In an effort to reduce costs after his $44 billion acquisition, Elon Musk plans to cut nearly 3,700 workers at Twitter, or half of the social media company’s employment, according to sources with knowledge of the situation. According to the people, who asked for anonymity to discuss private arrangements, Twitter’s new owner intends to inform…
A $30 million fund has been closed by Satgana, a European venture capital (VC) company with its headquarters in Luxembourg, to support entrepreneurs that address climate change issues in Africa. The fund will accomplish this by investing up to €500K in entrepreneurs in Europe and Africa throughout their pre-seed and seed stages. Along with providing…
Elon Musk, a billionaire and the new president of Twitter, has announced a reduction in the monthly charge for Twitter verification from $20 to $8. On Tuesday, Musk revealed this in a string of tweets. The billionaire promoted the advantages of having a paid verified handle, including priority in answers, mentions, and search, which he…
Dr. Obadare Peter Adewale, the Co-Founder and the Chief Visionary officer (CVO) of Digital Encode Limited, has emerged the first recipient of Cyber Security Experts Association of Nigeria (CSEAN’s) ‘Outstanding Individual of the Year Award’. Peter is arguably the most “Credentialed” PAN-African CyberSecurity Influencer, Thought Leader & GRC Technopreneur. He received the latest honours at CSEAN Merit Award held recently…
The first office of Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS), a division of Amazon.com, Inc., has officially opened in Lagos, Nigeria. The opening of the new office in Lagos is part of AWS’s effort to serve the country’s expanding customer and partner base. The office will provide assistance to businesses of all sizes, including small businesses,…
Organisations around the world are on high alert for rapid and effective ways to boost their sustainability through cutting their carbon emissions – but are they missing the obvious? Notoriously energy hungry data centres are an issue that every enterprise can tackle. Using edge computing to move the processing of data closer to where it’s…
Uber, Bolt, Little Cab, and Yego Mobility are the only transport network companies with licenses to operate in Kenya after fully meeting all licensing standards, according to the National Transport and Safety Authority. The four businesses have been given permission to function as transport network firms in Kenya, according to a statement from Director General…
The Ecobank Fintech Challenge 2022 winner has been named, according to the Ecobank Group, and is a Nigerian fintech company called Touch and Pay. The announcement was made at the Grand Finale, which was hosted at the Ecobank headquarters in Lomé and presided over by H.E. Cina Lawson, the Republic of Togo’s Minister of Digital…
AVEVA, a global leader in industrial software, driving digital transformation and sustainability, will highlight how digital technologies can support public-private partnerships and unlock innovation to close the implementation gap on climate change at COP27. The United Nations Climate Change Conference 2022 is being held on November 6-18 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. A sponsor of the…
The Catalyst Jobtech Accelerator and the Jobtech Innovation Lab are two new initiatives from the Jobtech Alliance, an ecosystem-building initiative around inclusive jobtech in Africa led by Mercy Corps and BFA Global. These initiatives are intended to support digital platforms that link people to employment opportunities that help them build livelihoods. The Jobtech Alliance, a…
Leading Adtech platform Eskimi will be hosting a virtual conversation themed “Metaverse: Revolutionising advertising in a fast changing digital world” on Friday, 4th November 2022. The webinar will be led by top thought leaders in respective fields who will enlighten the public on the intricacies of the Metaverse and advertising as interests in exploring options…
The President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of African Export Import Bank (AfreximBank) Professor Benedict O. Oramah; High Commissioner of Namibia to Nigeria, H.E Humphrey Geiseb; Ambassador of Cote D’Ivoire to Nigeria and ECOWAS, H.E Ambassador Kalilou TRAORE; Dr Tony Luka Elumelu, Ag. Director of Private Sector Development at the ECOWAS Commission, Nigeria as well as…
The charity arm of cryptocurrency and blockchain infrastructure provider Binance, Binance Charity, has teamed with Utiva, an organization that provides technical education for young people in Africa. Through the new cooperation, 50,000 young people will receive technology education, and 1,000 Africans will receive scholarships for a one-year intensive skill training program. This educational program will…
Nigeria launching the Startup Bill is the latest buzz that has brought excitement to many including startup founders, employees and graduates. On October 19, 2022, President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria officially signed the Startup Bill into law, creating the Startup Act 2022. The Nigeria Startup Bill (NSB) project is a collaboration between the Nigerian tech sector and the Presidency…
Six African fintech businesses have been chosen as finalists in this year’s Ecobank Fintech Challenge in order to compete for the top prize of US$50,000 and admission into the Ecobank Fintech Challenge Fellowship program. The Fintech Challenge has offered entrepreneurs at various stages of development the option to work with Ecobank for the sixth consecutive…
