Airtel Africa

Airtel Africa launches long-term sustainability strategy, building on its corporate purpose to transform lives

ByTechTrends

Airtel Africa, a leading provider of telecommunications and mobile money services, with a presence in 14 countries across Africa, has launched a comprehensive sustainability strategy which sets out its detailed plans to improve the lives of millions of people across Africa through digital and financial inclusion and access to education. The strategy also includes specific goals around environmental…

Super Follow

Twitter now lets all iOS users ‘Super Follow’ select creators

ByTechTrends

Twitter is rolling out the ability for all iOS users globally to Super Follow select creators. The option was previously only available to users in the U.S. and Canada. Super Follows allow users to subscribe to accounts they like for a monthly subscription fee in exchange for exclusive content. It’s Super Following time –– everyone globally on…

Facebook

Meta – Where Did Facebook Get Its New Name From?

ByTechTrends

During Facebook’s Connect 2021 conference, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the company would be renamed from “Facebook” to “Meta,” and according to a statement from the firm, “Meta’s focus will be to bring the metaverse to life and help people connect, find communities and grow businesses.” More specifically, the company’s new name is “Meta Platforms…

Zipline

Zipline surpasses 200, 000 deliveries, marks five years anniversary

ByTechTrends

Zipline, the global leader in instant logistics, has celebrated five years in flight since its launch in Rwanda in 2016. The company, which on average makes a delivery every four minutes, recently surpassed 200,000 commercial deliveries, the most of any unnamed aircraft system (UAS) company to date. This marks a significant acceleration over the last…

Jack Dorsey
|

Facebook Goes Meta: Twitter, CEO Jack Dorsey, Others Take Jibes at Rebranding

ByTechTrends

Facebook on Thursday announced it was changing the parent company’s name to “Meta.” Following the move, many people saw the rebranding exercise as an excuse to have a go at the social media giant. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey was among them. He suggested that the new name of the company was confusing and it was…

Liquid Intelligent

Liquid Intelligent & Orange Trade Networks Through New Telecoms Partnership

ByTechTrends

A new strategic partnership has been announced in Africa’s telecom space as South African Liquid Intelligent Technologies (Liquid) and Orange, a French telecom and one of the largest telecom companies in Africa, sign a deal to leverage each other’s existing networks in Africa, allowing them even greater access and opportunity to build their businesses throughout…

Meta Platforms

Meta Plans to Launch Smartwatch With Camera as Competitor to Apple Watch, Leaked Photo Shows

ByTechTrends

Meta Platforms, the company formerly known as Facebook, is developing a smartwatch with a front-facing camera and rounded screen, according to an image of the device found inside one of the tech giant’s iPhone apps. The photo shows a watch with a screen and casing that’s slightly curved at the edges. The front-facing camera —…

Africa Blockchain Centre
|

Africa Blockchain Centre receives investment from Asia

ByTechTrends

The Africa Blockchain Centre (The ABC), a Kenyan startup focused on building technology capacity and offering blockchain solutions to key sectors announced today that it has raised an undisclosed investment from Next Chymia Consulting HK Limited, an Asian based company that provides blockchain solutions, consultancy services and training to global entities. Founded in September 2021, The Africa…

Flutterwave and Stellar
|

Flutterwave Enables New Europe-Africa Payment Corridors via Stellar

ByTechTrends

The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) announced that Flutterwave, a global payments technology company, has launched two new remittance corridors between Europe and Africa on the Stellar network. Working with TEMPO, Flutterwave is leveraging the Stellar network and Stellar USDC to simplify remittances in Africa. Opening these new corridors will greatly benefit businesses focused on building more efficient, cost-effective remittance services, contributing to a stronger, more inclusive…

Catalyst Fund

Four Ghanaian digital commerce ventures receive funding from Catalyst Fund

ByTechTrends

The Catalyst Fund Inclusive Digital Commerce Accelerator welcomed four Ghanaian digital commerce companies,  OZÉ, Shopa, Swoove, and Tendo, as the second cohort to receive funding and support. The Accelerator, managed by BFA Global in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation and the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST), focuses on building the resilience of Ghana’s micro and small enterprises (MSEs). The companies selected for the second…

