As the advertising-based business model that has long ruled the internet begins to fail, Facebook, the social network that was intended to be free “always,” and its stablemate Instagram introduced a premium subscription service on Sunday. The launch of Meta Verified, a service that starts at $11.99 (about Rs. 990) per month to authenticate one’s…
A Nairobi-based accelerator known as The Baobab Network has revealed its most recent batch of five investees, each of whom received US$50,000 in cash. The Baobab Network invests in early-stage software startups around Africa. Since 2019, The Baobab Network has assisted startups with capacity building and fundraising; its most recent cohort was accepted at the…
TechCrunch has learnt that Co-Creation Hub (CcHUB), the largest innovation hub in Africa, is establishing The Edtech Fellowship Program, a $15 million accelerator program to support and fund 72 entrepreneurs in Kenya and Nigeria over the next three years. The accelerator program, according to a statement released by the company, will promote and magnify the…
The African Development Bank has opened a second Information and Communications Technology Centre of Excellence at the United States International University-Africa in Nairobi. This represents a significant accomplishment for the Bank’s Coding for Employment initiative and its expanding collaborations with institutions of higher learning as well as technical and vocational education and training. “The Bank…
In order to lower costs and risk for acquirers, Mastercard has teamed with Network International to address fraud, declines, and chargebacks. Through the collaboration, Network will make available to acquirers and companies in the area Mastercard’s Brighterion Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology for transaction fraud screening and merchant monitoring. Losses from credit card theft are anticipated…
In the present day data-driven world, businesses are increasingly turning to the cloud for data engineering solutions. Cloud platforms like as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and Microsoft Azure provide a wide range of services and capabilities for developing scalable and robust data engineering solutions. In this in-depth essay, we’ll look at how organisations…
Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) among other obstacles are faced with the inability to have a seamless business operation due to internet connectivity. There is a need to digitalise businesses for a wider reach and global influence. Service providers have come up with strategies to enhance internet access. 3G, 4G, and 5G are now the standard levels…
A cryptocurrency trading platform has been launched by Neobank Be Mobile Africa, a neobank that offers affordable banking services to people and businesses in 30 countries across Africa. This platform will allow people in South Africa to purchase and trade cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Solana (SOL), as well as USD stablecoins like…
According to Paula Ingabire, minister of ICT and innovation, nearly 3,000 schools without an internet connection will have it by 2024 thanks to funding from the World Bank and China Exim Bank. Ingabire revealed the information last week while responding to questions on the ICT industry at a plenary session of the Chamber of Deputies….
Triggering Exponential Climate Action (TECA), a company that launches climate resilience ventures, has chosen seven entrepreneurs to receive US$55,000 in funding each to develop their ideas for the blue economy in Africa. The TECA initiative was established to hasten the creation of climate-resilient solutions to safeguard and sustain the environment and vulnerable populations. It is…
Sophos, a global leader in innovating and delivering cybersecurity as a service, today released details of two expansive, still operational, pig butchering or sha zhu pan rings (elaborate and lengthy financial fraud scams that can cost victims thousands of dollars) that scammers are operating from Asia. One of the rings, based in Hong Kong, involves a fake…
Infopercept Consulting Pvt Ltd, a global cybersecurity solutions and services company, today announced the appointment of Jitendra Bulani as Chief Marketing Officer. Bulani brings 15 years of global marketing experience at cybersecurity companies. He will be responsible for driving awareness and demand for Infopercept’s offensive security, defensive security and security compliance solutions as well as…
The Nigeria’s Top 50 Digital Economy Enablers 2023 holds this week in Lagos February 14, 2023 at the prestigious Providence Hotel in Ikeja GRA, Lagos. “The Top 50 honours corporate entities and individuals, who embody the struggle, profound insights, stamina, infectious optimism and triumph in the extremely challenging but rewarding Nigeria’s digital economy sector. The…
The “digital pound,” often known as “Bitcoin,” a central bank digital currency (CBDC) for the UK, will “likely” materialize. A consultation document from the Treasury and the Bank of England makes the case for the establishment of a state-backed digital pound, or CBDC. The number of persons who routinely use cash has significantly decreased since…
After a presentation of its brand-new artificial intelligence chatbot, Bard, raised worries that the tech titan has fallen behind in the contest for the foreseeable future of internet search, Alphabet Inc. had its biggest one-day decline in more than three months. Since the unveiling of developer OpenAI’s enormously well-liked chatbot, ChatGPT, which many in the…
