Aiming to democratize access to the African startup ecosystem, Young African Catalysts was established to help young Africans gain new skills, find employment, and attract investment. Young African Catalysts (YAC) was formed by Luke Morsert, head of investments at Future Africa, and Karl Nchite, a former investor and impact lead at Goodwell Investments, with the…
The annual VC4A Venture Showcase, which enables African entrepreneurs of innovative and disruptive startups and scaleups to present their companies to the most active investors on the continent, is now accepting applications. The VC4A Venture Showcase Africa alumni have raised over US$630 million since the event’s introduction in 2017, and this year’s edition is searching…
Elon Musk, the owner of Twitter, announced on Thursday that users of the social media site would be able to sell their followers subscriptions to content, such as lengthy texts and protracted videos. Users who provide the subscription—a feature they can access through the settings menu’s “Monetization” tab—will receive all of the money members pay,…
A platform to increase the usability of NFTs has been launched by the Nigerian fintech business SPLIQ DEFI in an effort to better incorporate the technology into daily life. SPLIQ DEFI, which was introduced in April 2022, analyzes the volatility of digital assets like NFTs using real-time market data to establish a lending facility’s eligibility…
A number of new security features have been added to WhatsApp to make it more difficult to take control of other people’s accounts. The app’s privacy and security-focused features go beyond its assertion that online chats and discussions should be as private and secure as in-person interactions. Numerous technological advancements pertaining to that goal have…
To make it simple for African tech firms to open offices in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government agency responsible for foreign direct investment is establishing a headquarters in Hong Kong with the assistance of InvestHK. With a presence in 33 markets, HKSAR is actively seeking to establish partnerships with African…
Young Africans now have access to digital skills and employment prospects thanks to Ghana-based firm Remoteli. A technology-driven platform called Remoteli, which was established in 2020, specializes in bringing together creative businesses with outstanding African workers to create diverse and highly skilled remote workforces. According to CEO Samuel Brookesworth, “We use the power of cutting-edge…
Policymakers, opinion leaders, and business experts will gather for the second Artificial Intelligence (AI) Center of Excellence Africa Leaders’ Summit in Nairobi to discuss the impact of AI on Kenya and Africa as a whole. Thematic areas to be covered include ethical AI and AI investment. On April 27, the Artificial Intelligence Center of Excellence…
All Android beta testers apparently get access to WhatsApp’s companion mode functionality. The capability, which enables users to attach an active WhatsApp account to a different mobile device, has been in development for a while. According to reports, the companion mode feature, which is an expansion of multi-device support, was released with WhatsApp beta for…
To commemorate the 2023 International Women’s Day, SME Growth Lab Africa and Shecluded have entered a strategic partnership that will enable female entrepreneurs across Africa to participate in SME Growth Lab’s first women-only cohort of its Digital Accelerator Program. Through this partnership with Shecluded, SME Growth Lab Africa aims to create a women-only cohort for…
The company that created the popular chatbot ChatGPT, OpenAI, announced on Tuesday that it will pay users up to $20,000 for information on security holes in its AI systems. With payments starting at $200 per vulnerability, the OpenAI Bug Bounty program, which went live on Tuesday, will provide participants rewards based on the severity of…
VC4A has invited for proposals to the VC4A Venture Showcase Africa – 2023, the yearly accelerator program that promotes high-growth, high-impact enterprises fostering economic progress throughout the continent. VC4A: VC4A is an ecosystem builder that makes use of its network, infrastructure, and skills to support initiatives that support the startup movement in developing economies. “The…
OurPass, the one-click checkout company, today announced that it has rebranded to become a global neobank for businesses revolutionizing commerce in Nigeria. OurPass is providing businesses with access to banking, payment and business management tools to enable them start, grow and scale their businesses. OurPass launched in 2021 after raising a $1 million pre-seed led…
Sophos, a global leader in innovating and delivering cybersecurity as a service, today announced the promotion of Joe Levy to president of the Sophos Technology Group (STG). Sophos also appointed Bill Robbins president, Worldwide Field Operations. Levy is currently Sophos’ chief technology officer and chief product officer, and will retain these titles and the organizational structure…
According to reports, Meta’s widely used cross-platform instant messaging service WhatsApp is developing a new iOS feature that will enhance the sharing of WhatsApp statuses in Facebook stories. Recently, the company was seen developing a new feature that would let users publish status updates to Facebook stories without leaving the app. Also, it will provide…
