Mdundo, an Africa-focused music streaming service, is counting on more collaborations with telcos across the continent to increase its earnings and user base. Last year, the company signed agreements with MTN and Airtel in Nigeria, as well as Vodacom in Tanzania, which appear to be paying off, as its user base nearly doubled as it…
YouTube is getting ready to jump on the Web3 bandwagon, incorporating elements like non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and the metaverse into its platform, which is reportedly used by over two billion people worldwide. Web3, which will be largely supported by blockchain technology, is regarded as the Internet of the future, bringing with it cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and…
LAGOS, Nigeria, February 10th, 2022 – Today, Acronis, the global leader in cyber protection announced the availability of a new Acronis Cyber Cloud Data Center in Lagos, Nigeria. The new data center, one of the 111 new data centers being deployed by the company, gives service provider partners access to a full range of cyber protection…
Kenya’s central bank has asked the public to share their thoughts on the possibility of adopting a digital currency by May 20th, just one day after it was revealed that Zambia is also testing its viability. Nigeria was the first African country to launch its central bank digital currency (CBDC), dubbed the eNaira, in October…
Binance, a major cryptocurrency exchange, will invest $200 million in Forbes, the media company announced on Thursday, as it prepares to go public through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). Binance’s investment will replace half of the $400 million in private placement commitments already announced by Forbes and SPAC company Magnum Opus Acquisition Limited. Forbes…
YouTube and TikTok, according to a recent study published by mobile marketing company URL Genius, track users’ personal data more than any other social media app. However, while YouTube collects your personal data primarily for the purpose of serving you more relevant ads, TikTok allows third-party trackers to collect your data – “and from there,…
A few months into the coronavirus pandemic, in April 2020, a team of four African-origin students in Sweden—including The Gambia-born Lamin Darboe, who had recently moved to Stockholm to pursue a master’s degree—participated in a climate action challenge organized by the Norrsken Foundation and Stockholm Innovation & Growth (Sting). Though the team, which also included…
Mr. Green Africa, a Kenyan plastics recycling pioneer, has received a significant investment from impact investors and key industry stakeholders in order to scale its business model across the continent. Mr. Green Africa is a circular recycling company that has created a technology-driven plastics collection model that allows waste to be collected at the point…
Google announced today that the newly launched Hustle Academy will provide free training to 5,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurs in Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa. Google Hustle Academy is a bootcamp-style training program designed to assist entrepreneurs and small business owners in positioning their companies for investment opportunities and developing viable business…
In yet another ambitious move to improve the aesthetics of Lagos, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the government of Lagos, has rolled out 1000 new cars to kick-start Lagos Ride, a government-backed ride-hailing service. The new Lagride in Lagos State, 1000 more to join soon. The goal is 5000 taxis. This is commendable ? pic.twitter.com/wHEISunKP9 — OTUNBA ?? (@ManLikeIcey) February 8, 2022 Some…
In 2018, two Nigerian siblings, Olugbenga Abejirin and Mayowa Abejirin, who have technical skills in programming and software development, with the former having over a decade of entrepreneurship experience, seized an opportunity to build and deploy smart classrooms in some Nigerian schools. The project was successful in its early stages until the pandemic struck in…
AVEVA, a global leader in industrial software that drives digital transformation and sustainability, has announced its participation in the Egypt Petroleum Show (EGYPS) 2022, which will be held from February 14-16, 2022 at the Egypt International Exhibition in Cairo. AVEVA will demonstrate its broad portfolio of cutting-edge solutions in Value Chain Optimization and PEMS (Predictive…
Mecho Autotech, a Nigerian vehicle repair and maintenance startup, has raised $2.15 million in seed funding to expand its capacities and acquire more customers. Olusegun Owoade and Ayoola Akinkunmi founded Mecho Autotech in 2021 to provide repair and maintenance services to businesses and consumers through in-house and third-party service capacity that has passed rigorous assessments….
