(Page 139)

Sign in Subscribe

Nigeria Startup Gokada Appoints Nikhil Goel As CEO.

Nigeria Startup Gokada Appoints Nikhil Goel As CEO.

Lagos based logistics, last mile delivery and transportation start-up has appointed Nikhil Goel as its new CEO. He was officially confirmed as CEO yesterday, after spending 8months leading the company after the tragic death of the founder and CEO Fahim Saleh in July 2020. In his new position, Goel will

Plentywaka Joins Techstars Accelerator, Plans Expansion into Canada

Plentywaka Joins Techstars Accelerator, Plans Expansion into Canada

In Nigeria, when people have lots of places to be, they say ‘I get plenty waka’. Plentywaka has been operating in Nigeria since 2019 to manage the problems involved in getting safe, reliable and comfortable commercial transportation options in Nigeria. Plentywaka is Nigeria’s first bus-hailing app, and it offers

SA SECURITY AND MEDICAL TECH STARTUP, AURA, EXPANDS TO EAST AFRICA

SA SECURITY AND MEDICAL TECH STARTUP, AURA, EXPANDS TO EAST AFRICA

A South African based security and medical response platform, AURA has announced its plan to expand its emergency and medical response operations to Nairobi and Mombasa, Kenya. The expansion to the East-African country is coming on the back of the partnership that has been secured with GardaWorld owned KK Security

Artificial Intelligence

PayPal and Flutterwave Partner to Enable African Merchants Receive Payment

It’s always a joy to carryout a payment with ease, especially one that crosses the borders of your region. For Africans, Flutterwave has ensured that merchants and freelancers can enjoy the ease of making payments from the comfort of their homes or business to anyone anywhere in the world.

CATALYST FUND BACKS TWO GHANAIAN STARTUPS WITH $120,000

CATALYST FUND BACKS TWO GHANAIAN STARTUPS WITH $120,000

Ghanaian startups Boost and KudiGo have been selected for Catalyst Fund’s Inclusive Digital Commerce Accelerator programme, and have secured $120,000 to enable them better serve informal SMEs and grow their businesses which have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Both Boost Ghana and KudiGo are focused on enabling

Ghana’s Plendify Enhancing Africa’s Supply Chain

Ghana’s Plendify Enhancing Africa’s Supply Chain

Without commodity exchanges, it would be difficult—if not impossible—to establish a standardized price for a commodity. Those in the commodity industry would be personally responsible for finding individual buyers and sellers, and the few buyers they contact will be the ones who determine the prices of commodities. There

Egyptian Fintech Startup NowPay joins Y-Combinator

Egyptian Fintech Startup NowPay joins Y-Combinator

Seed financing (also known as seed capital, seed money, or seed funding) is the earliest stage of the capital-raising process of a startup. Seed financing is a type of equity-based financing. In other words, investors commit their capital in exchange for an equity interest in a company. In the Series

Flutterwave is Giving $2,500 Grant Each to Women-Owned Businesses in Africa

Flutterwave is Giving $2,500 Grant Each to Women-Owned Businesses in Africa

We reported recently that Flutterwave has secured $170million in its series C funding, setting the African tech industry buzzing, and thereby cementing the company’s status as a unicorn. The fintech company has announced that it would award US$2,500 grant each, to women-led businesses in commemoration of International

South Africa’s Flexclub Secures Additional $5m In Seed Round to Scale Its Car Subscription Marketplace

South Africa’s Flexclub Secures Additional $5m In Seed Round to Scale Its Car Subscription Marketplace

South African car subscription company, FlexClub has secured $5million to improve drivers’ experience in emerging markets. FlexClub is an online market place that connects customers looking for flexible access to long-term cars with its partners, offering car subscriptions. The usual process of purchasing a car, setting up insurance and financing

Microsoft Launches Women Techsters Initiative for 5million African Women

According to the McKinsey’s Women Matter Africa report (PDF) in 2016, only 5% of tech startup CEOs were women, while only 29% of senior managers were women. The report also revealed that only 36% of promotions in organisations go to women in Africa. According to Funmi Adewara, founder/ CEO,

Savannah Fund Secures $23m Seed and Series A Fund for African Startups

Savannah Fund Secures $23m Seed and Series A Fund for African Startups

A survey by Genome which featured 1,070 startups from 50 countries around the world revealed that a majority of startups are in the red zone, with less than three months of cash runway. Having sufficient working capital is a key aspect for any startup because it determines the financial

ICYMI: APPLY FOR NIGERIA’S SDGS FINTECH HACKATHON

ICYMI: APPLY FOR NIGERIA’S SDGS FINTECH HACKATHON

Applications are open till March 15th 2021, for the Nigeria SDGs Fintech Hackaton. This hackathon will see techies build solutions for payments, enhance financial inclusion, promote accountability and credibility, security, and privacy to impact the realisation of the SDGs directly. The competition which is to start on March 25, 2021

Egyptian Fintech, Dayra secures $3M in pre-seed round.

