The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is now taking submissions for the first round of its Idea Lab incubator, a new program that expands the scope of the ASME Innovation Showcase (ISHOW) hardware accelerator platform. ASME, a not-for-profit professional organization founded in 1880, facilitates collaboration, knowledge sharing, and skill development across all engineering disciplines…
Kwaba, a Nigerian fintech firm that helps low and middle-income earners divide their annual rent into manageable monthly installments, has received pre-seed capital to help it expand across Nigeria and Africa. Kwaba, which was founded by Obinna Molokwu in January 2020 and is aimed at Nigerians wishing to pay rent in a modern method that…
2021 was a truly transformative year for the mobile app industry. In light of multiple lockdowns as well as wholesale privacy changes affecting user acquisition on iOS, consumer habits and user behavior patterns have undergone immense change and impressive growth. But how have these challenges affected the app marketing ecosystem? Mobile app trends 2022 provides…
Orodata Science sets another significant milestone with the launch of its vaccine tracker, “Orodata Covid19 Vaccine Tracker” driven towards achieving equitable economic recovery by improving access to data. COVID-19 precipitated a global economic crisis, and even as wealthier nations are bouncing back, it is creating a great divergence between them and the rest of the world….
WhatsApp, the messaging app with over 3500 emojis, has introduced a new emoji ‘fast’ option. All users can benefit from this change, which allows them to respond to single messages with these new emojis. “Reactions on WhatsApp start today,” said Mark Zuckerberg, the Meta CEO, in a Facebook post. He also mentioned the possibility of…
Liquid Home Zimbabwe is the new brand identity of ZOL, Zimbabwe’s premier Internet Service Provider. This redesign symbolizes the natural growth of the well-loved house brand and its much-awaited integration with the parent brand – Liquid Intelligent Technologies , a subsidiary of Cassava Technologies. As part of the rebrand, Liquid Home Zimbabwe will ensure that…
The FT x Cardano Blockchain Challenge is looking for companies who are working on Cardano or are interested in using the Cardano blockchain technology and ecosystem, and will provide selected companies with access to a bootcamp and accelerator program. The FT x Cardano Blockchain Challenge is a collaboration between Cardano’s Project Catalyst, a community and…
VeelPay, a new fintech platform, is expected to launch soon to enable rapid money transfers from anywhere to anywhere in the world using cutting-edge encryption technology. The platform, which has been in stealth mode for some time, aims to allow users to send and receive money, store funds, pay bills via credit card or M-Pesa,…
Cape Town, South Africa, 4 May 2022 – The reality of today’s world is that employees are more mobile than ever, which means that their data is spread across more environments than ever before. Hybrid work is now cemented as the forever work style for many South African businesses, but with that flexibility comes a new…
The Financial Times (FT) has published its first annual ranking of Africa’s fastest-growing companies. In the twenty-first century global economy, the list covers companies that are forward-thinking, cutting-edge, and fast expanding. According to the report, South Africa has the most companies in the ranking, with 24, followed by Nigeria (20) and Kenya (14). (9). These…
Norebase, an African trade technology company that has built a single platform for firms to start, scale, and operate in any African country, has received $1 million in pre-seed funding from Samurai Incubate and Consonance Investment. Sahil Lavingia (Gumroad) and Kinfolk VC also contributed to the money. Future Africa, Ventures Platform, Microtraction, Boleh Venture, Voltron…
Phindor, a Kenyan startup, has released a next-generation shop assistant system that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to support local companies with record administration, data collection, and storage. Phindor originated as a website that helped customers find and compare prices for school supplies, but in 2018 it shifted its focus to data management and analysis. “We…
The Baobab Network, a Nairobi-based accelerator that invests in early-stage software firms across Africa, has announced its next cohort of five investees, each of which will receive US$25,000. After making five more investments as part of a new model, the Baobab Network has been propelling companies with capacity building and fundraising since 2019. It now…
Two years after abandoning its blockchain endeavor, The Open Network (TON) foundation has announced that users would be able to send crypto payments on Telegram. Telegram’s cryptocurrency operation was shut down when the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States put too much pressure on the company, according to The Verge (SEC). Telegram now…
Ecobank Commercial Banking has launched the Ellevate Leadership Training Program in collaboration with the Global Business School Network (GBSN). The program is part of ‘Ellevate Equip,’ the brand name for all capability and training support initiatives for Ellevate by Ecobank, the bank’s gender financing program. Ellevate is a multi-award-winning solution for women-owned and managed businesses,…