SendChamp, a Nigerian startup, provides communication APIs and customer relationship management tools to developers and businesses, allowing them to reach their customers through various messaging channels. SendChamp was founded by Goodness Kayode and Damilola Olotu with the goal of improving customer relations for both technical and non-technical business owners. The APIs provided by the startup…
Visa has announced its Everywhere Initiative (VEI) program, which is a global open innovation program that will allow fintech and payment startups to showcase their innovative products and solutions. The overall prize money is $100,000, with second and third place winners receiving $20,000 and $10,000, respectively. One winner from each region will be chosen to…
Docklands Ventures has acquired South African startup ParkUpp, a marketplace that connects owners of parking spaces with companies and individuals in need of parking. ParkUpp was founded in 2016 with the goal of improving the parking experience for shopping malls. After realizing that the market was too small, the company pivots in 2018 and launches…
Google has announced the expansion of its two-step verification (2SV) process for log-ins to improve account security after its newly introduced two-step verification initiative saw a 50% drop in account breaches for 150 million Gmail and 2 million YouTube creators accounts under the 2SV initiative. The 2SV introduces the use of mobile phones to confirm…
Bitcoin has been on a steady bull run since February 4, but there appears to be a price ceiling for now, as bears were able to lower the price of Bitcoin further down, around $43,500, after reaching a weekly high of $45,500 early on February 8. The price of the world’s most valuable cryptocurrency has…
As part of its Safer Internet Day initiatives, Instagram has rolled out a set of new features to make it easier for users to remove posts, comments, and other activity from the platform. Users can now delete comments and posts in bulk, review past interactions on their account, and search for content by date with…
BasiGo, a Kenya-based electric vehicle startup, has raised $4.3 million in seed funding three months after establishing operations in East Africa’s largest economy to provide clean-energy mass transit vehicles in a country heavily reliant on fossil-fuel buses. The startup stated that it will use the new funding to establish an assembly plant in Nairobi as…
The MENA region has approximately 400 million people and a $500 billion annual savings. However, because they are a young population, the majority of them have little equity market and investment exposure. Some platforms are attempting to replicate the success of Robinhood in the United States by attracting investors from the region. Thndr, based in…
Africa’s fintech sector is a funding magnet, absorbing nearly half of the continent’s more than $2 billion raised by tech startups. According to the seventh edition of our African Tech Startups Funding Report, which is available free to all as part of an open-sourcing initiative in partnership with Novastar Ventures, MFS Africa, Quona Capital, 4Di Capital, MEST Africa and Future Africa, 564 African…
The US government is committed to supporting programs that promote STEM education and give students opportunities to contribute to Nigeria’s long-term and inclusive economic prosperity. On Saturday, the United States Consulate General in Lagos hosted Africa’s first drone soccer competition in collaboration with the Global Air Drone Academy and the Lagos State Ministry of Education….
Pius Ang’asa has been named Country Manager for Kenya by Nokia. He will serve as the primary interface with local authorities and the government, and he will be in charge of establishing and leading the Country Sales Committee (CSC) to grow Nokia’s business in the country across all customer segments. “Kenya is a key market…
Swvl, an Egyptian mobility company, has raised an additional $21.5 million in private investment in public equity (PIPE) as part of its proposed business combination with Queen’s Gambit, ahead of its future Nasdaq listing. Swvl, founded in 2017 by Mostafa Kandil, is a mass-transit system that allows riders heading in the same direction to share…
ChapChap, a Ugandan fintech startup that creates trustworthy financial profiles for MSMEs, has received funding from Nordic Impact Funds to accelerate its commercial growth and social impact. ChapChap was founded in 2016 by Emmanuel Emodek and James Alituhikya, along with their former primary school teacher Monica Asiimwe Kiconco, with the goal of empowering small and…
According to a person familiar with the matter, Apple acquired AI Music, a startup that uses artificial intelligence to generate tailor-made music, adding technology that could be used across its slate of audio offerings. In recent weeks, AI Music, a London-based company founded in 2016, was purchased. Prior to the acquisition, the company had about…
Cassava Technologies (CassavaTechnologies.com) is pleased to announce the appointment of Tesh Durvasula as the new Chief Executive Officer of Africa Data Centres (ADC) beginning on February 7, 2022. He will be in charge of driving the expansion, innovation, and strategy of Cassava Technologies’ data centers in order to meet Africa’s growing demand for data and…
Adapting Global Products to Local Needs and Preferences | by: Oluwadamilola Ojo In the dynamic and eclectic setting of African Market, the success of every Product Manager lies on how they embrace the needs and preference of local consumers. As a Senior Products Manager at Kromium Health, I stand at the corridor of this challenge building resilient…
There are now so many streaming music services to choose from that it’s difficult to share song links. Sure, you can use Apple Music’s sharing feature to send a link to a song you like to a friend, but this isn’t much help if they don’t have Apple Music. This is where MusicMatch can assist….