailing, online shopping delivery and payment (pay bills, send and receive money) services. The) -backed super app, also available in Nigeria, has its eyes on other markets too.

“We are building a global product that is going to go beyond East Africa,” SafeBoda co-founder and CEO Ricky Rapa Thomson told TechCrunch during a recent interview.