Mastercard has sealed a multifaceted partnership with Bakkt to enable buying, selling and holding cryptocurrency, likewise delivering unique, crypto-centric loyalty opportunities, and streamline issuance of branded crypto debit and credit cards to its customers. This partnership makes it easier for merchants, banks and fintechs in the U.S. to embrace and offer various cryptocurrency solutions and…
Nigeria on Monday became the first African nation to launch a digital currency – the eNaira – a move its leaders said will expand access to banking, enable more remittances and even grow the economy by billions of dollars. Africa’s most populous nation joins the Bahamas, the first to launch a general purpose central bank…
Google has today launched the Global Initiative for Excellence in Journalism Education to enhance journalists’ training in Africa. The announcement was made during the inaugural Google News Initiative (GNI) for Africa virtual event that started on Monday 25 October 2021 and will end on Friday 29th October 2021. The initiative to support journalism training will…
Tesla, the major electric vehicle manufacturer headed by Dogecoin (DOGE) proselytizer Elon Musk, has hinted that it may soon look to restore support for crypto payments. In a September quarterly filing with the United States Securities and Exchanges Commission, the firm stated it “may in the future restart the practice of transacting in cryptocurrencies,” which suggests Tesla…
There are a number of reasons a business needs investments, these investments could be in the pre-seed, Series A or B and regardless of whatever stage the business is operating, the major reason for seeking investor’s funding is usually for expansion purposes. This expansion could be in the line of products or the need to serve more…
Substantial increases in startup activity and a massive inflow of capital has seen the Egyptian startup ecosystem establish itself as one of Africa’s “big four” within a relatively short period of time, with the sector’s development aided by proactive government and a strong local startup support system. That is according to the newly-released Egyptian Startup Ecosystem…
The World World Bank has blacklisted 18 Nigerian individuals and firms for engaging in corrupt practices, fraud and collusive practices in its 2021 fiscal year 2021, a new report has revealed. A list of debarred individuals and firms was presented in a new annual report titled World Bank Group Sanctions System FY21. The debarments were made by…
WhatsApp is reportedly getting a new method to view a business account’s status update. As per a new report by a WhatsApp features tracker, users can view a business account’s status updates by tapping the profile picture in the ‘business info’ page. The feature is currently being released for beta testers and is expected to…
US electric car maker Tesla on Sunday rolled back the latest version of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) beta software, less than a day after its release, after users complained of false collision warnings and other issues. The setback comes as Tesla is under regulatory scrutiny over the safety of its semi-autonomous driving technology, which it calls “FSD.” “Seeing some…
According to sources, PayPal has made an offer to buy digital pinboard site Pinterest for $45 billion. It would be the largest social media acquisition ever, topping Microsoft’s $26.2 billion acquisition of LinkedIn in 2016. According to one of the sources, PayPal has offered $70 per share, largely in stock, for Pinterest. According to the…
The Centre has defended in the Delhi High Court the legal validity of its new IT rule requiring messaging apps, such as WhatsApp, to “trace” the first originator of the information, saying that the law empowers it to expect such entities to create safe cyberspace and counter illegal content either themselves or by assisting the…
Facebook is rolling out a new Group Effects feature on Messenger video calls and Messenger Rooms. Group Effects bring new AR filters and effects that can be applied to everyone on a video call, at the same time. These Group Effects will be rolled out soon to Instagram, Facebook says. The social media giant says…
The Internet of Things (IoT) sums up a collective web of interconnected smart devices all running through the internet across each other to a central information hub, working together in unison. IoT has become a buzz term in regards to the future of technology in recent years as the internet becomes more and more connected…
MTN Group has been featured on Forbes’ World’s Best Employers List 2021 where it reached the rank of 132, effectively making it the top African employer in the world, according to Forbes. It is also one of the only African companies featured on the list that is topped by South Korean Samsung Electronics, followed by…
The African Development Bank has signed a grant agreement for $500,000 with Y’ello Digital Financial Services (YDFS), a fintech subsidiary of MTN Nigeria, to be used for a study into economic, religious, and social factors hampering access to finance for women in northern Nigeria. According to a statement, the research, which includes a feasibility study,…
