African Development Fund

The African Development Fund approves a $14.2 million grant to promote a financial digitalization initiative

ByTechTrends

Malawi’s government and the African Development Fund (ADF) have agreed to a $14.2 million grant to improve infrastructure and create a more efficient and transparent digital payment system. The Bank Group’s concessional financing window, ADF, will provide funding for the December-approved Support for Digitalization, Financial Inclusion, and Competitiveness (DFIC) project. “The DFIC project is aligned…

Huawei

South African Authorities Take Huawei to Court Over Hiring Mostly Foreign Workers

ByTechTrends

South Africa has asked a court to fine Huawei Technologies’ local unit for violating hiring rules and to order the company to change its practices, the labor department announced on Friday. According to the department, approximately 90 percent of the company’s employees were foreign nationals, in violation of “employment equity” regulations that impose a 40…

financial management

6 must-have financial management apps for business owners

ByTechTrends

Financial management no longer entails poring over blotchy ledgers. Even the tried-and-true spreadsheet has become obsolete. Instead, there are a plethora of useful tools and apps that can manage the majority of your company’s finances with the click of a button – and in some cases, automatically – without you having to do anything. Competition…

WhatsApp is releasing a new voice calling interface for Android beta testers

WhatsApp is releasing a new voice calling interface for Android beta testers

ByTechTrends

WhatsApp has begun to roll out a new voice call interface. The most recent rollout is only available to a limited number of Android beta testers. Waveforms for group voice calls are also stored on the device. In addition to the updated voice call interface in the new beta release, WhatsApp has been spotted working…

Twitter

Twitter is back online after a software glitch knocked out service

ByTechTrends

Twitter said on Friday that it had fixed a software bug in its microblogging website that had caused service disruptions for thousands of its users. Twitter had previously stated on its status page that it was experiencing an increase in the number of application programming interface errors, which are a set of protocols for developing…

Nawah Scientific

Egyptian e-health startup Nawah Scientific raises funding Cairo Angels Syndicate Fund

ByTechTrends

Nawah Scientific, an Egyptian life sciences and biotech startup, has received funding from the Cairo Angels Syndicate Fund (CASF) as part of its ongoing Series A round. Nawah Scientific, which was founded in 2015, is an online platform that receives experiment requests, collects samples, conducts tests, and digitally returns results. Its goal is to allow…

Mdundo is looking for more telco partnerships after seeing an increase in music streaming revenue from Tanzania and Nigeria deals

Mdundo is looking for more telco partnerships after seeing an increase in music streaming revenue from Tanzania and Nigeria deals

ByTechTrends

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

YouTube Ready for Web3 Move, Plans Foray into NFTs and Metaverse Despite Aiming to Go Carbon-Free

ByTechTrends

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…

Acronis

Acronis Launches Its First Cloud Data Center in Nigeria

ByTechTrends

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…

digital currency

Following Zambia, Kenya is investigating the possibility of a digital currency

ByTechTrends

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

Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange, will invest $200 million in Forbes

ByTechTrends

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…

TikTok

Report: TikTok Shares Your Data Compared to Any Other Social Media App

ByTechTrends

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,…

Lamin Darboe, co-founder and CEO of Bantaba

Lamin Darboe of Bantaba is set to assist African startups tap into diaspora wealth

ByTechTrends

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

Mr. Green Africa, Kenyan recycling startup completes latest round of funding

ByTechTrends

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 Hustle Academy

Google Hustle Academy is planning to train 5,000 SMEs across Africa

ByTechTrends

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…

Lagos Ride

Government launches ride hailing service, ‘Lagos Ride’

ByTechTrends

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…

Kalibotics

How Kalibotics is using robotics to improve edtech, agritech, e-waste management

ByTechTrends

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

AVEVA Will Showcase Path To Digitalization And Net-Zero For Energy Companies At EGYPS 2022

ByTechTrends

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

Mecho Autotech, Nigerian startup secures $2.15m seed funding

ByTechTrends

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
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SendChamp, a Nigerian’s startup is helping businesses reach customers via different means

ByTechTrends

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

Application open for Visa’s Everywhere Initiative (VEI) Programme

ByTechTrends

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…

ParkUpp

Docklands Ventures acquires South African startup, ParkUpp

ByTechTrends

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

Google announces 2-Step Verification auto enrollments to protect internet users

ByTechTrends

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

Prices of Bitcoin and Ether fall slightly as bearish investors manage to hold back the most popular altcoins

ByTechTrends

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…

Instagram

Instagram Adds Bulk Delete Capabilities and a slew of New Account Controls

ByTechTrends

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

BasiGo receives $4.3 million in seed funding to accelerate mass transit EV adoption in Kenya

ByTechTrends

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…

Thndr

App for Egyptian investment Tiger Global, Prosus Ventures, and others invest $20 million in Thndr.

ByTechTrends

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…

fintech startups

Around 50% of $2bn African tech fund raised in 2021 went to fintech startups

ByTechTrends

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…

STEM education

U.S. Consulate supports STEM education, launches Drone Soccer Competition in Lagos

ByTechTrends

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….

Nokia

Pius Ang’asa Emerges as Nokia’s Country Manager

ByTechTrends

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…