For most startup founders looking to raise money, the obvious choice is equity financing. However, there is another option – debt financing. Equity financing requires that founders give away shares in their business in exchange for capital. Debt financing allows founders to raise money by selling debt instruments to individuals or investors, and this money…
YouTube announced Wednesday the tally of “dislike” clicks on videos will no longer be visible to the public to protect creators from harassment and targeted attacks. A public count of likes — or dislikes — that social media posts rack up is regularly cited by critics as harmful to well-being, and Facebook as well as Instagram have allowed users…
Meta today announced the launch of Facebook Business Coach, an innovative and easy-to-use tool for SMB owners in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, and other English-speaking countries to learn more about how to expand their business online with Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. The Facebook Business Coach, which is available on WhatsApp, is a free-to-use, low-cost educational…
Elon Musk has sold about $5 billion worth of Tesla stock, according to a slew of regulatory filings that posted late Wednesday. Initial filings showed Musk had sold 934,091 shares for about $1.1 billion out of more than 2.1 million options he received as part of a compensation package. Musk disclosed in a regulatory filing that he…
Nigeria-based health tech startup Helium Health has acquired Meddy, a Qatar-headquartered and UAE-based doctor booking platform for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition, termed “a great deal” by Helium Health CEO Adegoke Olubusi on a call, is unusual in the sense that it overlaps two regions that rarely do in tech: Africa and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Meddy CEO Haris Aghadi and COO Abed…
South African VC firm Grindstone Ventures has launched a ZAR100 million (US$6.5 million) fund dedicated to predominantly funding startups that have completed, or are part of, the Grindstone Accelerator programme. Grindstone Accelerator is a structured entrepreneurship development programme co-owned by VC fund manager Knife Capital and Thinkroom Consulting, and principally funded by SA SME Fund. An equity-free structured…
Africa-focused early-stage investor DFS Lab has invested in 19 African tech startups so far in 2021, making it one of the most active firms on the continent and taking its total portfolio size to 22. Founded in 2017, DFS Lab helps founders leading next generation digital commerce businesses in Africa build solid foundations, and matches them with…
Egyptian ed-tech startup OTO Courses has raised US$400,000 in cash and in-kind services from EdVentures to further develop its product to reach more users. Founded in 2015 by Ahmed Badr and Tarek Nour El-Din, OTO Courses has developed an online learning platform that offers general and specialised English language courses for individuals or businesses. Teachers are carefully…
Electric cars and shared mobility concepts are starting to disrupt Africa’s taxi industry. Just a few years after cab-hailing apps upended the market and made city transportation cheaper and safer, they’re now about to get greener. Last month, Nopea Ride, Kenya’s electric taxi fleet service, opened a new electric vehicle (EV) charging hub at Village Market…
The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, earlier in February, outlawed crypto trading and prohibited banks and other financial institutions from facilitating related payments. This prohibition comes several months after the Apex bank initially warned Nigerians about the dangers of dealing in cryptocurrencies, stating that they were not legal tender and that investors were unprotected. In the…
An innovative local software development partnership between 4Sight Holdings and Bidvest Advisory Services has created 4MIA powered by ALICE TM, a first-of-its-kind AI-powered automated digital transformation advisor. Developed on the ALICE TM platform, the intelligent predictive solution Monitors, Investigates and Advises (MIA) business and technology executives on critical aspects related to their digital transformation roadmaps….
