Bamba, a mobile-first business software for African micro-merchants, has raised $3.2 million in venture capital to help it scale its app and expand its team. Presight Ventures, Jigsaw VC, and high-profile angels Mato Peric, Leonard Stiegeler, Laurin Hainy, and Thomas Stafford all participated in the round, which was led by venture capital firm 468 Capital….
The second cohort of the Black Founders Fund for Africa has accepted applications, according to Google for Startups. Google has extended its financial commitment to eligible businesses by investing an additional $1 million. For this cohort, Google for Firms will invest $4 million in 60 qualified black-founded startups in Africa. The Black Founders Fund Africa…
Instabug, an Egyptian software company that offers bug reporting, app performance monitoring, crash reporting, in-app chats, and user surveys for mobile apps, has raised $46 million in Series B funding led by global software investor Insight Partners, with participation from existing investor Accel and new investors Forgepoint Capital and Endeavor. The new funding will allow…
Zuri Health, a digital healthcare firm, has raised $1.3 million in seed capital to further develop its digital platform, expand its product offerings, and commence operations in additional areas across Africa. DOB Equity, Launch Africa, and Founders Factory Africa led the $1.3 million investment, which also included V8 Capital, Platform Capital, Villgro Africa, Asime Ventures,…
Edves is an Edtech with strong adoption and usage in Africa’s EdTech and digital infrastructure arena, with over 1,200 schools, 22K+ educators, 130K+ parents, and 250K+ students across six African countries. After raising $575,000 in a Seed round, the premier SaaS startup has grown to four African nations in the previous six months. Dimeji Falana…
The ICT Authority (ICTA) and Kodris Africa, an online publishing company, have agreed to establish a coding curriculum in a few Kenyan schools. This comes after the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development approved the country’s coding curriculum as a way to improve kids’ digital literacy. The Kenyan government has provided 1.2 million computers to students…
The World Economic Forum (WEF) has chosen six African digital startups among the 100 most disruptive Technology Pioneers of 2022, companies that are changing industries ranging from healthcare to retail and beyond. The WEF Technology Pioneers are early to growth-stage firms from around the world that are using new technologies and innovation to revolutionize business…
Topship, a Nigerian digital freight company, has raised $2.5 million in seed capital. Flexport led the investment round, which included Y Combinator, Olive Tree Capital, Capital X, and True Capital as well as additional investors. According to the startup’s release, fresh funding would be critical in its expansion efforts. This comes just months after the…
Nearly 900,000 apps have been removed from the Google Play Store. The IT giant announced that it is removing Android apps that it considers outdated. Staying in the Google Play Store requires your app to support the platform’s most recent features, and Google is removing apps that have been neglected. Nearly 869,000 Android apps failed…
The 5G rollout in Nigeria will be overseen by MTN Nigeria in conjunction with Mafab Communications. According to the Nigeria Communication Commission’s release, the exercise will begin in August 2022. When releasing license letters to the two businesses that won the 5G Spectrum Licences auction, the NCC made this declaration. Spectrum distribution: After Airtel withdrew…
Bridgecard, a Nigerian fintech firm, has acquired $440,000 in pre-seed capital to expand its user base and develop its platform. Bridgecard, which was co-founded by Owumi Festus and Tunde Adewole, combines a user’s cards, bank accounts, and fintech wallets into a single card and app, allowing users to conduct online transactions, pay bills, and withdraw…
Eko Innovation Centre, one of the leading tech hubs in Nigeria, curators of events like Art of Technology Lagos, and The Lagos Smart Meter Hackathon amongst others, together with GDM Group, Nigeria’s leading marketing and innovation company is changing the narrative around innovation in media and marketing. To achieve their goal of creating lasting and innovative solutions…
Android Auto is being updated. The latest version takes into account the ever-changing screen sizes of new autos. The split-screen view is the standout feature, allowing users to access various features at once. Drivers will be able to access crucial functionality such as navigation, media player, and messages from a single screen. Previously, the option…
The Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) has established a US$2 billion facility to promote bank-driven economic recovery in Africa and the resilience of African economies in the face of global crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic and, more recently, the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The AFC will fund up to half of the facility and raise the balance…
Cybersecurity has become a requirement in the digital age, when everything is digital. Data breaches and cyberattacks have occurred in both small and large firms on occasion, raising awareness regarding cybersecurity for businesses. If you use the internet to manage your organization, cybersecurity is an absolute essential. There is no need to invest a lot…
