All about Business.
Lemonade Finance, founded in 2020 by Ridwan Olalere and Rian Cochran and a participant in Y Combinator’s W21 batch last year, allows Africans living abroad to send and receive money from their home nations in a cost-effective, timely, and efficient manner. Its software lets users keep their balances in the currencies that are important to…
Visa, a global leader in digital payments, announced the opening of a new Innovation Studio in Nairobi, Kenya, today. Its first dedicated innovation site in Sub-Saharan Africa is the studio (SSA). This facility will service the Sub-Saharan Africa area, according to a news release, and will join Visa‘s network of innovation centers, which have been…
The term “Bootstrapping” is derived from the phrase “to hoist oneself up”. It is a method of starting one’s own business utilizing one’s own resources. A bootstrapped startup is a business that began and grew without the help of outside investors. Bootstrapping a business does not imply that the company will not seek outside funding. In fact,…
According to a 2021 research by web service provider Yahoo, the worldwide fintech sector is worth close to USD 7300 billion and is expected to increase at a rate of 26.87 percent year. The rapid growth of fintechs has been attributed to a rise in the popularity of digital payments, greater investments in technology-based solutions,…
SmartWage, an HR and communications technology business based in South Africa, has acquired US$2 million in a preliminary fundraising round that was oversubscribed to support its ambition of transforming Africa’s workforce through digital inclusion, particularly for frontline workers. SmartWage, which was founded in 2019, began by allowing businesses to provide their employees fast access to…
PayMint, an Egyptian fintech firm, has received a seven-figure US dollar seed investment to help it expand in its local market. PayMint, a financial technology company founded by Mohamed Yahya and Mohamed Rabie in 2019, offers SMEs salary payments, working capital finance, and supplier payments. The seed round, which was led by AUR Fintech, a…
Jumia, Africa’s first financial startup and now e-commerce behemoth, and UPS, the world’s largest shipping and receiving firm, have announced a new agreement that will allow UPS to utilise Jumia’s ‘last mile logistics’ capabilities and infrastructure to expand its delivery services in Africa. UPS will provide its clients an expanded choice of delivery solutions, including…
Swvl, Inc. (“Swvl”), a global provider of transformative tech-enabled mass transit solutions, and Moove, the world’s first mobility fintech, announced today a collaboration to scale Moove’s revenue-based vehicle financing model across the MENAP (Middle East, North Africa, and Pakistan) region and expand vehicle classes to include electric buses. The collaboration comes on the heels of…
Strove, a South African employee wellness firm, is looking to expand further in Europe after debuting in the United Kingdom (UK). Strove, founded in 2020 by Chris Bruchhausen in collaboration with venture builder The Delta, is an activity-based mobile rewards program that enables businesses to urge their staff to live a healthy and active lifestyle,…
Khazna, an Egyptian financial super app that provides underprivileged consumers and micro-businesses with easy-to-use, technology-driven financial services, has received a Series A round of US$38 million in stock and debt to accelerate its expansion efforts. Khazna was launched in 2020 as an earned income access product, but it has since evolved into a multi-product that…
The GSMA has released its tenth annual ‘State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money’ today. It reveals that mobile money adoption and use will continue to grow in 2021, with a record $1 trillion processed annually. The industry has seen a significant increase in the number of registered accounts, with an 18% increase since…
NowNow Digital Systems, a fintech founded by Sahir Berry in 2018 that provides payment gateways to merchants, announced Wednesday at a media event at its Lagos office that it is now ready to “put a face behind the brand” and expand to everyday Nigerians. American finance personnel, Matt Francis, who joined the company this year…
During the Annual Investment Conference in Johannesburg, Sandton on Thursday, Netflix, the US-based streaming giant, announced an investment of R900 million ($62 million) in South African film and television productions. According to Tech Central, the investment will cover four productions over the next two years, one international and three local. “These productions, which are just…
Gricd, a cold chain technology company that uses the Internet of Things (IoT) to enable last-mile delivery of temperature-sensitive products, has partnered with Haultrac, one of Nigeria’s leading logistics companies, to support USAID’s delivery of essential healthcare commodities to all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja. The collaboration is an indefinite quantity…
Following the launch of the Irish Tech Challenge South Africa, South African tech startups now have the opportunity to gain international exposure and access to global markets. The Irish Tech Challenge South Africa, a collaboration between the Irish Embassy in South Africa, the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI), the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA), and…
