As the digital and physical worlds continue to merge, the internet’s new age — the “metaverse” — is reshaping the fashion industry. Balenciaga is one of the luxury houses leading the charge. The company (known for its embrace of virtual clothing) recently announced plans to establish a business unit dedicated to exploring opportunities in the…
Thanks to cutting-edge 3D printing technology, a new neighborhood near Mombasa, Kenya, will be built in record time. 14Trees, a joint venture between Holcim and CDC Group, the UK’s development finance institution, announced today that it will develop Africa’s largest 3D-printed affordable housing project. The 52-house Mvule Gardens project will be built in Kilifi, Kenya,…
Equinix, Inc. (Nasdaq: EQIX), the world’s digital infrastructure company, today announced its expansion into Africa through its intended acquisition of MainOne a leading West African data center and connectivity solutions provider, with a presence in Nigeria, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. The acquisition is expected to close in Q1 of 2022, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions including…
Flat6Labs, a Cairo-based accelerator program that provides companies with access to funding, mentorship, and other benefits, has introduced nine startups at its most recent demo day. The Flat6Labs Cairo programme, which was launched in 2011 as the first office of the Flat6Labs MENA regional startup accelerator, provides startups with cash funding of up to EGP1.5…
TradeDepot, a B2B e-commerce and embedded finance platform based in Nigeria, has raised US$110 million in an equity and debt Series B funding round to support the delivery of buy-now-pay-later services to five million SME retailers as well as the further expansion of its merchant platform across the continent. TradeDepot, which was founded in 2016,…
Laurin Nabuko Hainy is the co-founder and CEO of FairMoney MFB, Nigeria’s largest digital bank. FairMoney recently announced at its inaugural Investors’ Conference in Lagos that they have disbursed over N71 billion in loans so far in 2021, more than doubling the amount in 2020, in order to drive financial inclusion in Nigeria. Laurin discusses…
Herconomy is leveraging fintech to empower women, from creating a women-focused social media community to planning Africa’s largest financial services platform for women. Women make up half of the world’s population, but they face greater barriers to financial products and services that can improve their well-being and economic empowerment. According to UNCTAD, based on World…
President Hakainde Hichilema declared a “new dawn” for Zambia in his inauguration speech on August 24, 2021. It is critical that this transformation extend to the realm of the internet. According to recent Freedom House and Paradigm Initiative research, digital rights in Zambia suffered under former President Edgar Lungu. Zambians witnessed this during the August…
Firefox Monitor, Mozilla’s password breach detection service, could be used to remove personal information from the Internet in the near future. Firefox Monitor users who want to use the service can sign up for a waitlist. Sign in to your Firefox Monitor account, or create a new one, and then click the join waitlist button…
Consumer data is priceless, especially in today’s rapidly changing business landscape. Gathering customer insights and using them to make well-informed, forward-thinking business decisions is what separates mediocre brands from those that continue to pivot and innovate. By enabling companies to better understand who they are targeting, how and where to reach existing and prospective customers,…
Checking off that gift list this holiday season will look a little different than in previous years. Many shoppers intend to do a significant portion of their holiday shopping online. Digital gift card sales are also expected to rise. However, given the expected increase in digital activity over the holidays, cybercriminals will be making their…
MarketForce, a Kenyan B2B retail and financial services distribution startup, has expanded into five more African markets to grow RejaReja, its retailer’super app’ that allows informal merchants to order and pay for inventory digitally, accept payments for utility bills, and access financing for their businesses. After successful pilot programs, the startup has announced the expansion…
Mastercard and Meta are collaborating to support the digitization and growth of SMEs in the MEA (Middle East and Africa) region by hosting a training webinar with industry experts and a masterclass on how to manage uncertainty with renowned author and academic Nathan Furr, Associate Professor of Strategy at INSEAD. SMEs face numerous challenges, including…
On Monday, Alibaba announced a reorganization of its international and domestic e-commerce businesses, as well as the appointment of a new chief financial officer. The changes come as Alibaba faces multiple headwinds, including increased competition, a slowing economy, and regulatory scrutiny. In order to become more agile and accelerate growth, Alibaba announced the formation of…
Pariti, a Kenya-based community-led marketplace that is building digital infrastructure for startup ecosystems in emerging markets, has raised $2.85 million in seed funding, the company confirmed today to TechCrunch. Harlem Capital, based in the United States, led the round. It is the first deal in Africa for the diversity-focused fund, which raised $134 million for…
