Many people around the world have had a difficult time as a result of the global pandemic. It’s been a difficult time for individuals involved in art, entertainment, and sports, with the closing of galleries and other public display places and venues. However, a new pioneering concept emerging from Africa has the potential to transform…
The development of Covid-19 and the desire to be safe has forced many businesses to operate in silos, which has hampered effective communication. Most firms now rely primarily on communication technologies to bring together a big number of people who are physically separated. In fact, applications such as Zoom are a major focus. However, as…
CompariSure, a South African business, has raised ZAR15 million (US$980,000) in pre-Series A funding to help it extend the use of its chatbot technology. CompariSure, founded in 2017 by Jonathan Elcock and Matt Kloos, has created a conversational commerce platform that enables businesses to have customized conversations with users at an unlimited scale, powered by…
Microsoft and FedEx made more information about the second phase of their multiyear relationship, which they first announced in 2020, public today. On January 24, the pair announced that they are collaborating to establish a cross-platform “logistics as a service” offering for retailers, merchants, and brands by combining FedEx network analytics with Microsoft Dynamics 365….
There’s a global race to develop the world’s largest, most powerful computers, and Meta (AKA Facebook) is ready to join the fray with the “AI Research SuperCluster,” or RSC. When fully operational, it might be one of the top ten fastest supercomputers in the world, used for the huge number-crunching required for language and computer…
Chimera Capital, an Abu Dhabi-based investment firm, announced the closing of its second venture capital (VC) fund, totaling $10 billion, with the goal of identifying multi-million dollar opportunities in “growth-stage” businesses. The $10 billion funds are managed in collaboration with Alpha Wave Global, formerly Falcon Edge Capital, a major alternative asset manager in the United…
Floatpays, a South African on-demand payment platform, has raised just under $4 million in an oversubscribed seed fundraising round to help it expand across Africa. Floatpays is a digital platform that offers on-demand access to pay, seamless savings functionality, and financial education to enhance employee financial wellness. It was founded in 2019 and is a…
Workers are quitting employment at an alarming rate, resulting in a talent shortage that has corporations around the world scrambling. According to a recent Citrix poll, 40% of 1,000 knowledge professionals in the United States have left or are considering leaving at least one job in the last year. The event has been called “The…
MNT-Halan, an Egyptian fintech startup, has launched a buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) function to its digital ecosystem, which also includes business loans, payments, consumer finance, bill payments, e-commerce, and delivery. The service is powered by Neuron, the company’s proprietary technology. MNT-Halan began as a ride-hailing service for two- and three-wheeler vehicles in 2018, and has since evolved…
Applications are now available for the second cohort of the AUDA-NEPAD Home Grown Solutions Accelerator, which aims to provide hands-on, highly personalized support to developing and mature-stage African healthcare enterprises in order to help them improve and flourish. The African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), in collaboration with Boston Consulting Group and Villgro Africa, is behind…
It is common knowledge that women are underrepresented in the worldwide technology sector. While more women are beginning to create tech professions in a male-dominated field, women still do not receive the same level of visibility as their male counterparts due to this underrepresentation. Being the Public Relations Officer of Zenithchain, a blockchain business requires…
In 2019, a few months after the African Continental Free Trade Deal (AfCFTA) was signed, CcHUB hosted some African tech and creative industry professionals in Kigali, Rwanda, to discuss how the newly signed agreement could benefit the tech and creative ecosystem. Tola Onayemi, a young lawyer from Nigeria, was among the 80 participants from 30…
Uber, the ride-hailing business, has announced the addition of an UberMoto motorbike component to its product offering in Nigeria. The new service, which will launch in Ibadan, is a two-wheeled low-cost alternative and smart mobility option for city dwellers who want to navigate traffic more swiftly and efficiently. Uber Country Manager, Tope Akinwumi, noted in…
The rise of digital banking and e-commerce, fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic, creates an ideal environment for fraudsters and money launderers to perpetrate crimes anonymously. Clive Gungudoo, MoData’s Director of Financial Crimes and Risk Management, presents five key measures that organizations must use to protect their digital customer experience. Clive Gungudoo’s interest is educating and…
BitCo Telecoms, one of South Africa’s major Telecommunications and Internet Service Providers, announces fiscal and market share growth for 2021, as well as plans to expand its national last mile carrier-grade network and geographic coverage to outlying areas and towns in 2022 and beyond. In 2021, BitCo had a great year of company growth, with…
