The Kigali International Financial Centre (KIFC) has announced the establishment of Africa’s first and only Fintech Fund, with a capitalization of $50 million. The fund, which is backed by MyGrowthFund Venture Partners, will focus on African fintech startups with proven technology. With the establishment of the fund in KIFC, African investments in the fintech sector…
Meta’s plan to discontinue its low-cost Express Wi-Fi internet, which was launched five years ago to drive connectivity in underserved regions, has had the greatest impact on countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Meta (formerly Facebook) quietly issued this notice, stating that the program will be phased out later this year. However, in countries such as Kenya,…
Afya Rekod, a Kenyan e-health startup, has closed a US$2 million seed round to help it scale across the continent. Afya Rekod, which will be launched in April 2020, is a health data platform that allows both patients and health facilities to capture, store, and access the mobility of patients’ health data. In five countries,…
App for Ugandan moto-taxi With the addition of several new services to its offering, SafeBoda has become the latest startup in the African mobility space to transition toward becoming a multi-purpose “super app.” SafeBoda, which began in Kampala, connects passengers with motorcycle taxi drivers while also providing additional financial services. In 2018, the startup expanded…
The African Coding Network is now accepting applications for its professional certificate programs, which will begin in 2022 in collaboration with Grow with Google and Facebook (Meta) Blueprint. The professional certificate programs last 3-6 months and are entirely online. You can learn from anywhere, at your own pace, with assistance from the African Coding Network…
South African startup Carscan, a leading AI and AR app active in the auto-insurance space, Augmented reality app, has raised a ZAR20 million (US$1.3 million) follow-on funding round to help it further expand operations. Carscan is an augmented reality (AR) app with embedded artificial intelligence (AI) that generates an accurate, dependable, agnostic, comprehensive, and traceable…
WhatsApp is reportedly testing a feature for its desktop app that allows it to continue playing voice notes even when users switch to another chat. Last month, WhatsApp beta users on iOS were the first to notice the feature. The disappearing messages feature of the instant messaging service has been spotted with a new functionality…
There’s no denying that the pandemic has fueled global growth in healthtech over the last three years. The event has accelerated the use of telemedicine, virtual care, and drug delivery, which has piqued the interest of investors in the sector. Large sums of money have also been invested in growth-stage startups in Africa. Reliance Health,…
Africa’s data center market is expected to attract billions of dollars in investment as the continent’s internet economy grows. According to new data, the African and Middle Eastern data center market received $6.55 billion in investments in 2021 and will receive an additional $12.19 billion by 2027, with the continent receiving half of that amount….
Biometrics are increasingly being used in corporate and governmental security systems, as well as consumer devices. According to Research and Markets, a market research firm based in the United States, the global biometrics market is expected to grow from $17 billion in 2018 to $76 billion by 2027. For a variety of reasons, an increasing…
Microsoft has detailed its plans for Windows 11 testing throughout 2022, following the announcement last week that the operating system will receive a larger-than-usual update in February, including Android apps, taskbar improvements, and other features. According to The Verge, the software company intends to experiment more with features for Windows 11 testers to evaluate that…
Instagram announced on Friday that its ‘Take a Break’ feature is now available in all countries, including India. The feature allows users to set up reminders to take a break from scrolling after a certain amount of time and can be enabled or disabled by all service users. Take a Break will be added to…
InstaDeep, a Tunisian artificial intelligence startup, has closed a $100 million Series B funding round led by Alpha Intelligence Capital and CDIB Capital International. BioNTech, Chimera Abu Dhabi, DB Digital Ventures, Google, G42, and Synergie also participated in the funding round. InstaDeep specializes in decision-making AI systems and intends to use the funds to hire…
The education technology space has reached new heights with the release of the Afrilearn Mobile App, which is now freely available to Primary and Secondary School students across Nigeria and beyond. This was stated in a statement issued by Afrilearn on Wednesday, February 3, 2022. Afrilearn, founded in 2019, provides free, fun, and world-class education…
2021 was the best year on record for African tech startup funding, with more startups raising more money from more investors than in any previous year. However, that capital is increasingly being directed toward the “big four” African markets of Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa, and Kenya. According to the seventh edition of Disrupt Africa’s African Tech…
Because we have no other option, South Africans have grown accustomed to dealing with crime. Various sources rank South Africa near the top of lists of countries with the highest crime rates in the world. If you are a South African or live in South Africa, you most likely take a variety of precautions at…
Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan launched a new national identity project in August 2014. The new e-ID card was billed as the “super app” of civil registers and traditional ID cards, combining digitally verifiable identification with the ability to make electronic payments and even withdraw cash from ATMs. To cut a long story short, it…
Oracle, a cloud computing company, has launched a ZAR15 million (US$982,000) program to assist African startups in various industries in implementing the latest digital technologies to drive business growth. Over the next two years, the multinational cloud computing company, led by Oracle for Startups, will provide additional resources and support to technology startups across Africa….
