Afrikrea, the Ivory Coast-based e-commerce platform for “all things made in Africa,” has raised US$6.2 million in pre-Series A funding and rebranded as “ANKA.” Afrikrea was founded in 2016 as an online marketplace for selling and buying African-inspired clothing, accessories, arts and crafts, but last year pivoted to become an all-in-one SaaS solution providing a…
Today, many employees who are leaving their jobs are venturing into entrepreneurship. According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, the number of applications for new businesses is higher than ever. Felena Hanson, founder and CEO of coworking space Hera Hub, has seen a 50 percent increase in the number of first-time entrepreneurs using her…
South African startups are invited to apply for the uYilo Electric Mobility Programme, which offers up to ZAR1 million (US$64,000) in funding for projects in the energy storage, vehicle systems, charging infrastructure, and connected car sectors. The national uYilo Electric Mobility Programme, an initiative of the Technology Innovation Agency, a public entity of the Department…
Lemonade, a Nigerian fintech startup, is by no means unique in its ability to help Africans abroad send and receive money to and from their home countries, but the startup believes it has a secret sauce that sets it apart from the competition. Lemonade Finance, founded in 2020 by Ridwan Olalere and Rian Cochran and…
With 2021 behind us, we look forward to an exciting 2022 in the storage market. Cyber resilience, AI, supercharged application and workload performance and availability, and reduced OPEX and CAPEX in today’s hybrid cloud and containerized world – all of these come together to frame the next 12 months. Understanding these enterprise storage trends will…
With another year behind us, it’s time to look ahead to the “top x trends” and “must-have platforms” for the coming year. But let’s separate the money-making trends from the ones that get recycled and reworded. These are the seven strategies, tools, methods, and approaches that online service providers must keep in mind if they…
Former First Lady Melania Trump has announced an NFT auction of one-of-a-kind items commemorating the Trump Administration’s first official state visit. The NFT auction is called ‘The Head of State Collection,’ and it includes three items, including the hat she wore to meet French President Emmanuel Macron. In April 2018, the French president and his…
Orange Ventures has opened applications for its “Seed Challenge – Fintech Egypt,” which will award EUR500,000 (US$570,000) in funding to one company. Orange Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of telecoms firm Orange Group, opened its Orange Digital Centre in Cairo in December and has now launched its fintech seed competition. Seed-stage fintech companies, primarily…
ThankUCash, a Nigerian multi-merchant rewards platform, has raised US$5.3 million in seed funding as it plans to expand into new markets and launch new products. ThankUCash, co-founded in 2018 by Simeon Ononobi, Suraj Supekar, Madonna Ononobi, and Harshal Gandole, offers cashback on purchases and deals from thousands of merchants, assisting merchants in retaining customer loyalty,…
According to an SEC filing signed and submitted on January 6, the anniversary of last year’s domestic attack on the Capitol, the conservative social media platform Parler has raised $20 million in funding. The app, which claims to have more than 16 million registered users, describes its mission as defending “against the authoritarian powers of…
The COVID-19 disease has infected over 290 million people worldwide, claimed over 5 million lives, and pushed millions into extreme poverty. The pandemic has been devastating in every way, and its impact has been felt in Africa as well, where over 9.7 million cases and 228,000 deaths have been reported. However, the magnitude of the…
John Pinette, the head of communications at Facebook parent Meta Platforms, is leaving the company, the social media company announced late Friday. A Meta spokesperson told Reuters in an emailed statement that Chris Norton, vice president of international communications, will fill the role on an interim basis. “Meta has lost John Pinette. We are grateful…
Cameroonians’ new year celebrations have so far coincided with opposition to the Paul Biya administration’s new tax on mobile money transactions. A 0.2 percent tax on money transfers and withdrawals via mobile wallets went into effect on January 1, 2022, as required by the newly enacted 2022 Finance Bill, which President Biya signed last November….