In order to grow across the continent, Umba, a digital bank for emerging countries that has only previously operated in Nigeria, has begun operations there. Umba is a digital bank created specifically for Africa with the goal of expanding financial services to the continent’s sizable untapped market. The startup wants to make it simpler for…
The largest fiber optic cable in the world, 2Africa, has arrived in Amanzimtoti, south of Durban. The 45,000 km cable, which is still under construction, will follow the seafloors of the Mediterranean, Red, and Indian seas, as well as the Atlantic and Indian oceans. The historic initiative, which will go into effect in May 2022,…
In spring 2023, the ThinkYoung Coding School, which operates coding schools for teenagers and young people in Kenya in collaboration with Boeing, plans to expand to Rwanda and Ethiopia with the goal of empowering teens and young people throughout Africa. The interactive curriculum of ThinkYoung’s bootcamp program includes coding techniques applicable to the aviation sector,…
In 2022, funding for the African digital startup ecosystem crossed the US$3 billion threshold for the first time, and the industry overcame challenges from the global economy to have a record-breaking year. This is supported by the eighth edition of the yearly African Tech Startups Funding Report, which was published by startup news and research…
The AYuTe Africa Challenge has identified three African agri-tech firms as winners. These companies, ThriveAgric of Nigeria, DigicCow of Kenya, and Brastorne Enterprises of Botswana, will each get US$1.5 million in grant cash and access to professional advisors. The AYuTe Africa Challenge, run by Heifer International, supports agri-tech innovators on the continent and is a…
The owner of ChatGPT OpenAI said on Wednesday that it is introducing a $20 per month test subscription plan for its well-known AI-powered chatbot, named ChatGPT Plus. Subscribers will have priority access to new features and enhancements, access to ChatGPT during peak hours, and quicker responses. The business announced ChatGPT Plus, which will initially be…
The three-year GrindstoneX accelerator program, which seeks to empower female entrepreneurs while generating jobs, has chosen ten South African firms. Disrupt Africa announced in October that Grindstone Accelerator, based in South Africa, has teamed up with Naspers Labs to introduce GrindstoneX, a new all-female accelerator programme aimed at enhancing the investability, scalability, and exit-readiness of…
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in conjunction with the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS), recently introduced the card scheme known as AFRIGO. In order to enable cardholders to use their payment cards to make purchases and access cash at businesses around the world, payment networks and financial institutions form a system known as a card scheme. The…
The inaugural ARM Labs Lagos Techstars accelerator, which offers access to up to US$120,000 in equity capital and other sorts of support, has chosen twelve African digital startups. The first edition of the ARM Labs Lagos Techstars accelerator will last for three months. It was established by Techstars, a global investment company that offers early-stage…
The first-ever Google for Startups Accelerator: Women Founders Africa Program is now accepting applications. The program’s goal is to empower female entrepreneurs on the continent by giving them the tools and chances they need to scale their tech businesses and solve problems in Africa. Beginning in March 2023, the 12-week program will comprise one boot…
An initiative to provide free structured programs and trainings for students and teachers has been launched by the Alpha Beta Education Centre (ABEC) in Accra as part of a $350,000 STEM project. The two-year initiative, according to Dr. Naomi Adjepong, head of ABEC, would also give the school the chance to expand its current facilities,…
The OPEN fund will consider applications from female founders in the African energy sector for funding of up to $100,000. OPEN is a project of the CSI Energy Group, a diverse network of firms focused on Africa that offers sustainable solutions to the energy sector across the continent. OPEN is looking for women-led energy enterprises…
To improve funding of sustainable SME projects in Africa, the African Guarantee Fund (AGF), a market-friendly guarantee program that aims to make financing for small businesses easier in Africa, has teamed with bettervest, a crowdfunding platform based in Frankfurt. The AGF, developed and supported by the AfDB in collaboration with the governments of Spain and…
The sixth AFD Digital Challenge, which is focused on the cultural and creative industries, is now accepting applications. The Agence Française de Développement (AFD) is committed to assisting high-impact tech entrepreneurs in Africa for the sixth year running. All Cultural and Creative Industries (CCI) startups and associations that use digital technology at the core of…
Nigeria’s central bank today carried out its plan to introduce the AfriGo national domestic card program. The program, which was first unveiled at a Bankers’ Committee news conference in October 2022, involves the central bank in the market’s triopoly of card payment programs for Nigeria. Godwin Emefiele, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria,…