Technological offerings are critical to global growth, including African growth. These advancements have enabled many countries to achieve solutions that would not have been possible even 20 years, let alone 5 years ago. Individuals and industries alike have witnessed and continue to witness a massive paradigm shift, particularly in terms of the availability of technologies…
General Motors, Alphabet’s Google, and its self-driving auto-technology company Waymo joined the list of companies that will no longer attend the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in person early next month due to rising COVID-19 infections on Thursday. GM CEO Mary Barra was scheduled to deliver the keynote address at the annual conference on January 5,…
In March, the Sankalp Africa Summit, which focuses on entrepreneurship and impact investing, will hold its ninth edition in Nairobi, Kenya. The Sankalp Africa Summit, scheduled for March 1-4, will be a hybrid event with two days of virtual and two days of in-person content, with over 2,500 delegates from 90 countries expected to attend….
Telegram recently announced new features for iOS users, including Live Text support and media captions formatting. The instant messaging platform is now working on a message reactions feature that will allow users to express their emotions in response to messages received on the app. Users in the beta version of Telegram for iOS can respond…
Shopa, a Ghanaian retail digital startup, claims to be “redefining” the informal retail distribution and supply chain by connecting last-mile sellers with suppliers and enabling cash or credit access to stock. Shopa was founded in August 2020 in response to challenges faced by informal retailers in their restocking process and their inability to obtain credit….
Many people are now looking for love on dating apps like Tinder and Bumble, and the majority of them end up exhausted or burned out as a result. As a result, a few of the industry’s newest matchmakers have chosen to take matters into their own hands. They’re using Twitter and TikTok, as well as…
Given the realities of recent years, the majority of work is now done from home. All businesses that allow you to work from home on your personal devices have switched to a remote work format. When working from home, you are more likely to use devices for which no company service has been provided, as…
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have created quite a stir throughout 2021, quickly transitioning from something obscure and nerdy to one of the most desired items of digital consumerism, with global searches for the term “NFT” appearing to have surpassed those for “Crypto” for the first time, according to Google Trends. While the crypto market has seen…
Aircart, a Kenyan startup, has launched an online platform that allows users to sell any digital product using smart links. Aircart, like international platforms like Gumroad, is a storefront for digital content producers, allowing users to upload a product, select their preferred payment method, and immediately receive a shareable link from which they can directly…
Agbora, pronounced /uhbôruh/, has just released its first version on Apple’s App Store, with Android versions on the way. The mobile application, also known as “Africa’s Social Network,” is a social networking app that aims to connect Africa, the African diaspora, and people from all over the world through a platform where professionals, influencers, talents,…
Titan Trust Bank Limited (TTB), one of Nigeria’s fastest-growing and most customer-focused financial service providers, has purchased Union Bank of Nigeria Plc. Union Global Partners Limited, Atlas Mara Limited, and other majority shareholders agreed to sell their 88.39 percent stake in Union Bank to Titan Trust Bank. In a notification to the Nigerian Exchange Limited…
The Federal Government of Nigeria has replaced the outdated National Identification Number, NIN slip, and polycarbonate card with a suite of digital tokens. According to TechEconomy.ng, the Digital Token was created to replace the 11-digit NIN for all purposes. According to the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), the card ID is no longer required with…
Coca-Cola scored a sort of coup in 2010 when they managed massive resource cost savings by using business intelligence for their sales data. The brand was having difficulty integrating data from 74 different bottlers’ databases, which were all different in terms of capabilities and analytical tools and were spread across the country. The company required…
The year 2021 has been an eventful one for businesses all over the world. From major technological advancements to widespread supply chain challenges, the last 12 months have kept business owners and marketers on their toes. And, with no end in sight to the excitement, it’s more important than ever to keep an eye on…
Stranerd, a Nigerian startup, has launched a peer-to-peer learning platform where students can ask and answer homework-related questions, with the service designed to give the brightest students opportunities to help others who may be less skilled in specific subjects. Stranerd began as an Instagram page in 2018, but only recently became a standalone digital product….
