After successfully completing trials of the revolutionary technology over the previous 11 months, MTN Zambia has now launched its 5G network, making it the first mobile operator in Zambia to offer 5G services commercially. In January 2022, MTN Zambia started testing 5G; as of present, a commercial service is available in six Zambian cities. Ralph…
The gaming business in Africa is currently quite fragmented, consisting of only a few tiny studios, but it is still “the next big thing” because of factors like the relative youth of the population on the continent. Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the regions with the fastest-growing mobile gaming markets in the world, according to…
Three young agric-tech innovators in Nigeria have emerged final winners of this year’s Agriculture, Youth and Technology (AYuTe) Africa Challenge Nigeria, an enterprise development program initiated by Heifer International to identify, nurture, and support innovative, relevant, and technology-driven agric-centric enterprises that grow, scale and help smallholder farmers to thrive in Africa. Announcing the winners in…
Orda, a Nigerian company that develops cloud operating systems for restaurants, has raised US$3.4 million in a seed round to further digitalize the food industry on the continent. Guy Futi, Fikayo Akinwale, Mark Edomwande, Kunle Ogungbamila, and Namir El-Khouri founded Orda in 2020 with the goal of assisting small-scale African restaurants in growing sustainably. After…
As part of a holistic ecosystem plan that also sees it create an office in the nation and hire Amal Enan as a partner in Egypt, the international venture capital firm 500 Startups has teamed with the Egyptian IT Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) to operate a number of programs. Venture capital firm 500 Global manages…
Applications are now being accepted for the ygap Kenya Accelerator Programme, which aids businesses in developing and validating their business models, achieving financial sustainability, and expanding their community impact. A needs assessment and bootcamp are the first steps of the ygap program. It then offers ongoing accountability and business development sessions, strategic and operations coaching,…
An early-stage venture capital business called LoftyInc Capital Management has announced the final close of its LoftyInc Afropreneurs Fund 3 (LAF3), which closed out at US$14.3 million. The fund was oversubscribed. As a venture capital company with its headquarters in Lagos, LoftyInc Capital Management aims to invest in industries such logistics, printing services, business services,…
An African technology company called Cassava Technologies has revealed that Kigali, Rwanda will be the site of its first data center. The data center will be designed specifically to accommodate the region’s expanding demand and will have a 2MW IT load. According to Tesh Durvasula, CEO of Africa Data Centres, “it is an exciting time.”…
Djamo, a fintech firm in Francophone Africa building a personal finance business, has acquired $14 million in equity funding to continue building out a comprehensive range of financial services and to expand into new nations. The fundraising round was co-led by Partech Africa, Oikocredit, and Enza Capital. Other current investors included Janngo Capital, P1 Ventures,…
Google has announced that its Workspace apps will soon receive updates that include new functionality. According to the search engine giant, updates to Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides have been made, along with minor changes to Gmail. Gmail should make it simpler for users to search, while Google Meet will allow users to share files…
iOS users will be able to send voice notes in their status updates thanks to a feature being developed for WhatsApp, the instant messaging service owned by Meta. In their WhatsApp status, users can currently only send images, videos, and links. WhatsApp users on iOS, however, will apparently be able to post audio notes or…
In coordination with the Ministry of Education and iCOG Anyone Can Code, Huawei has launched its flagship initiative in Ethiopia (iCOG ACC). Using its rebuilt 40-foot container as a training center, DigiTruck Ethiopia will undertake a technical tour across the entire nation while outfitting it with cutting-edge electronics like laptop computers, robotic tools, and microelectronics….