Several challenges confront young individuals as they pursue their college education. Where to find money is one of them. They aspire to adulthood and independence. Learning how to make money on your own is one of the important tasks. Some people want to start their own businesses. As a result, a lot of them are…
With the aid of artificial intelligence (AI) and live-learning technology, Nigerian company VarsityScape makes it simpler for cohort-based course instructors to acquire all the resources they require to run a successful course. VarsityScape, a platform for students at higher education institutions that was founded in 2019 by Daniel Idiare and Kenney Erimakonosine, has now expanded…
According to recent reports, seven of the biggest names in banking, including Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo, are working on a digital wallet that will allow people to shop online. Since PayPal and Apple Pay enticed hundreds of millions of users to their digital wallets, big banks have been looking for ways…
Sophos, a global leader in innovating and delivering cybersecurity as a service, today published a new survey report, “The State of Cybersecurity 2023: The Business Impact of Adversaries on Defenders,” which found that, globally, 93% of organizations find the execution of some essential security operation tasks, such as threat hunting, challenging. These challenges also include…
As technology advances at a breakneck pace, it’s transforming nearly every aspect of our lives, including the way we work. The traditional 9-to-5 office job is no longer the only option, as remote work, gig work, and flexible schedules become increasingly popular. In this article, we’ll explore the future of work and how technology is…
Former British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli is cited in American author Mark Twain’s autobiography as saying: “There are three sorts of lying: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” Nevertheless, it’s possible that Twain misquoted Disraeli. Artificial intelligence brings all three together in a neat little package, which is a fantastic advance. The massive datasets collected from…
The Bing chatbot is now available on Android devices using the SwiftKey keyboard, thanks to Microsoft. This will enable users to chat with Bing on any SwiftKey-compatible app. SwiftKey beta users are beginning to receive the new feature. With the most recent integration, users will be able to search the Web and edit any text…
Twitter has started a mass unfollowing and is currently following “no one,” suggesting that the process of removing old verified accounts may finally be starting. The following has fallen to its absolute lowest point and is now “Zero” on the “Twitter Verified” account. Earlier, Twitter followed over 420,000 legacy verified accounts. Twitter had already issued…
During a roundtable meeting with Mastercard in the capital of Zambia, Lusaka, US Vice President Kamala Harris called on leaders in the public and private sectors to fund national financial inclusion strategies in order to bridge the continent’s digital divide. Just 33% of people in Africa are believed to use the internet, while only 55%…
In order to promote entrepreneurs developing agricultural and climate solutions, Novastar Ventures, a pan-African venture capital business, has received a $25 million equity investment from the US International Development Financing Corporation (DFC). The $80 million East Africa Fund and the $108 million Africa Fund II, which allowed the company to enter West Africa, are followed…
By delivering online and offline payment solutions, Cellulant, a payments technology company, promises to redefine how businesses in Africa make payments and get paid. Due mostly to improvements in peer-to-peer (P2P) and consumer-to-business (C2B) payment systems, the payments market in Africa is expanding quickly. Yet, for companies looking to expand into Africa, the fragmentation of…
Applications are now open for the first Femintech Innovation Challenge from Amazon Web Services (AWS), the cloud computing division of the largest e-commerce company in the world, Amazon. The challenge is designed specifically for women-led startups in Africa and aims to promote innovation, networking, and investment opportunities. The Femintech Innovation Challenge will highlight and honor…
IamtheCODE and the UN Women Regional Office for East and Southern Africa have joined forces to address the gender gap in digital technology in Africa. A two-day hackathon that just ended in Johannesburg, South Africa, had as its goal providing 102 high school girls from townships in the province of Gauteng with digital literacy skills…
The British oil giant BP has announced a global partnership and charging arrangement with Uber. Under this partnership, BP will provide “bespoke” charging options to Uber drivers across its EV charging network. By 2030 in the United States, Canada, and Europe and by 2040 in the rest of the world, Uber wants to have a…
The second iteration of the “VC Grow” program for new VCs has been introduced by prominent development partners GIZ Egypt, FMO, and AfricaGrow. The program aims to invest equity or venture loans between the seed and series A stages and targets new and rising fund managers operating in Africa or the Middle East, with a…