WhatsApp is rumored to be working on a new area called “Community Home,” which will list all groups associated with a specific community and assist users in managing their groups. The modification has not yet been made public. It has, however, been recommended via a new WhatsApp for Android beta version. For the last few…
Oracle, the world’s largest database management firm, launched its first cloud region (a cluster of data centers) in Africa last week, joining other global giants such as Microsoft and Amazon that already operate data centers on the African continent. The opening of the data center in South Africa marks Oracle’s 37th cloud area globally, with…
Orderin, a South African business-to-business (B2B) delivery-as-a-service (DaaS) startup, has raised ZAR71 million (US$4.7 million) in pre-Series B funding to help it scale its infrastructure and improve its last-mile delivery service. Orderin, which was founded in 2013, is one of South Africa’s major on-demand delivery services, providing delivery services for companies such as McDonald’s and…
Apple has been investing heavily in Apple TV+, its own streaming platform that features original movies and TV shows. While Apple TV+ market share increased in 2021, the platform remains well behind its competitors in the United States, with only a 5% market share. According to a JustWatch data obtained by 9to5Mac, Apple TV+ market…
Google Docs is my favorite application. It enables me to swiftly draft documents or make changes to existing ones on the fly, whether I’m on my smartphone or a computer – all you need is a browser and a keyboard. However, Docs has always felt a little short in non-core capabilities, especially when compared to…
The internet of things (IoT) is growing in popularity, with forecasts indicating that around 50 billion IoT devices would be in use worldwide by 2050. This is due to the fact that today’s time-pressed consumers are already turning to technology for more convenience and efficiency in both their personal lives and their home environments. As…
The role of software outsourcing organizations is rapidly evolving from “contract software engineers” to strategic business partners. It has been recognized that offshore software development companies occupy crucial places in today’s corporate business models. Due to the increasing adoption of technologies, there will be a strong demand for blockchain, big data and IoT software developers,…
Many experts lost their jobs after the Covid-19 epidemic struck in 2020. Others reduced their working hours or began working remotely, giving them more opportunity to pursue numerous revenue streams. These factors contributed to a significant increase in the number of startup and small business launches, many of which are still surviving as we approach…
Egyptian fintech Fawry has announced plans to raise 800 million Egyptian rupees (US$51 million) in growth capital through a rights issue to existing shareholders, with the proceeds to fund a new chapter of expansion in both consumer and financial services intended to be used for consumers as well as merchants. Founded in 2008, Fawry is…
WhatsApp is reportedly working to add some new features and functionality. One of the upcoming updates is said to bring additional security to the instant messaging app, while the other will improve the customization of the voice call interface in the app. The former will reportedly add two-step verification to the desktop client in the…
Zanifu, a Kenyan fintech providing micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) access to working capital through short-term equity financing, has raised $1 million in seed funding. The round included the participation of Launch Africa Ventures, Sayani Investments, Saviu Ventures and several angel investors from Kenya and Nigeria, bringing the startup’s total funding to $1.2 million….
ExpandCart, an e-commerce platform for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), has announced the completion of a new $2.7 million fundraising round. The investment was led by Betatron Venture Group, a Hong Kong-based venture capital firm, and included Egypt’s Sawari Ventures and Kuwait’s Agility Ventures. ExpandCart is the Middle East and North Africa’s largest…
Utopia and the World Economic Forum’s new Centre for Urban Transformation have launched a worldwide Urban Innovation Challenge to engage an ecosystem of 800 innovative urban entrepreneurs, investors, and mayors from Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Entrepreneurs who are working on real-world urban tech solutions that help to make the world a better place, enable…
Frain Technologies, a Nigerian developer-tooling business, has raised US$473,000 in pre-seed capital to further invest in its existing products and develop new ones. Frain began in February 2021, when co-founder and CEO Subomi Oluwalana left his job as a backend developer at Nigerian fintech Tangerine Life to establish APIs for the fintech industry. For several…
PAPS, a Senegalese startup, has acquired a pre-Series A fundraising round of US$4.5 million from local and international investors to help it develop its tech-enabled logistics solution across the Francophone African area. PAPS, which debuted in September 2016, provides end-to-end logistics solutions for companies with both physical and online operations. Its technology enables organizations of…