Africa lags behind all other continents in terms of economic development. Some may believe that African countries lack resources, however, this is not true. Although African countries have the necessary resources, there are several other issues impeding economic progress, which we will explore below: Inadequate Educational System In Africa, the level and quality of education,…
According to a statement made by the two private investment firms on Wednesday, Interswitch has received $110 million in a combined investment from LeapFrog investments and Tiana Africa Capital. The digital payment firm is Africa’s second unicorn, and its current funding will help it expand its digital payment services across the continent. Interswitch, which was…
The SAB SHARP Awards, created in collaboration with the SAB Foundation, are aimed at innovators and social entrepreneurs with creative ideas or prototypes that empower women in at-risk communities. The SAB SHARP Awards are seeking for ideas that help these women become economically self-sufficient or address challenges like Foetal Alcohol Syndrome and gender-based violence. Applicants…
The Alexandria Business Angels Network led an undisclosed bridge round for Egyptian company Teegara, a B2B e-commerce platform focused on household and FMCG products. Teegara is a B2B2C e-commerce marketplace founded in 2019 by Ahmad Kayyali and Nader Ibrahim with Ahmed Samir as the first investor. It seeks to help everyone trade, starting with small…
Abantu AI, a Kenyan firm, has developed a deep learning engine for natural language processing (NLP) that can translate between major international languages and indigenous African languages. Abantu AI was founded in September by James Mwaniki, who is also the CEO of MoVAS, a company that provides micro-lending services to telecom companies in Africa and…
Elon Musk revealed on Friday that the Twitter transaction is currently on hold due to the quantity of spam and fraudulent accounts on the platform. The latest development comes just over a week after Musk said last month that he would buy the microblogging site for $44 billion. As a result of his acquisition, Musk…
TopUp Mama, a Kenyan startup that connects African eateries with supplies, banking services, and business management tools, has raised US$1.7 million in venture capital to help it expand. TopUp Mama is a one-stop-shop for restaurants in Kenya and Nigeria that provides them with all of the essential supplies, short-term finance, and tools to manage their…
As more individuals gain access to the internet for the first time, mobile penetration in Africa is rising to around 46%. As a result, the market opportunity for startups, particularly fintechs and e-commerce, has expanded, as they aim to develop various solutions to suit the financial needs of the general public. However, in order to…
As the globe settles into this technological era, it becomes evident that digital banking is the way of the future. Fintechs are continuing to dismantle the traditional banking system, and future-oriented financial businesses are following suit. To stay alive, traditional banks have realized the significance of implementing digital banking technologies into their financial services. Although…
MARA, a Pan-African cryptocurrency exchange, has raised $23 million in funding from Coinbase Ventures, Alameda Research (FTX), Distributed Global, TQ Ventures, DIGITAL, Nexo, Huobi Ventures, Day One Ventures, Infinite Capital, DAO Jones (an investment DAO backed by Mike Shinoda, Steve Aoki, and Disclosure), and nearly 100 other crypto investors and angels, including Amit Bhatia and…
For aspiring and professional developers in Africa, Google has announced 30,000 Android and Google Cloud training scholarships. The goal of the program is to boost the number of developers on the continent. “Software development opportunities in Africa are at an all-time high. For over ten years, Google has supported African developers through community and training…
Kaltani, a Nigerian clean-tech plastic waste recycling company, has received initial capital of $4 million to extend its recycling operations across the country. Engineer Obi Charles Nnanna founded Kaltani in Nigeria to address Africa’s growing plastic waste challenge by promoting the circular economy and recycling best practices. The firm employs 100 people throughout its collection…
United Bank of Africa (UBA) Kenya has teamed with Pan-African payments business Cellulant to build a payments gateway to help Kenyans adopt cashless payments faster. Cellulant is accelerating the fight for financial inclusion and economic wellbeing in Kenya and throughout the African continent through strategic partnerships. The digital solution will allow firms to consolidate payments…
Jambo, a Congo-based Web 3 super app firm, has raised $30 million in a series investment round headed by Paradigm. The web 3 mega app startup Jambo, which is Paradigm’s first investment in Africa, combines education, communal access to play-to-earn games for lower entry hurdles, and access to a curated network of Web 3 applications….
Paymob, an Egyptian fintech firm, received $50 million in funding from PayPal Ventures, Kora Capital, and Clay Point. Additional investors included Helios Digital Ventures, British International Investment (formerly the CDC Group), Nclude, and three Egyptian banks. Paymob is a digital payments platform for emerging markets that enables small and large enterprises to take payments both…