BlackPay

BlackPay, South African Fintech Startup Arrives to Rescue Marginalised Communities

ByTechTrends

BlackPay, a South African fintech startup, describes itself as a “no-frills, non-banking” multi-product platform that promotes financial inclusion for economically active but marginalized communities. BlackPay, founded in 2017, operates a multi-product and multi-party platform that simplifies origination services in lending products and financial services. Using its developed alternative credit scoring technology, the startup has created…

Africa Tech Summit

Africa Tech Summit Announces Leading Startups That are Eligible to Pitch Live

ByTechTrends

The Africa Tech Summit has announced the final shortlist of startups that will pitch live on stage to delegates at the sold-out Africa Tech Summit, which will take place this week in Nairobi on February 23rd and 24th. Pitch Live has received over 300 submissions and aims to showcase leading startup ventures from across the…

Truth Social

Donald Trump’s Truth Social App is Ready for Launch This Week

ByTechTrends

Truth Social, Donald Trump’s new social media platform, is set to launch gradually this week and should be “fully operational” by late March, potentially raising the former president’s profile more than a year after he was banned from major social media platforms. “We will begin to roll out to people on the Apple App store…

Mixed Reality

“Mixed Reality Is Still a Few Years Away,” Meta

ByTechTrends

Technology that merges the virtual and physical worlds could become a reality for consumers in a few years, according to Facebook owner Meta Platforms, who provided more details on its vision for the creation of the metaverse. A person wearing an MR headset may be able to use a real-world object to trigger a virtual-world…

Snapchat Live Location Sharing

Snapchat Rolls Out Live Location Sharing to Help Users Inform Friends About Their Real-Time Location

ByTechTrends

Snapchat launched Temporary Live Location on Friday, allowing users to share their current location with friends. The new feature, which is now available to all Snapchat users worldwide, will allow users to share their real-time whereabouts with friends to let them know when they are on their way to meet up or when they are…

5G network NCC

Nigeria Federal Government Entrusts 3.5HZ Spectrum of the 5G network to NCC

ByTechTrends

The Nigeria Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, formally handed over the 3.5HZ spectrum of the fifth-generation (5G) network to the Nigeria Communications Commission on Thursday, February 17, 2022, at an event held at the Hilton Hotel in Abuja (NCC). “We are here today to officially allocate the 3.5GHz frequency band, specifically 3.52GHz…

Flutterwave
|

Flutterwave launches new product offerings and features after Series D funding

ByTechTrends

Flutterwave, a Nigerian fintech unicorn, has unveiled new product offerings and features for individuals, business owners, and developers just two days after raising $250 million in Series D funding. This announcement was made on the company’s official social media accounts. Flutterwave CEO Olugbenga Agboola stated in a video announcement that Flutterwave is opening up a…

Snapchat

Snapchat Users can now Change Their Username

ByTechTrends

Snapchat users will soon be able to change their usernames on the photo- and video-sharing platform. Beginning February 23, the much-anticipated functionality will be available on both Android and iOS devices. Snapchat users can now delete their original usernames without having to create an entirely new account. The company confirmed that changing users’ usernames will…

Freterium

Freterium, a Moroccan logistics startup, acquires $4 million in a seed round

ByTechTrends

Freterium, a Moroccan startup, has received $4 million in seed funding to help it grow and serve more businesses in Africa and the Middle East. Partech led the round, which also included Y Combinator (Freterium was a part of the S21 cohort), Flexport, CDG Invest, Swiss Founders Fund, Outlierz Ventures, and business angels from the…

Wasla
|

Egyptian e-commerce startup, Wasla secures $9 million

ByTechTrends

Wasla, an Egyptian ecommerce startup, has received a $9 million investment from Contact Financial Holding, the country’s largest non-bank financial services provider. Contact will invest up to $9 million in Wasla’s product rollout and regional expansion, with the goal of realizing the startup’s vision of enabling e-commerce, payments, and credit for a broad audience in…

Twitter Pinned Conversations

Twitter Rolls Out Pinned Conversations Feature to DMs

ByTechTrends

Twitter has added a pinned conversations feature to its Direct Messages (DM) service for iOS, Android, and the Web, allowing users to pin conversations to the top of their inbox. Even if newer messages from other chats arrive, pinning conversations keeps them at the top of the chat list. The feature was previously available as…

BimaLab

BimaLab, Insurtech-focused accelerator programme launches in Nigeria

ByTechTrends

FSD Africa and Nigeria’s National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) have collaborated to launch BimaLab, an accelerator program designed to accelerate the development and adoption of digital insurance solutions. BimaLab Nigeria’s mission is to fill gaps in the insurance market by educating, nurturing, and promoting innovators and insurtech startups. The program will draw on Kenya’s BimaLab I…

Earnipay
|

Earnipay, a Nigerian fintech startup, raises $4 million in venture funding for expansion

ByTechTrends

Earnipay, a Nigerian fintech firm that provides flexible and on-demand salary access to income earners, has raised US$4 million in seed funding to expand its product. The seed round is led by Canaan Ventures, with participation from XYZ Ventures, Village Global, Musha Ventures, Ventures Platform, Voltron Capital, and Paystack CEO Shola Akinlade. Nonso Onwuzulike founded…