The Africa Future Summit is the world’s most iconic summit curating an active network of investors, tech entrepreneurs, celebrities, politicians and business moguls. Each year the program gathers thousands of pioneers from across Africa and around the world to address and tackle challenges that affect Africa’s future. The summit serves as a platform for influencers…
Every day, more people enter the labour market than the number of jobs being created, research has it that job seekers are applying for more than 20 jobs per day. The era of covid has hastened the growth of digital companies and at the same time modifying the employment space for youths. The job space…
The increase in cyberthreats recorded by global internet security firm Kaspersky in the first half of this year across South Africa amounted to 31.5 million. “Threats can be categorised as criminal (80% of attacks), targeted (19.9%), and advanced (0.01%). The advanced grouping is significantly more sophisticated and feature increased investment from attack groups. Unfortunately, both…
El Salvador made Bitcoin legal tender not too long ago but the country’s Bitcoin Trust has already gained millions in profit, and the country’s President Nayib Bukele has now stated that the profits will be directed towards building 20 schools. The update was confirmed via the press secretary of the presidential office via Twitter. Bukele,…
Discord is already the de facto home for NFT communities, but the company could be planning to deepen those connections in a big way. On Monday, Discord founder and CEO Jason Citron tweeted a screenshot depicting Discord integrated with popular crypto wallet service MetaMask and WalletConnect, an open protocol that many mobile crypto wallets are…
Latest Security report, titled: Out of Sight and Out of Mind, a comprehensive global study highlighting how the rise of hybrid work is changing user behaviour and creating new cybersecurity challenges for IT departments, has revealed a new form of cybersecurity targeting hybrid workplace. The research, HP Wolf Security report, showed that a growing number of users…
Facebook announced today that it will no longer allow advertisers to target users based on potentially “sensitive” topics like health, sexual orientation, or religious and political beliefs. “Lung cancer awareness,” “LGBT culture” and “Jewish holidays” are just some of the interest categories that will no longer be targeted starting early next year. “The decision to…
Yahoo has shut down its services in China, making it the latest American tech firm to leave the nation. A Yahoo representative said in a statement that the decision was made “in recognition of the increasingly tough business and regulatory climate.” “Yahoo is devoted to our users’ rights as well as free and open internet….
Meta, formerly known as Facebook, for the first time on Tuesday disclosed the prevalence of bullying and harassment on its platform, saying such content was seen between 14 and 15 times per every 10,000 views on the site in the third quarter. The company, which recently changed its name to Meta, also said in its quarterly content moderation report that…
You’re a startup founder. You have overcome every self-doubt standing in the way of you launching out; you have invested painstaking hours in defining your idea and building out your solution. You are convinced your solution is what the market needs. Definitely, without your solution in the market, the total user experience will be a…
The Senate has passed the harmonized Electoral Act Amendment Bill which includes approval for the electronic transmission of election results. The Senate had set up a 7-man conference committee to meet with members of the House of Representatives Conference Committee to harmonise the differences in the Senate and House versions of the Electoral Act Amendment…
Africa Tech Alliance Forum (AfriTECH) organisers have recognized outstanding organizations for driving creative, innovative solutions and products to enhance Africa’s digital economy. The eight (8) award winners across different categories were honoured at Africa Tech Alliance Forum 2021 (AfriTECH2021), held in Lagos. The hybrid Forum provided opportunity for inter-sectorial cross-fertilization of ideas on economic impacts…
DP World, a trade enabler, has announced the launch of DUBUY.com, a global wholesale e-commerce platform, in the Kenyan market. This latest expansion of DUBUY.com follows the successful launch of the platform in Rwanda earlier this year, where it has quickly established itself as a significant trading hub for the region’s East Africa region. DUBUY.com…
Kigali International Financial Centre (KIFC) has announced the launch of a $250 million Virunga Africa Fund I, which would invest in important industries driving economic and social transformation in Africa. In order to drive economic and social transformation throughout Africa, this fund makes investments in critical industries. Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and the Rwanda Social…
Formed in 2018 and launched in Nigeria in 2019, cryptocurrency exchange Yellow Card is now active in 12 African countries and planning further expansion after banking US$15 million in Series A capital in September. Yellow Card makes it easy for anyone, anywhere in Africa, to buy cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDT Stablecoin using cash, mobile…
Nigerian blockchain-based Wi-Fi sharing startup Wicrypt has closed a strategic US$1.5 million funding round to help it expand into new countries. Wicrypt is a decentralised mobile internet sharing and monetisation network that allows anyone to get paid for sharing their Wi-Fi. Users download the Wicrypt app and provide Wi-Fi through their mobile device or by purchasing…
South African startup Adbot, which provides online advertising solutions for owners of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Africa, has announced a ZAR7 million (US$500,000) capital raise from Enygma Ventures to help it expand its user base. Launched in 2019, Adbot empowers small business owners with simple and supportive tools for success, giving them access to new…
European startup accelerator and investor Startup Wise Guys has launched a programme that offers investment and coaching for digital, B2B SaaS startups operating in East and West Africa. Launched in Estonia in 2012, Startup Wise Guys runs acceleration programmes for early-stage B2B SaaS, fintech, cybersecurity and sustainability startups, has made more than 220 investments, and already has…
Egypt-based home furniture e-commerce startup Efreshli has raised a seed round worth US$550,000 to help it build on strong early growth. Founded in early 2019 by Heba El-Gabaly, Efreshli is a technology-enabled furniture design and shopping solution that has created a new way for consumers in Egypt to shop for their homes, from their homes. “Efreshli solves…