All about Business.
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…
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…
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,…
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…
Pipit Global, an international cash payments platform, and Cellulant, a pan-African payments company, have expanded their partnership agreement to include eighteen Sub-Saharan African countries. The companies will provide both B2B and B2C payments services to existing and emerging financial institutions, eCommerce merchants, billers and billing platforms, mobile money providers and eWallets, digital financial service providers,…
Drugstoc is a health-tech startup that offers hospitals and pharmacies a procurement platform for all medications, consumables, and small medical equipment. Chibuzor Opara and Adham Yehia founded the startup in 2017 with the goal of closing the supply chain gap in Nigeria’s medical sector. In November, the company raised $4.4 million in a Series A…
Life is returning to normal as Covid-19 vaccinations become more widespread around the world. However, this is not the world we knew before the pandemic. Because of the long-term nature of this global crisis, customer needs and daily lifestyles have changed. This, in turn, will alter my expectations for the world in 2022 and beyond….
It is difficult to comprehend the impact of technology on businesses and society as a whole. This year’s annual Thoughtworks Looking Glass report attempts to put a wide range of technologies into context so that business leaders can see where technology is leading them. The report examines the impact of 100 current and emerging technologies…
54gene, a Nigerian health technology company advancing African genomics research for improved global health outcomes, has announced the launch of 7RiverLabs, its diagnostic arm. 54gene, founded in 2019, is a research, services, and development company that uses human genetic data from diverse African populations to improve the development, availability, and efficacy of medical products that…
Sympl, Egypt’s first ‘Save Your Money Pay Later’ service, has announced a partnership with El Nada Hospital, Egypt’s leading maternity hospital. Through the Sympl checkout platform, the partnership provides patients with interest-free deferred payment plans. The collaboration will provide El Nada Hospital patients with more payment options and improve their checkout experience by enabling better…
Trueflutter, a dating and matchmaking app for people from emerging markets, is a Nigerian startup that is focusing on the local market and making over 1,000 matches per day. Trueflutter, which was founded in 2018, assists people looking for committed relationships in finding compatible partners who share similar values and backgrounds. “We observed the cultural…
Moove, an African mobility fintech, has opened its first office in East Africa and its sixth on the continent in Nairobi, Kenya, as part of its efforts to expand operations across the continent. This move came after a collaboration with Uber that allowed ride-hailing and delivery drivers to acquire motorbikes for Uber Connect, UberEats deliveries,…
The fourth quarter is drawing to a close, the holiday season has arrived, and Kenyan businesses are closing their books for the year. Transport and logistics, which support many sectors of the Kenyan economy, appear to be on the rise in many ways. The Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) reported a 4.4 percent increase in container…
While some people believe that gold, jewelry, art, wine, or antiques are good long-term investments, a new study challenges that notion and presents a unique and more profitable alternative: Lego sets. Economists from Russia’s Higher School of Economics discovered that the market prices of retired Lego sets sold on the secondary market increase by at…
Wabi, an electronic commerce ecosystem, has launched Wabi2b in Nigeria to digitize traditional trade channels and empower women. Wabi2b, the company’s B2B arm, is a marketplace that allows all FMCG wholesalers and distributors to sell their products directly to retailers and traditional stores. According to a McKinsey report titled “Africa’s Growing Giant: Nigeria’s New Retail…
E-commerce in Africa is rapidly expanding, and its potential remains enormous as more people gain access to the internet. According to the 2021 GSMA mobile economy report, 303 million people, or about 28 percent of the population, are connected to the mobile internet in Sub-Saharan Africa, and this figure is expected to rise to 40…
Despite the continent’s technologically savvy population, financial exclusion remains a problem. However, the challenge of regulatory influence and industry acclimatisation came with the launch of fintech startups. In 2018, a financial expert and tech investor thought it was difficult for fintech startups to integrate with banks — a necessary partnership for the former to successfully…
Alphabet’s Google announced on Wednesday that it will give an additional bonus to its employees worldwide this year, postponing its return-to-office plan. A company spokesperson told Reuters that Google will give all employees, including the company’s extended workforce and interns, a one-time cash bonus of $1,600 or equivalent value in their country this month. The…
Minly, an Egyptian media and entertainment startup, has announced the acquisition of Oulo, a Dubai-based celebrity shoutout platform focusing on the Levant region, as part of its MENA expansion. Minly, which was co-founded last year by Mohamed El-Shinnawy, Tarek Hosny, Bassel El-Toukhy, Tarek ElGanainy, and Ahmed Abass, allows users to purchase personalised video messages and…
Bento, Nigeria’s digital payroll and human resource management platform, is expanding to Ghana, Kenya, and Rwanda, with plans to open offices in six more African markets over the next year. Bento’s next phase of growth will take it to Egypt, South Africa, Uganda, Tanzania, Angola, and Ethiopia by the end of next year. Bento is…
Long before tech startups democratized stock market investing, anyone looking to invest in the stock market needed a substantial amount of money. However, with the entry of startups such as Risevest, Bamboo, and Chaka, this has changed. Nigerians could now buy stocks with as little as $10 (5,000) for the first time. Despite the fact…
According to the latest Sensor Tower report, global consumer spending on apps is expected to reach $133 billion in 2021. This implies a 19.7 percent year-over-year (YoY) increase from $111.1 billion in 2020, nearly matching the 21 percent YoY increase in consumer spending in 2019. TikTok will be the most profitable app in the world…
Conciliating innovation and regulation is perhaps the single most significant source of concern for tech titan leaders and startup founders worldwide. This is more common in Africa, where regulatory cultures frequently stifle innovation. For example, in Nigeria’s fintech space, innovation has accelerated in recent years, with at least three unicorn startups launched during this time…
Over the last year, there have been several changes in the economies and structures of African countries. Due to the COVID-19 epidemic, several people were forced to stay at home and go primarily cashless. Africa’s Fintech stepped in to help, providing Africans with cutting-edge technologies that allowed them to access the best financial services available….
Despite the fact that SMEs contribute significantly to the Nigerian economy and account for 48 percent of the country’s national GDP, as well as 96 percent of businesses and 84 percent of employment, it is still difficult to launch a startup in Nigeria. There are, however, some SME-friendly tools and solutions that can alleviate some…
Twitter announced the acquisition of Slack competitor Quill on Tuesday in order to help the social networking company improve its own messaging tools. The acquisition comes as Twitter recently appointed a new CEO, Parag Agrawal, to replace co-founder Jack Dorsey, who stepped down from the helm last week. Agrawal, who previously served as chief technology…
Wages for formal-sector employees in Nigeria are paid monthly; however, wages for informal-sector employees are paid daily. When salaried employees are unable to make ends meet between paydays, they now have three options: borrow, take out a loan, or request a salary advance. However, most loans have exorbitant interest rates, and salary advance schemes can…
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…
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…