Meeula

Meeula, a Nigerian startup, has launched a smart business card solution

ByTechTrends

Meeula, a Nigerian startup, has launched a smart lead-generating business card to assist corporate professionals, entrepreneurs, and business owners in more effectively networking. Meeula, which was founded in May 2021, allows users to exchange contacts at events, conferences, meetings, or meetups with a single tap. “Instead of ordering paper cards over and over again, professionals…

Createch Accelerator Programme
| |

Nigeria’s CcHub Unveils Createch Accelerator Programme

ByTechTrends

  The Createch Accelerator focuses on businesses that employ innovation or technology to improve value chains in Africa’s creative industries or to address market problems in these value chains. The program’s goal is to provide knowledge, networks, and assistance to companies operating at the interface of technology and creativity, allowing them to accelerate their route…

binance
|

Popular Cryptocurrency Exchange, Binance Will Invest $200 Million in Forbes, a US Media Firm

ByTechTrends

“Binance,” one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges,” is reportedly investing $200 million in the company as it prepares to go public via a special purpose acquisition company, according to Forbes (SPAC). Binance’s investment will replace half of the $400 million in private placement commitments made by Forbes and Magnum Opus Acquisition Limited, the world’s…

Marsha Wulff
|

LoftyInc Capital Management, Nigerian VC firm made up to 65 African investments in 2021

ByTechTrends

  LoftyInc Capital Management is a venture capital business with the goal of “creating an ecosystem of Africans investing in Africans solving African problems.” The business announced the first closing of its US$10 million LoftyInc Afropreneurs Fund 3 (LAF3) in September, as it ramped up its participation in the African startup area. This followed after…

Working From Home

7 Tech Upgrades to Enhance Your Productivity When You’re Working From Home

ByTechTrends

Working from home is enjoyable and relaxing. However, it becomes a nightmare when you have a slew of tasks to complete and you’re devoting more than eight hours of your day to doing them all. Fortunately, some readily available technological upgrades can increase your productivity and allow you to complete more work in less time….

debt financing

African startups are now leveraging debt financing to fuel growth with $700m raised in 2021

ByTechTrends

According to Partech’s report on venture capital funding in Africa, 37 African tech startups raised a total of $767 million in 43 debt rounds last year, indicating the rise of the debt funding class and increasing global lender confidence in African tech. According to the report, “Africa’s tech ecosystem has set its sights on another…

Paratus

Paratus is ready to start operations with the Namibia landing station

ByTechTrends

Paratus announced in February that it had reached an agreement with Google to be the landing partner for the Equiano cable in Namibia. The agreement includes the construction and management of a cable landing station for the Equiano subsea cable in Swakopmund. Paratus has already completed the construction and is on track with its aggressive…

Gozem

West African super app Gozem is live in Cameroon

ByTechTrends

Gozem, the super app that is already available in Lome, Cotonou, Libreville, and other West African cities, has announced the launch of its taxi booking service in Douala, Cameroon. Gozem, a taxi-hailing service launched in Togo in November 2018, now operates in 12 cities across Togo, Benin, Gabon, and Cameroon, with over one million downloads…

CrowdForce

Nigerian agency banking startup CrowdForce secures $3.6m in pre Series A round

ByTechTrends

CrowdForce, a Y Combinator-backed agency banking platform based in Nigeria, has raised a US$3.6 million pre-Series A funding round to triple its PayForce agent network this year in order to expand its financial service offerings to underserved Nigerian communities. CrowdForce was born in 2018 as a result of a pivot and rebranding by Oluwatomi Ayorinde…

Flutterwave

Flutterwave completes $250m Series D with valuation at over $3bn

ByTechTrends

Flutterwave, a Nigeria-based fintech company, has raised $250 million in Series D funding, its single-largest investment to date, valuing the company at more than $3 billion. B Capital Group led the investment, which included new investors Alta Park Capital, Whale Rock Capital, and Lux Capital, as well as existing investors Glynn Capital, Avenir Growth, Tiger…

Web 3.0
|

Everything You Should Know About Web 3.0

ByTechTrends

As the CEO of SaaS Partners, I have a front-row seat to the latest in technology. We advise and collaborate with the world’s best startups to help them leverage technology to optimize their operations and achieve serious scale. I can’t think of a single conversation I’ve had with a tech founder in the last year…

Digital Africa

Digital Africa is ready to assist African startups with $79m

ByTechTrends

Digital Africa, a French government-supported organization that helps African tech startups, has announced that it will provide 70 million euros ($79 million) in seed and Series A funding by 2025. In a press conference, the initiative’s executive director, Stephan Eloise-Gras, stated that Digital Africa aims to fund 200 African startups with seed funding ranging from…

DigsConnect

SA student accommodation marketplace DigsConnect now has over 1m listed beds

ByTechTrends

DigsConnect, a South African student accommodation marketplace, now has over one million listed beds. The DigsConnect platform, launched in 2018 by Alexandria Procter and Greg Ramsay-Keal, allows landlords, estate agents, and property managers to post their property listings, with students then searching and filtering through these listings to find accommodation that meets their needs, as…