Egyptian Fintech, Dayra secures $3M in pre-seed round.

Egyptian fintech, Dayra has secured $3 million in a pre-seed round which is a combination of equity and debt financing. In addition to the funding, Dayra has joined Y Combinator’s winter 2021 (YC W21). Investors that participated in the round were EFG EV, EFG Hermes, Tanmiya Capital Ventures, and

Youtube To Deduct Taxes Of Up To 24% From Creators Outside The United State.

Youtube To Deduct Taxes Of Up To 24% From Creators Outside The United State.

YouTube has announced that they will begin to deduct taxes from non-U.S.-based content creators on earnings generated by viewers in the United States. The new policy is expected to be implemented from as early as June 2021. YouTube has asked creators to submit their tax information in AdSense

Egypt-based Startup, Koinz, Raises $4.8million Seed Round

Egypt-based Startup, Koinz, Raises $4.8million Seed Round

Koinz, an Egypt-based restaurant aggregator startup, recently raised a $4.8million seed round. The round was led by Justin Mateen who has been actively involved in investing in startups since his departure from Tinder in 2014. According to Mateen, the main attraction to Koinz for him is their ability to

Google Pledges $25M to Empower African Women and Girls

Google Pledges $25M to Empower African Women and Girls

“Happy International Women’s Day to Every Woman in Africa” is what Google said, but with incredibly positive action, which we most definitely appreciate over words. On Monday, the 8th of March, 2021, Google showed its philanthropic nature as the company announced that they will give $25 million in funding

Flutterwave Raises $170million, now Valued at Over $1billion

Artificial Intelligence

Flutterwave Raises $170million, now Valued at Over $1billion

If you’re a Nigerian then this is one company you should be proud of, not just because they just raised $170million- which by the way is huge and is also the centre of this piece but because they have established themselves as one of biggest payment channels in the

SA FINTECH, ADUMO SECURES $15MILLION IN FUNDING FROM THE IFC

SA FINTECH, ADUMO SECURES $15MILLION IN FUNDING FROM THE IFC

A South African based Fintech Company, Adumo, has secured $15million in funding from the IFC, a member of the World Bank Group. This fund is expected to help expand access to electronic payment solutions, especially for underserved small and medium-sized businesses. This large investment which was placed as preferred shares

Kenya’s Kidato Receives $125,000 from Y-Combinator

Kenya’s Kidato Receives $125,000 from Y-Combinator

Flutterwave, Envyl, Instabug, Lynks, Paystack and Worldcover all have something in common: the accelerator, Y-Combinator. Y-Combinator has differentiated itself from other startup accelerator firms in Africa in the value-added service they have been able to provide their clients in addition to providing startup funds for African Startups. Kidato became the

M-KOPA and Pula Advisors Secure $1.3M Funding to Improve Women’s Digital Access to Loans

M-KOPA and Pula Advisors Secure $1.3M Funding to Improve Women’s Digital Access to Loans

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved two grants for research that will increase African women’s access to a range of digital financial services including loans and micro-insurance. According to a statement released by the bank on Monday 8th March, 2021, the grants for $1 million and $300,000

Deezer Slashes Subscription Fee and now Accepts Naira Payment

Innovation always brings about rivalry among tech firms, and it’s the good kind most of the time. Individual firm dynamism will always cause a stir in the flow of operation of other firms in the tech space. On the 23rd of February, 2021, Spotify, the world’s most popular

Senegal Restricts Internet Access in the Wake of Protests across the Country

Senegal Restricts Internet Access in the Wake of Protests across the Country

Senegal, a country in the West African Region, has blocked social media access after an opposition protest was disrupted by the police on Wednesday. The protests were sparked when the leading opposition leader Ousmane Sonko was arrested as hundreds of supporters followed his motorcade, chanting and reportedly throwing stones at

Artificial Intelligence

Apple Discontinues iMac Pro

Apple designed the iMac Pro for pros. The iMac pro is packed with powerful graphics, powerful processors, advanced storage and memory and a breathtaking Retina 5K display. It is designed to serve every purpose and everyone from photographers to video editors to 3D animators to musicians to software developers and

Bolt Lands $24million Market War Chest from the IFC

Easy does it they say. Hailing a ride is a lot easier now with Bolt. How crazy it was to think one could digitize hailing a ride for road users a decade ago, but for Markus Villig, it is his success story. Bolt is not without its fair share of

Kenyan Fundraising Platform Secures $25k investment from Venture Capitalist Firm Microtraction

Kenyan Fundraising Platform Secures $25k investment from Venture Capitalist Firm Microtraction

Kenyan fundraising platform Raise, has raised $25,000 funding from Nigeria-based Venture Capitalist firm, Microtraction, to help build up its platform and scale. Raise is a simple fundraising and equity management platform founded by Marvin Coleby and Eugene Mutai in 2018. Raise empowers founders with affordable online tools to raise