Establishing a new business is not an easy feat as it cannot be compared with a prosperous one that has been in existence. Irrespective of the industry, every startup is likely to go through the same process of development except a variance in time. Subject to certain factors, the speed in growth of startup businesses differ…
The difficulties in Africa’s financial sector open up a plethora of opportunities. When one financial service issue is resolved, other layers reveal more issues to be resolved, much like a giant onion bulb. People were hurt by ridiculous bank charges when businesses found it difficult to receive payments online, but fintech companies came to the…
DilenyTech, an Egyptian deep technology healthcare startup that is developing innovative artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for screening and diagnostic radiology workflow, has been acquired by Astute Imaging LLC of the United States. DilenyTech, which was founded in 2018, aims to revolutionize breast cancer screening and diagnostic workflow by offering innovative AI-based assistance for more accurate…
Kenyans who prefer to order or buy goods online face challenges due to the country’s high logistical costs. According to Business Daily, e-commerce participants say the costs of transporting goods from a store to a buyer are a major impediment to the sector’s growth. “The most significant impediment to e-commerce growth is logistical cost.” “The…
Africa has recently made significant progress toward realizing its ambition of being a launching pad for most startup businesses. Although, Africa’s track record of maintaining and ramping up startups is a different tale. Only few African startups with global impact exist on the continent, the most stemming from the tech industry. In comparison, the Western and…
PECB University has signed a new Academic partnership agreement with Digital Encode Limited, to commit their knowledge, resources, and efforts to provide top-class education to students in Nigeria. PECB University is an independent institution of higher education focused on business education, which is inspired by the tenets of professionalism of its parent company, PECB Inc. – a…
It is not easy to start a business. To get a business off the ground, you must put in a lot of effort, dedication, and perseverance. However, in today’s world, there are a variety of tools and technologies that make it easier than ever to start a business. You must consider several factors, including your…
Yoco, a South African payments company, has acquired Nona Digital, a Cape Town-based fintech and Web3 software development agency, to accelerate its roadmap by bringing in a team of highly specialized fintech product and technology professionals. Yoco creates tools and services to assist small businesses in accepting card payments in-store and online, obtaining loans, and…
Nigerians and Africans in general have not fully embraced the gift card culture, a culture that is acceptable in other parts of the world, ensuring a thriving gift card industry. It’s easy to see why, given the numerous industry roadblocks in the way, one of which is the global no-refund policy on gift cards. A…
South Africa’s MultiChoice Group, one of Africa’s leading entertainment companies, saw its shares rise on Thursday after reaching a $4.4 billion settlement agreement with Nigerian authorities. According to Bloomberg, MultiChoice has agreed to drop all pending lawsuits against Nigeria, following a long-running feud over an alleged breach of agreements and denying officials access to its…
The government of Osun is the most recent to enter the mobility sector. On Thursday, March 10, it announced a partnership with Metro Africa Xpress (MAX) Drive to distribute “1,000 tricycles to alleviate transportation burdens” in the state. “The Government of the State of Osun, led by Governor Gboyega Oyetola, has inaugurated 1,000 tricycles to…
Technology has transcended race, culture, and class to become a powerful tool for transforming businesses across the African continent. The rapid penetration of the internet in African regions, as well as the digitization of businesses worldwide, have been major catalysts in the new technology-driven era, with the potential to catapult the socioeconomic growth of many…
The vision of every business is to achieve set goals, meet the demands of clients and create solutions peculiar to life challenges. Irrespective of the drive of a business, accomplishing more results with less resources is usually an approach most use in achieving these visions. Thanks to the impact of digitization in day-to-day activities, every business ranging…
Tendo, a Ghanaian startup that allows anyone to sell online with no upfront inventory, has launched in Nigeria with the support of industry heavyweights such as Catalyst Fund, Google, and Y Combinator. Tendo, which debuted last year, has created a mobile app that connects dropshippers with local wholesalers. Sellers on the platform can use social…
Mowarrid, an Egyptian B2B marketplace, has been acquired by Sary, a Saudi B2B e-commerce company, as the latter expands its footprint across the MENA region. Mowarrid, founded in 2018 by Ahmed Essam, is focused on the B2B food and grocery markets, allowing over 10,000 retailers to digitally procure all of their needs across a variety…