Africa’s startup ecosystem rebounded in 2021, bringing in a record $4 billion before the end of the year, reflecting a surge in investor interest in the continent’s rapidly growing tech marketplace. Africa now has seven unicorns, according to Wee Tracker: Jumia, Interswitch, Flutterwave, Andela, Wave, OPay, and Chipper Cash. Five of these have become unicorns…
Blockchain startups from Egypt and Zimbabwe have been invited to apply for the Africa Blockchain Incubation Programme, which aims to foster innovation and creativity in the field of distributed ledger technologies. The Africa Blockchain Incubation Programme seeks ambitious individuals who are forward-thinking, innovative, and have strong computer science backgrounds. Qualified candidates will go through a…
App for making short videos Triller will go public through a reverse merger with video-tech firm SeaChange International, the two companies announced on Wednesday. The combined entity will be worth around $5 billion. The proposed merger has been approved by the boards of both companies, and the transaction is expected to close in the first…
Smart Applications International, Africa’s leading high–tech technology solutions provider, has joined forces with the Kenya Healthcare Federation (KHF), the Health Sector Board of the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA), to promote strategic Public–Private Partnerships aimed at achieving national healthcare access. The collaboration will allow the Kenya Healthcare Federation to have an automated system powered by…
COVID-19 has accelerated the adoption of digital payment platforms by millions of people across Africa. The need for contactless transaction methods transformed what was once a nice-to-have into a requirement. Indeed, while the pandemic has increased the adoption of digital payments across industries, demographics, and payment types on the continent, Africa has been at the…
TikTok is truly unstoppable: the video-sharing platform has surpassed Google to become the most popular website in the world, according to Cloudflare’s 2021 Year in Review internet traffic rankings. TikTok made Cloudflare’s top ten list last year, ranking seventh in popularity behind Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Apple, Netflix, and Amazon’s.coms. Aside from TikTok’s surge to the…
The EdTech sector grew by 30-35 percent in 2020, and it is expected to grow by 20-25 percent by the end of 2021. This is strong evidence that a growing number of people prefer online learning, with paper textbooks and rigid learning plans gradually falling out of favor. Analyze Product Demand One of the major…
Field Intelligence, a Nigerian e-health startup that is digitizing the supply chain and transforming access to essential, life-saving medicine, claims to have saved the Nigerian government US$2 million in losses due to expired medication over the last five years. Field Intelligence, founded in 2015, is the leading pharmaceutical supply chain provider in Nigeria and Kenya,…
Fifteen startups have progressed to the second stage of the E-Track Programme, which is run by UCT GSB Solution Space in collaboration with ayoba. The E-track Program is a three-stage venture acceleration program aimed at high-impact individuals, aspiring entrepreneurs, and experienced founders. The first phase is Venture Launch, which focuses on validating the venture concept;…
As we get closer to Christmas, the crypto market appears to be on its way to a quick recovery following days of constant dips. Bitcoin is currently trading at $51,484 per token on the Indian exchange CoinSwitch Kuber, up 0.80 percent. In recent days, Bitcoin’s low-lying values in India have hovered around $50,000. The world’s…
After experiencing rapid growth, Nigerian startup Get It Done Now, a mobile fintech e-commerce platform where users can access services, loans, and insurance, is expanding to Spain. Get It Done Now, founded in mid-2018 by Alberto Rodriguez and Bode Bamgboye after they met while studying for an MBA at the IE Business School in Madrid,…
Nigeria has moved one step closer to enacting its Nigeria Startup Bill (NSB), which aims to strengthen the country’s technology ecosystem and enable the sector. President Muhammadu Buhari has worked with the Presidency and leaders in the Nigerian technology industry on the bill, which has now been approved by the Federal Executive Council and is…
Collaboration between IT and business is critical for business innovation in the future. The financial benefits, on the other hand, are well worth it. The Collaborative IT-Business Model is an open innovation architecture that aims to create a collaborative network of diverse stakeholders to generate new ideas. IT and business must collaborate to break down…
Planet42, a startup that fights transportation inequality by putting cars in the hands of people who are unfairly ignored by banks, has just announced a $30 million round of equity and debt financing. The $6 million equity round was led by South African conglomerate Naspers, with participation from other existing investors including Bolt founders Martin…
2016 is the year. Idris Marcial Monthe recently completed the Abidjan Founders Institute. Monthe was feeling quite confident after an incredible three months of learning from the best. With little to no experience in the financial sector, he and Daniel Dindji had just launched their payment gateway, CinetPay, in the same year. They met at…