On International Girls in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Day, the African Development Bank’s Coding for Employment program announced that half of its initial training seats will be reserved for women candidates. The Coding for Employment program, which provides African youth with the digital skills they need to participate effectively to the global digital economy,…
Before being able to access Instagram, users are now required to enter their date of birth. The shift comes more than eight months after Instagram declared its intention to make age verification essential on its site and began requiring users to enter their birthday information. The main goal of the upgrade is to limit access…
As the billionaire entrepreneur tries to expand Twitter Inc’s reach from “niche” to most Americans, Elon Musk said on Tuesday that casual users will always be free, but commercial and government users may be charged a small fee. “Twitter will always be free for casual users,” Musk wrote in a tweet, “but there may be…
In order to focus on low-end devices, Google began building lightweight Android apps that could run on handsets with minimal RAM and storage, which are commonly found in emerging economies. Google Go, Maps Go, Gallery Go, Google Assistant Go, YouTube Go, Gmail Go, Gboard Go, and Files Go are among the Android Go Apps. These…
Seven entrepreneurs have graduated from the newest Founder Institute Ghana program, which culminated in a virtual graduation ceremony with a pitch to mentors, investors, business leaders, and former graduates from around the world. The Founder Institute, which is based in Palo Alto, California, and was founded in 2009 by Adeo Ressi and Jonathan Greechan, connects…
Khazna, an Egyptian financial super app that provides underprivileged people and microbusinesses with simple, technology-driven financial services, has announced that it has received final clearance from the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) to launch its Khazna Card in conjunction with ADIB Egypt. Khazna was launched in 2020 as an earned wage access product, but it…
Lynk, a Nigerian home concierge services scheduling platform, has expanded to Kenya, with its entry aided by its acquisition of Lynk, a software business that connects unemployed people to job possibilities. Eden Life, a subscription service that delivers high-quality chef-cooked meals, laundry services, and home cleaning, was launched in Nigeria in 2019 with the goal…
Merchants using Zapper’s platform will soon be able to take tap-on-phone payments, according to the company. Zapper is a South African independent mobile payments, insights, loyalty, and rewards platform. The new feature allows them to accept practically all digital payments without the need for any additional point-of-sale hardware and regardless of whether or not customers…
Startups with creative solutions that assist tackle the ocean’s overexploitation, pollution, or climate change concerns are encouraged to apply for the OceanHub Africa accelerator program’s third cohort. OceanHub Africa, based in Cape Town, has supported 16 African ocean-focused startups in various sectors of the Blue Economy, including aquaculture, fisheries, shipbuilding, marine renewables and biotechnologies, coastal…
Hello Tractor, a Nigerian tractor-booking website, has received $1 million in funding from Heifer International to give tractor loans that may be repaid with cash generated by leasing the tractors to local farmers. The “Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) Tractor Financing for Increased Agricultural Productivity in Nigeria” program has already enabled tractor purchases in Nasarrawa, Abuja, and Enugu…
Telegram, a privacy-focused messaging platform, is attempting to entice you to dig further into your wallets with a new Premium app. Telegram already has monetizable capabilities for large group channels, but the firm is currently developing a premium app. Subscription-based premium stickers, emojis, and reactions are now available. These premium-only stickers and reactions are not…
The commitment of mPharma, a prominent African healthcare technology business, to offering affordable healthcare solutions in Africa has been reiterated. Mr. Gregory Rockson, mPharma’s CEO and Co-Founder, revealed this during the virtual introduction of the company’s impact report on Thursday, April 28, 2022. Mr. Rockson stated at the event that mPharma’s contribution to tackling the…
WhatsApp has been discovered to be testing the ability to display Status updates from the Chats list. Users will be able to rapidly check the statuses of their contacts thanks to the new addition, which is expected to increase the Status feature on the instant messaging service. WhatsApp has also been found working on a…
Android and privacy haven’t always gone hand in hand. The majority of Google’s revenues still come from its data-driven advertising business, which is primarily reliant on user data, much of it acquired directly from Android users. By incorporating a variety of security safeguards and privacy protections into the software, Google now provides its users more…
NALA, a Tanzanian Fintech firm, has partnered with Cellulant, an African Payments Company, to facilitate remittance payments into Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Ghana from the United Kingdom and the United States. Remittances are the second-largest source of foreign resources for Sub-Saharan Africa, after Official Direct Assistance. In 2019, Africa received around $48 billion in…