Greycroft and Tiger Global, two American venture capital firms, led a $15 million Series A funding round for Nigerian investment platform Bamboo, which allows Nigerians to buy and sell US equities in real time via their mobile computers or phones. Motley Fool Ventures, Saison Capital, Chrysalis Capital, and Y-Michael Combinator’s Seibel all participated in the…
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has restricted the accounts of 281 Nigerian customers. Changpeng Zhao, the company’s CEO, cited the need to comply with international money laundering regulations in order to ensure the platform’s security for traders. Changpeng Zhao stated in a letter to Nigerian customers on January 29 that the decision to block…
The world’s first hydrogen-powered flying boat, the ‘Jet ZeroEmission,’ is set to be built and launched in Dubai. L’Hydroptère’s futuristic-looking boat will have cutting-edge characteristics and technology and can carry up to 12 passengers at a time. The eco-friendly vessel produces no waves, emits no noise, and appears to ‘fly’ 80cm above the water at…
Lami, an insurance technology company, has announced the acquisition of Bluewave Insurance Agency, a Nairobi-based insurtech firm, for an undisclosed sum, allowing it to reach Africa’s underserved population and fill the existing insurance gap. Lami will continue its goal of democratizing insurance goods and services for low-income Africans by providing users with accessible and affordable…
The Nigerian educational system leaves a lot to be desired. The problems range from a lack of funding and infrastructure to a scarcity of qualified teachers. Despite the fact that primary education is officially free and compulsory in Nigeria, approximately 10.5 million children are not enrolled. In 2021, education received only N742.5 billion, or 5.6…
Facebook’s parent company, Meta, reported a bleak mix of a larger-than-expected drop in profit, a drop in users, and threats to its ad business on Wednesday, sending shares down 22 percent in after-hours trading. Already, jittery markets have punished pandemic-era darlings such as Netflix for disappointing results, and Meta has had a taste of that…
BitPowr, a Nigerian startup, has begun operations, offering blockchain API, wallet, and digital asset infrastructure to businesses. BitPowr, a stealth startup founded in early 2021, provides infrastructure for businesses and organizations looking to create, manage, and secure their crypto wallets on the blockchain network. The startup provides a wallet API – a full-suite wallet management…
Ndovu, a wealth-tech startup that provides customers with instant access to global financial markets, officially launched its product suite in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital city, on Wednesday, joining Africa’s nascent wealth-tech industry. The company stated that it began operations in Kenya after realizing the market access challenges and high management costs of current investment alternatives in…
Coupin, an online platform that connects deal seekers with merchants and businesses who have great discounts, deals and promotional campaigns, has finally launched its operations. Coupin, AppLeap Limited’s first product, started full operations on the 1st of November in Lagos, Nigeria. This is off the back of an earlier initial pilot launch which was done…
Globally, cryptocurrency industry funding has been increasing rapidly in recent years. Crypto startups raised more than $27 billion in venture capital last year alone, which is slightly more than the previous ten years combined. Moreover, despite a drop in the price of cryptocurrencies, American venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto arm launched a $2.2 billion…
It is well known that ransomware attacks are on the rise, and businesses must be realistic about what this means for their security. In recent years, the number of entry points into IT systems that attackers can exploit has increased dramatically. According to the FBI, cybercrime has increased by 300 percent during the pandemic as…
According to Bloomberg News, Ford Motor is planning an additional $20 billion investment in the development of electric vehicles. According to the report, which cited people familiar with the plan, the $10 billion to $20 billion investment will be spread out over the next five to ten years and will include converting its current factories…