BeXel, an Egyptian cloud-based inspection management software company, has raised a six-figure US dollar round of funding in order to expand into Saudi Arabia and other GCC countries. beXel is a SaaS digital cloud-based inspection management software that focuses on industrial services such as energy, oil and gas, and construction. It was founded in early…
The winners of the third edition of the African App Launchpad Cup, aimed at supporting African tech startups in the field of digital applications and game development, have been announced by Egypt’s Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA). ITIDA, the executive arm of Egypt’s Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (MCIT), founded to spearhead the…
Twitter co-founder and CEO Jack Dorsey stepped down earlier this week. He named CTO Parag Agrawal as the company’s new CEO, effective immediately. According to an internal email obtained by The Washington Post, Agrawal, who joined Twitter as an engineer in 2011, has already announced a major reorganization of the company. Twitter also confirmed the…
Adidas Originals has joined a number of other lifestyle brands in entering the metaverse. The company has partnered with two non-fungible tokens (NFTs) players — Bored Ape Yacht Club and Pixel Vaults Punks Comic — as well as crypto investor Gmoney for its metaverse entry. After replacing the official Twitter handle’s profile picture with a…
Living with a disability can mean different things to different people. Faustina Urassa, Programme Officer at Tanzania’s Kilimanjaro Association of Spinal Cord Injury (KASI), sees it as an opportunity to assist others who have lost their ability to walk. Urassa teaches people with spinal cord injuries how to use wheelchairs. “If you have the appropriate…
Payourse, a Lagos-based blockchain startup that develops products and tools to accelerate cryptocurrency adoption in Africa, announced on Wednesday that it has raised $600,000 in pre-seed funding to scale its products, hire more talent, and expand into new markets. Micheal Ugwu, one of Africa’s largest NFT collectors, Flori Ventures, Olumide Soyombo’s Voltron Capital, and Allegory…
Chatbots—artificial intelligence (AI) systems that enable customer engagement via SMS, speech, or chat applications like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp—are becoming a popular way for businesses to interact with their customers. While chatbots are not widely used by businesses in Africa at the moment, a number of African startups are working to expand this AI use…
Carry1st, one of Africa’s leading mobile game publishers, today announced a partnership with PayPal and Chipper Cash, a cross-border payments company recently valued at $2 billion, to enable people across Africa to purchase virtual goods and services online in an easy and secure manner. Following these collaborations, consumers across Africa will be able to purchase…
According to four people familiar with the situation, at least nine US State Department employees’ Apple iPhones were hacked by an unknown assailant using sophisticated spyware developed by Israel-based NSO Group. The hacks, which occurred in the last few months, targeted US officials who were either based in Uganda or focused on issues concerning the…
In September 2021, EMURGO announced the establishment of a $100 million Cardano investment vehicle comprised of two separate entities, EMURGO Africa and EMURGO Ventures, to invest in early startup and growth stage companies focused on developing socially impactful Cardano-powered solutions. The investment thesis of EMURGO Africa is to support the development of three hundred regional…
Square is changing its name to Block as it expands beyond its credit card reader business and focuses on blockchain technology. According to the company, the new name, which will take effect on December 10, “acknowledges the company’s expansion” and “creates an opportunity for further growth.” Block will continue to trade on the New York…
Apple has announced the top apps and games that have helped consumers tap into their passions, explore creative outlets, connect with new people and experiences, and simply have fun for the 2021 App Store Award winners. The winners this year are global developers whose apps and games were chosen by Apple’s worldwide App Store editorial…
Facebook Messenger announced today that it is beginning to test a new “Split Payments” feature that allows users to split the cost of bills and expenses via the app. According to the company, the new feature is a “free and quick” way to manage finances through Messenger. The new feature will be available to US…
Norrsken Foundation, a Swedish coworking space and investment fund, announced the opening of its first entrepreneurship hub outside of Scandinavia in Rwanda in 2019. The center, which is located in Kigali, has finally opened to the region, though it is being done in two stages. The first event, held yesterday, will host 250 entrepreneurs. The…
BadgerDAO, a DeFi protocol, has been the victim of a large hack. The protocol’s users were robbed of $120.3 million, according to security researchers PeckShield. BadgerDAO is a DeFi protocol aimed at increasing bitcoin yield. The idea is to wrap your bitcoin and transfer it to a smart contract platform like Ethereum, which you can…