22 On Sloane Launches KUMii to Connect African Businesses with Funding and Markets

22 On Sloane has introduced KUMii, an AI-powered platform designed to help African startups and small businesses find funding, customers, mentorship, learning resources and business tools.

The platform was launched in Cape Town during the GEC+Africa 2026 summit. The organisation also announced plans to raise R1 billion ($63 million) through Sloane Capital to invest in startups and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises across Africa.

Connecting businesses to opportunities

KUMii is intended to address the difficulty many African businesses face when navigating separate funding platforms, customer networks, investment requirements and support programmes.

Businesses can create profiles on the platform and use AI-powered matching to identify potential funders and investment opportunities. Its market-access tools are designed to connect businesses with tender and procurement opportunities, while its business-readiness features help entrepreneurs develop documents such as business plans and prepare for funding.

The platform also provides mentorship, learning resources and access to business software. According to 22 On Sloane, more than 4,000 startups and MSMEs had registered on KUMii.

“Funding and finding customers is often fragmented. Entrepreneurs are navigating multiple platforms and different environments to find the right support, funding and customers,” Norma Ngobane, CEO of KUMii, said.

Ngobane added that the platform aims to make the business-support ecosystem easier to navigate and help convert available assistance into business growth.

Planned investment fund

The planned Sloane Capital fundraising is intended to complement KUMii by providing capital to businesses beyond the stage of preparing for investment. 22 On Sloane said the funds would support startups and MSMEs across Africa as they pursue growth and scale.

The organisation said Sloane Capital has secured a Category II licence and a National Credit Regulator licence. It did not state how much of the R1 billion target had already been raised.

Kizito Okechukwu, executive head of 22 On Sloane, described Africa’s opportunity as being limited by fragmentation across markets. He said businesses expanding across the continent encounter different regulations, currencies, procurement systems, funding networks and support programmes.

“We need to think of better financial instruments and alternative methods to ensure that capital reaches each and every entrepreneur that needs it,” Okechukwu said.

Concerns over concentrated startup growth

Jonathan Ortmans, founder and president of the Global Entrepreneurship Network, said global startup growth and late-stage funding were becoming concentrated in a small number of ecosystems.

Ortmans said about two-thirds of the rebound in global startup ecosystem value over the past year went to three United States cities, while close to nine in every 10 late-stage dollars flowed into artificial intelligence.

“Never has the entrepreneurial economy created more value. But never has it created that value in so few places,” Ortmans said.

He also argued that the concentration could change, saying, “The narrowing is not a law. It’s a result, and results can be changed.”

Through KUMii and the planned Sloane Capital fund, 22 On Sloane is positioning digital access and investment as complementary ways to help more African businesses connect with opportunities across the continent.