For every company out there, there is an in depth goal to increase her market share in both the local and global market space. The profit margin of a company is largely dependent on the audience at her disposal. Before now, companies have used various forms of advertising to promote their product inorder to reach…
Galaxy Backbone, an information technology and shared services provider of the Federal Government of Nigeria, has said that it has almost covered the 36 states of the federation and the FCT Abuja, with its infrastructure backbone connectivity rollout. Prof. Muhammed Bello Abubakar, the Managing Director/Chief Executive of Galaxy Backbone Limited, made this known at the…
Solarise Africa, a pan-African Energy-as-a-Service provider, has received a $33.4 million facility from Lion’s Head managed fund, the Facility for Energy Inclusion (FEI), to help the company solidify its position in Kenya’s solar market and expand across Africa. FEI will contribute USD 21.4 million toward the total amount, with Oikocredit contributing USD 7 million and…
The Multichoice Africa Accelerator Programme, which awarded $16 million in funding to six emerging tech companies last year, is now expanding to eight additional African countries. According to a Multichoice statement, the countries that will benefit from the program are Ivory Coast, Senegal, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Zambia, Angola, and Ethiopia. The MultiChoice Africa Accelerator Programme,…
Founders from Tanzania, Kenya, and Egypt have been named Africa’s Business Heroes (ABH) competition winners, a flagship philanthropic program established by the Jack Ma Foundation to highlight and support African entrepreneurs. The Africa’s Business Heroes prize competition aims to support and inspire the next generation of African entrepreneurs from all sectors who are working to…
Dr. Oluseyi Akindehinde, the Co-founder and Chief Technical Officer (CTO) of Digital Encode Limited, has identified blockchain and the mobile phone as going to be fundamental to the company of the future. Making a presentation at the just concluded Africa Tech Alliance Forum, otherwise known as AfriTECH 2.0, held in Lagos, recently, Akindehinde said that…
In its attempt to provide free and equitable access to quality STEAM education for young learners in and out of school across Nigeria, Coderina riding on the partnership with the Nigerian National Library Authority, equipped the National library Bauchi with the launching taking place last week. The event at Bauchi brings the number of library…
Leta, a Kenyan startup, has raised $3 million in order to expand across West Africa in 2023. Leta is a B2B supply chain and logistics SaaS company that was established in 2021 to improve fleet management. Leta is searching for growth prospects in West Africa while also increasing its business in its current five markets,…
A Kenyan business called Stable Foods has raised US$600,000 to create a method for producing smallholder food that is climate-smart. Participating in the fundraising round were Mercy Corps Ventures and the Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund (ARAF). Agrifood-tech venture studio Pyramidia Ventures’ portfolio company Stable Foods has developed an all-in-one system that combines regenerative agriculture training,…
A second landing of the 2Africa subsea cable is anticipated in Port Said in the Mediterranean Sea at a later time. As members of the 2Africa consortium, Meta and Telecom Egypt announce the first landing of the 2Africa subsea cable in Egypt in Ras Ghareb in the Red Sea. The cable will be stretched to…
With participation from Nir Eyal and creators of top businesses like Razorpay, Pine Labs, Snapdeal, Livspace, and others, Betafi, a unified user research platform, has acquired $1.3 million in pre-seed capital from Together Fund, Entrepreneur First, and Titan Capital. Nir Eyal, best-selling author of the book “Hooked” and a well-known thought leader worldwide, said, “I’m…
Autochek Financial Services has been launched, a new division of the company that will focus on offering a variety of vehicle financing solutions for individuals and businesses all over the continent. Autochek is an automotive technology company that is making car ownership more accessible and affordable throughout Africa. The Marketplace platform, which collaborates with automakers…
Goodwell Investments, a social impact investment company, has established its EUR150 million (US$154 million) uMunthu II fund with the goal of fostering the expansion of inclusive enterprises in the area. Goodwell Investments is an impact investment company that focuses on inclusive growth in industries that offer underprivileged populations in Africa and India access to basic…
In order to build its full-stack tech platform, grow its staff, and spur expansion across the Egyptian market, Cairo-based startup Grinta, a fintech-enabled B2B tech platform digitizing the pharmaceutical supply chain, has acquired US$8 million in a preliminary fundraising round. Grinta, a controlled marketplace founded in 2021 by Mohamed Azab, Yosra Badr, Ali Youssef, and…
Heifer International’s empowerment for young innovators and smallholder farmers in Nigeria under the agritech initiative AYuTe Africa Challenge started in August 2022 with over 600 entries. The challenge will be coming to an end with three finalists competing for the grand prize on November 30th at Eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos. The AYuTe…
Smartprof, an online marketplace for children of school age that is based in Morocco and uses edtech, has received a pre-Seed investment round of $110,000 from Plug and Play, UM6P Ventures, and a few angel investors, in addition to the $50,000 raised earlier in July. It has the support of numerous organizations, including Startgate, the…
Startups from Africa that use innovation to address urgent challenges are encouraged to apply for the TechBridge accelerator program, which offers US$200,000 in investment and other support. In order to support startup growth, TechBridge promotes itself as a community of startups, knowledge partners, and investors. It has so far invested in various early-stage tech businesses…
Zoho, a software company, providing solutions for various segments of products clients, has said that its flagship product, the Zoho CRM, is an essential product for businesses that are desirous of recording huge sales, scaling, and optimizing their business processes. Mr. Kehinde Ogundare, Country Manager, Zoho Technologies Limited disclosed this last Wednesday while making a…