Villgro Africa

Villgro Africa, Johnson & Johnson seek startups empowering frontline healthcare workers

ByTechTrends

Villgro Africa, in partnership with Johnson & Johnson Impact Ventures (JJIV) on behalf of the Johnson & Johnson Foundation, is initiating a call for East African healthcare innovations and startups that strengthen the capacity of frontline healthcare workers while improving access and quality of care. Frontline healthcare workers, which include community health workers, midwives, pharmacists,…

SIBC accelerator

40 inclusive African businesses chosen for annual SIBC accelerator

ByTechTrends

Forty inclusive businesses from across Africa have been selected for the Social and Inclusive Business Camp (SIBC), a yearly acceleration programme designed to help the most promising high-impact African entrepreneurs scale up their businesses. The SIBC aims to support entrepreneurs and create long-lasting connections with a wide range of ecosystem stakeholders through innovative training sessions…

RecoMed

SA e-health startup RecoMed raises $1.5m funding for Kenyan expansion

ByTechTrends

South African online healthcare marketplace and booking platform RecoMed has raised a US$1.5 million funding round as it prepares to expand to Kenya next year. RecoMed allows patients to easily book appointments with a diverse selection of healthcare practitioners in their area, driving more patient volume to healthcare practices by integrating several patient booking channels into…

Novastar Ventures

Meet the Investor: Brian Odhiambo, Novastar Ventures

ByTechTrends

A failed entrepreneur turned pretty successful investor, Brian Odhiambo is West Africa director and part of the leadership team at Novastar Ventures, which manages more than US$200 million across two venture funds, with 22 companies in its portfolio. Odhiambo grew up in Nairobi, and after a childhood spent travelling between boarding school in Kenya and…

Bolt

Bolt to expand EV option in South Africa

ByTechTrends

Estonian on-demand transport firm Bolt is set to roll out electric taxi options in South Africa four months after introducing e-bike food delivery services in the country. Bolt’s plan follows the introduction of a ‘green category’ – which lets riders hail an electric or a hybrid vehicle. This comes as the company expands its services to environmentally…

hackers

More worries for consumers as hackers intensify attacks

ByTechTrends

With the hybrid workplace becoming the new norm as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, attempts and spates of attacks on individuals and corporate bodies by hackers have been on the rise. Cyber thieves, a band of premeditated and dangerous criminals, are unleashing a reign of terror of unimaginable proportions on individuals, underscoring the need…

ClimAccelerator

Climate-focused innovations invited to apply for Africa ClimAccelerator

ByTechTrends

African entrepreneurs with promising climate-focused solutions have been invited to apply for Africa ClimAccelerator, which will provide selected companies with funding, expertise and mentorship to help them scale. Partner organisations GrowthAfrica and Carbon Trust are seeking 15 startups to participate in the Africa ClimAccelerator, which is supported by the Climate-KIC International Foundation and funded by GIZ. The pan-African programme aims to enhance the…

Stitch

South African API fintech Stitch expands to Nigeria; extends seed round to $6m

ByTechTrends

South African API fintech startup Stitch has extended its seed round to US$6 million from the US$4 million announced earlier in the year, and at the same time confirmed its expansion into Nigeria. The Stitch API allows developers to connect apps to financial accounts within minutes, allowing their users to share their transaction histories and balances, confirm…

Augmented Reality

The Evolution of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality

ByTechTrends

In recent years augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) have become increasingly popular. Images captured with a camera, frequently a smartphone camera, are enhanced with augmented reality software to add digital shapes to the real-world image. When it comes to virtual reality, the emphasis is on immersion, thus special glasses and headphones are used to…

Workforce

Why 30% of SA’s Future Workforce Will Be Independent Contractors

ByTechTrends

A recent survey by Outsized found that many business leaders are open to this idea of a ‘blended workforce’ to help them become more agile and efficient. They expect that 15-30% of their future staff will be short-term or project-specific hired hands rather than full-time employees. That backs up research by McKinsey in September 2020…

National Identity Number, NIN

47m Nigerians risk losing their lines as FG insists on Oct 31 NIN-SIM linkage deadline