JABU, a Namibian startup with venture capital firm YC backing, has received a $3.2 million investment for its B2B e-commerce and retail operation. Afore Capital led the seed round, which was joined by Y Combinator, FJ Labs, Quiet Capital, Kli Capital, Pareto Capital, and unnamed angel investors. In the mid-2020s, CEO David Akinin founded JABU…
Nigeria has taken another step toward enacting its landmark Nigeria Startup Bill (NSB), which will further deepen the country’s technology ecosystem and enable a sector on the verge of exponential growth. President Muhammadu Buhari has worked with the Presidency and leaders in the Nigerian technology industry on the bill, which has now been approved by…
Sprint, an Egyptian e-commerce logistics startup, has processed one million shipments since its inception in 2019. Sprint offers technology-enabled solutions that enable e-commerce merchants and retailers to benefit from high-value, end-to-end logistics services and solutions. Sprint has processed one million shipments with a success rate of more than 90% over the last two years. More…
For the global cryptocurrency industry, 2021 will be remembered as one of the many years when bitcoin broke through its all-time price high and pushed the sector even closer to mainstream adoption. However, from a regional standpoint, it is arguably the year in which Africa took center stage. From a reported 1,200 percent increase in…
While eCommerce has grown in Africa over the years, online shopping on the continent remains significantly lower than the global average. Only around 35% of Africans shop online. This simply demonstrates that many Africans (approximately 65 percent) continue to rely on retailers and small shop owners for their daily household needs such as groceries, utilities,…
How novel approaches to angel investing are bridging Africa’s massive early-stage funding gap for high-growth ventures. Angel investment in African startups has recently increased rapidly, in tandem with the development of startup ecosystems, which has greatly increased the number of investable opportunities. Early indications of success, such as the emergence of several successful fintech startups,…
According to an Apple App Store listing, former US President Donald Trump’s new media venture plans to launch its social media app Truth Social on February 21. Truth Social, the Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) alternative to Twitter, is now available for pre-order ahead of its launch on Presidents’ Day in the United States….
Denis Mutirithia, a frontline health-care worker at Isiolo County referral hospital, plays a critical role in saving lives – and he now has a new digital tool to help him do so. The pharmaceutical technologist is responsible for forecasting and preventing shortages and stockouts of critical medical supplies such as contraception. If he receives stock…
Bfree, a Nigerian credit management fintech, has launched a global expansion after raising $1.7 million in a pre-Series A round to capitalize on opportunities in emerging markets, where digital lending apps have proliferated. 4Di Capital, Octerra Capital, VestedWorld, Voltron Capital, Logos Ventures, and several other angel investors participated in the latest round, bringing the total…
As the Twitter debates continue, most tech founders and venture capitalists have chosen a side: Web 2.0 or Web 3.0. Web3 proponents believe it is the internet’s future, and that blockchain-based products will completely replace Web 2.0 within the next few years. Web 2.0 stalwarts argue that it’s all just hype spewed by crypto bros…
Fixit45, a Nigerian startup, has launched its one-stop-shop platform for car owners, connecting them with a variety of necessary services. Fixit45’s current iteration was released in July of last year, but the business and model have evolved over the last two years or so. “So, before Fixit45 became a standalone brand with its own set…
Network for Social Entrepreneurship Ashoka and the pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim have opened applications for their Making More Health accelerator program (MMH). Ashoka identifies and supports the world’s leading social entrepreneurs, learns from patterns in their innovations, and mobilizes a global community to embrace these new frameworks in order to create a “everyone a changemaker…
Volaris Group Inc. (Volaris) has acquired Adapt IT Holdings Limited (“Adapt IT”) for R7 per Adapt IT share, effective 3 January 2022. Volaris is a wholly owned subsidiary of Constellation Software Inc., a publicly traded company in Canada. All conditions and regulatory approvals, including those from various competition authorities, the Takeover Regulation Panel, and the…
Africa, with over 700 banks, is one of the world’s most promising untapped banking markets. As incomes rise, the African continent will become a more appealing market for various banking services such as loans, investments, and savings. Consumers, on the other hand, have new preferences and expectations from the banking system, which is changing the…
Aspiring entrepreneurs and innovative startups from Nigeria are encouraged to apply for two new entrepreneurship programs developed by the University of Oxford. The Oxford Foundry, University of Oxford, and FMDQ Private Markets Limited announced a global partnership in July with the goal of fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange between the UK and Nigerian angel investment…
Airbnb, the popular accommodation-booking platform, may start accepting cryptocurrency payments this year. Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky shared a list of customer requests on Twitter, with enabling crypto payments ranking first. Chesky stated in his post that his company is already working on most of the customer suggestions, while promising to investigate others. Recently, a number…
Volvo Cars and self-driving sensor maker Luminar Technologies announced on Wednesday that a hands-free driving system called “Ride Pilot” will be available for the first time in California, though no specific date was given. Volvo intends to use the technology, which will allow the car to fully take over driving tasks in certain limited situations,…