Editor’s note: African-Startups is a sister publication of EU-Startups, bringing trusted coverage of startups, venture capital, and innovation across Africa.
CYTO, an Angola-based FinTech startup, has unlocked funding from the Catalytic Africa matching fund following a $22,000 investment by a member of the Cape Verde Business Angels Association (ABAC).
The investment follows the Catalytic Africa co-investment model, under which eligible angel investments are matched with catalytic funding to amplify the capital available to early-stage startups. Through the model, CYTO received $20,000 from ABAN (African Business Angel Network) investors and a further $20,000 from timbuktoo, the pan-African innovation initiative powered by the United Nations Development Programme, bringing the total capital injection to $40,000.
“Where a startup is based should not determine whether it gets access to capital. Africa’s entrepreneurial potential extends far beyond its most established investment hubs, and we must ensure that promising businesses across the continent have a fair opportunity to attract investment. Through Catalytic Africa, we bridge these gaps by pairing local angel investment with catalytic funding, helping capital reach more markets, supporting diverse founders, and unlocking opportunities for growth,” said Fadilah Tchoumba, CEO of ABAN and Fund Manager of Catalytic Africa.
She added, “When capital reaches beyond familiar markets, it opens doors for founders, fuels innovation, and creates opportunities for economic growth across Africa. CYTO is part of the progress we want to see: a continent where a startup’s potential, not its location, determines how far it can go.”
CYTO is among four startups across Zambia, Cameroon, and Angola benefiting from Catalytic Africa’s matching fund approach, which has collectively secured $189,238 in co-investment. Of that, ABAN angel investors committed $109,238, while timbuktoo contributed $80,000. To date, local angel investors have backed innovative startups with $1.6 million, and Catalytic Africa has deployed $1.5 million as qualified matching funds.
Founded in 2024 and headquartered in Luanda with offices in Paris and New York, CYTO was built to address a major dysfunction in Africa’s business landscape — invoices in one system, bank records in another, tax submissions handled manually.
Co-founded by Joachim Valot, a French-Angolan entrepreneur with a background in private banking and asset management, and Tamara Lerner and Thiebault Husson, the startup automates invoice management, supplier validation, transaction reconciliation and tax compliance into one coherent workflow for businesses that cannot afford to lose days chasing paperwork.
Incubated by the Lagos Fintech Hub, CYTO has been selected in the UNDP x timbuktoo FinTech Accelerator, won the EMIS C.ID national innovation contest, and joined the first ESSEC incubator cohort at Station F, Europe’s largest startup campus.
That institutional track record is backed by financial momentum. CYTO says it has crossed €110,000 in cumulative revenue, with monthly earnings running at around €9,000. Its automation tools have compressed certain tax-submission processes from a week down to a single day.
“I don’t know Angola. There’s no proven track record. It’s hard for me to convince the investment committee. It would be easier if you were from Nigeria. If I had received a dollar every time I heard one of these lines from an investor, I probably would have closed a Series B by now. This is exactly why initiatives like timbuktoo Africa matter. For startups building outside the continent’s most established venture markets, the challenge isn’t just building a strong company,” said Valot, co-founder and CEO, CYTO.
The fresh capital will allow CYTO to deepen its product capabilities and widen its customer base as Angola accelerates its mandatory e-invoicing rollout. The company also plans to integrate open banking infrastructure, cross-border payment rails, and tools compliant with the African Continental Free Trade Area and the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System.