Early-stage businesses operating in francophone African nations are eligible to apply for equity capital from Fuzé, a Digital Africa investment facility, up to EUR50,000 (US$48,000). President Emmanuel Macron introduced the Digital Africa initiative in 2018, a French government-backed organization that supports African tech entrepreneurs. Businesses can receive EUR20,000 (US$19,000) in capital through Fuzé, which is…
The first telehealth program in Kenya specifically designed for HIV prevention has been made available through the e-pharmacy platform MYDAWA. The University of Washington, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Fred Hutch Cancer Research Centre, Jhpiego, and Audere have joined forces with MYDAWA to create the first end-to-end virtual healthcare solution for customers who…
African Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors were introduced to a new partnership that aims to increase financial inclusion for women-led businesses across the continent through the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) program of the African Development Bank and the Alliance for Financial Inclusion. The AFAWA-Alliance for Financial Inclusion partnership was introduced…
The second Africa HealthTech Challenge has been announced by the HealthTech Hub Africa, which was established by the Novartis Foundation at the Norrsken House in Kigali. It is looking for high-impact innovators with business-to-government focused solutions and business models with the potential to significantly improve population health at scale. The HealthTech Hub Africa is an…
Yellow Card, a pan-African cryptocurrency startup, has advanced the sector further by being the first on the continent to be given a license to operate as a Virtual Asset Service Provider in Botswana. The license was issued on September 29, 2022, by the Non-Bank Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority [NBFIRA], in compliance with Section 11 of…
As the firm grows its “Quick-commerce” branch, Glovo, one of the top players in global multi-category delivery, has opened its third micro fulfillment center in Nairobi, Kenya. Customers can use Glovo to place orders from their preferred supermarkets and local shops thanks to Q-Commerce. With the opening of the third micro fulfillment center, Glovo is…
A pan-African digital marketplace for business-to-business trade has been launched by Dooka in collaboration with Tradeshift, the worldwide network for digital trade. Dooka, which is offered on Tradeshift’s worldwide B2B commerce platform and which makes use of the Tradeshift® Marketplace Operator solution, makes corporate purchase as user-friendly and consumer-focused as home shopping. The Dooka marketplace…
The 2022 MEST Africa Challenge has chosen ten semifinalists, and the winner will receive US$50,000 in equity capital. MEST is a pan-African software and entrepreneurship training program, seed fund, and incubator that supports the establishment of technology firms all over the continent. It was established in Ghana in 2008 by serial entrepreneur Jorn Lyseggen. To…
Instagram, a social networking site owned by Meta Platforms, announced on Thursday that it would improve capabilities that allow users to block abusive and troll accounts. By extending a function introduced last year that only permitted the barring of any new accounts that they may create, all Instagram users will now be able to block…
In order to deliver Geidea’s sophisticated payment solutions to the Egyptian market, the company has established a strategic agreement with Visa, the global leader in digital payments. Geidea is one of the leading Fintech businesses in the region by market share. To provide smooth and secure payment options for merchants and SMEs across the nation,…
PwC is pleased to release the first PwC Africa Annual Review 2022 report which tells the story of a remarkable year and focuses on our impact, value creation, strategy and related performance for the financial year ended 30 June 2022. The report is a reflection of how our network of firms has navigated complexity, responded to…
Start-ups require capital to establish a business. Capital is the amount of initial investment plus any interest accrued early. The initial investment of a company initiative is the sum required to get things started. Both internal and external sources of funding are used by start-up founders. Many times, a lot of work goes into starting a business,…
The African IT sector has been growing steadily in recent years. With roughly a thousand acquisitions expected this year, venture capital on the continent is anticipated to surpass $7 billion, making it an anomaly in the current global funding slowdown. Startups continue to fail due to a lack of access to money, mentorship, and a…
More than 360 African entrepreneurs have signed up for the second class of the Alibaba Netpreneur Training program, which is run by Alibaba Global Initiatives (AGI), the professional training division of the Alibaba Group. Since its debut in 2019, the Alibaba Netpreneur Training Programme has successfully trained close to 1,500 entrepreneurs across Africa, Europe, Latin…
The six businesses chosen for the second cohort of the Fintech Incubation Program have been announced by Co-Creation Hub (CcHub), in association with Google, Rwanda’s Ministry of ICT and Innovation, and Mojaloop Foundation. The three-month Fintech Incubation Programme is meant to assist young technology companies developing products aimed at boosting financial inclusion. Nine firms were…