ByTechTrends

About 20 million Nigerians are at risk of losing their telecommunication lines as the Federal Government’s October 31st deadline for the linkage of the National Identity Number, NIN, and the Subscriber Identity Module, SIM linkage draws closer. This is even as the FG, through the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Ministry of Communications and…

Nigeria Innovation Summit 2021 award night

NITDA Boss, Sterling Bank, The Nest, Others receive Awards at the Nigeria Innovation Summit 2021

ByTechTrends

The Nigeria Innovation Summit 2021 (Virtual Edition) with the theme: Charting a New Economic Path Through Technology, Innovation & Entrepreneurship, organized by InnovationHub Africa, and held on October 5-6, 2021 was successfully concluded with the participation of delegates and stakeholders across the globe, who connected virtually. The Summit in its 6th year is an annual…

SEACOM

SEACOM Boosts Its Fibre Network After Acquiring This Kenyan Telecom

ByTechTrends

Pan-African telecommunications services provider SEACOM has announced that it has completed the 100% acquisition of Hirani Telecom’s metro fibre network. Hirani Telecom is one of Kenya’s fastest-growing triple-play service providers, and the largest last-mile provider in the region. The network will be incorporated into SEACOM’s existing metro network in the capital of Kenya, Nairobi and…

Bboxx

Bboxx, a New Company Touting “Clean, Affordable Solar Energy” Launches in Nigeria

ByTechTrends

Bboxx, a future-minded energy utility that claims to be “tackling the global energy poverty crisis,” has officially launched in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation and Bboxx’s largest market to date. Bboxx is set to provide much-needed energy solutions to Nigeria’s electricity challenges by expanding access to clean, affordable and reliable Solar Home Systems (SHS). According…

Metaverse Division Facebook

Facebook Shifts Focus on Metaverse Division, to Spend About $10 Billion This Year

ByTechTrends

In the technology industry, the concept of metaverse — a range of virtual experiences — is becoming a buzzword. It generally refers to shared virtual environments that people can access via the internet. Most technology companies, including Facebook, have invested heavily in it. The social media giant says it is planning to invest up to…

Jumia Africa e-Commerce Index 2021

Jumia launches first Africa e-commerce report . Lagos tops cities with most orders

ByTechTrends

Africa’s leading e-commerce platform, Jumia, has published its first Africa  e-commerce report, Jumia Africa e-Commerce Index 2021 with a Nigerian section, which leveraged data from the company’s platform to illustrate the importance of shopping online in a pandemic context. The shift to everyday products during COVID-19, is part of a broader economic transformation led by the continent’s…

AfCFTA

Africa must close its science, technology gap to take full advantage of AfCFTA – experts

ByTechTrends

Professor Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, the former president of Mauritius and Laureate of the 2007 L’Oréal-UNESCO Prize for Women in Science, delivered a trenchant address at the African Export-Import Bank’s (Afreximbank) fifth annual Babacar Ndiaye Lecture on “the importance of science, technology and innovation in the transformation of African economies”. She called on African leaders to close…

IPT Africa

IPT Africa: shaping the future of African payments with frictionless end-to-end B2B transactions

ByTechTrends

IPT Africa launched at the recent Africa Fintech festival as it seeks to position itself as the platform for Frictionless African payments, delivering a continent -wide, multi-channel payment platform tailored to the needs of global corporations doing business on the African continent. The AFF was held as a hybrid event in Mauritius from 13-15 October 2021. The event…

Elon Musk
|

Elon Musk is now nearly $100 billion richer than Jeff Bezos, and his net worth is on the cusp of hitting $300 billion

ByTechTrends

Elon Musk may soon become the first person with a net worth of $300 billion. The Tesla CEO and world’s richest man added more than $36 billion to his fortune on Monday after the automaker’s shares spiked 12.7% following the announcement that Hertz is ordering 100,000 vehicles to build out its electric vehicle rental fleet by the…

GITEX 2021

9 Nigerian startups shine at GITEX 2021 Middle East’s biggest tech show

ByTechTrends

Nigeria has once again exhibited her readiness in showing the world her innovative ideas, as the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), under the supervision of Ministry of Communications and Digital, presented nine (9) top Nigerian Innovative Technology-driven Startups that provided solutions to technology problems at the recently concluded 41st edition of the Gulf Information Technology Exhibition…