Vodacom has announced that it is planning to run another edition of the #CodeLikeAGirl programme before the end of this year as it attempts to cater for the huge demand of girls and young women who subscribed for the first iteration of the programme. “The Vodacom #CodeLikeAGirl initiative is growing in popularity and is starting…
A common refrain about social media is that a major part of it toxic. It is often said to be a result of people following in the footsteps of social media influencers. A new study claims that banning or removing ‘extremists’ from social media can reduce the spread of anti-social ideas and conspiracy theories. In…
Kepple Africa Ventures participated in Wapi Pay’s $2.2 million pre-seed fundraising round in August. On Tuesday, the Japanese venture capital firm announced it was cutting all ties with the Kenyan fintech startup co-founded by Paul Ndichu and his twin brother, Edward. That decision followed the circulation of a video on social media, which showed two men engaged…
PayPal and Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel has stated that he regrets not investing enough in Bitcoin. During an event in Miami, Thiel praised cryptocurrencies and admitted that he may have underinvested in Bitcoin. “You’re supposed to just buy Bitcoin,” he said, adding: “I feel like I’ve been underinvested in it.” Thiel, who’s also a billionaire…
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has alerted millions of Nigerian telecom consumers of the existence of new, high-risk and extremely-damaging, Malware called Flubot. A malware is a generic word used to describe a virus or software, designed specially to “disrupt, damage, or gain unauthorised access to a computer system.” Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, director, Public Affairs…
Nigerian tech talent developing and outsourcing company, TalentQL has launched a digital tech training institution, AltSchool. Touted to be Africa’s first certificate-awarding institution for developers and other tech talents, the institution went live today and is currently open to applicants. According to TalentQL Co-founder and CEO, Adewale Yusuf, Nigeria has a population of more than 200…
Instagram is testing new tools for creators to earn commissions and form partnerships with brands on its platform. The Facebook-owned company is expanding its existing native affiliate tool, which launched in June and allows creators to discover products, share them with followers and earn commissions for sales driven by their posts. With this latest launch, creators can now…
Google Meet is getting new audio and video locks to let hosts turn off the microphones and cameras of other participants. The new feature essentially lets you mute a user and prevent them from unmuting themselves until you unlock them. Earlier this year, Google rolled out the ability for hosts to mute everyone all at once in…
If any country could be absolved of responsibility for the climate change crisis, it’s The Gambia. The Gambia is the smallest country in mainland Africa, wedged within the borders of Senegal along the mouth of the Gambia river with a population of 2.4 million. Its carbon footprint is among the world’s smallest, and comes mostly from agriculture and…
Only three per cent of African tech startup funding since 2013 has gone to companies with all-female founding teams. That is according to the “In Search Of Equity: Exploring Africa’s Gender Gap in Startup Finance” report released by research firm Briter Bridges and the World Bank’s Africa Gender Innovation Lab (GIL) based on years of…
Delphine Traoré, member of the Board of Management of Allianz Africa and regional chief operations officer (COO), will succeed Coenraad Vrolijk and assume the role of Allianz Africa Regional Chief Executive Officer (CEO), in addition to her current responsibilities. Coenraad will leave Allianz Africa to pursue new opportunities outside of the Allianz group. These changes will become…
In March 2020, as the coronavirus swept through cities and triggered lockdowns in many countries, Toyin Akintayo asked himself, “What can give small businesses an edge against bigger ones?” Why small businesses? For Akintayo, the idea to work with Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) stems from his two decades of running small businesses. Although most of them…
Google has announced the launch of TaskMate in Kenya – a crowdsourcing app that allows people to use smartphones to do tasks and get paid. The app taps the growing gig economy and is finally ready to be launched in beta in the East African country after being tested in Kenya for over a year….
Autochek, the automotive technology company that aims to facilitate auto finance across Africa, has officially widened its operations to Kenya as part of its pan-African expansion. To lead its Kenya operations, Autochek has appointed Bilhah Muriithi as the Country Manager. Having recently acquired automotive marketplaces Cheki Kenya and Cheki Uganda from ROAM Africa (Ringier One Africa Media),…
Google has held discussions to invest over $50 million in Indian social commerce startup Meesho, which recently secured $570 million in a financing round, according to a source familiar with the matter. The Android-maker, which has backed over half a dozen startups in India, has yet to make the investment in Meesho, according to another person…