The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has invited female entrepreneurs from its 15 member countries to apply for the second edition of the ShEquity accelerator program. The ShEquity Business Accelerator (SHEBA) is a 16-week program that provides venture development and technical assistance to African female entrepreneurs in the ECOWAS area who want to…
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has penalized three companies for failing to comply with cryptocurrency transaction ban restrictions. The CBN imposed a prohibition on all cryptocurrency transactions and a regulation policy on all commercial lenders in February 2021. This decision was reached after the CBN determined that these transactions posed a risk to the…
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Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla Inc (TSLA.O), has purchased a 9.2 percent stake in Twitter for roughly $3 billion, making him the company’s largest stakeholder. The action comes after he tweeted that he was “seriously considering” creating a new social media platform and questioned Twitter’s commitment to free expression. Musk holds 73.5 million Twitter…
MTN SA has announced an increase in investments to modernize current network infrastructure and deploy new network infrastructure in Limpopo and Mpumalanga, South Africa. The initiative, according to the firm, will benefit ultra-rural areas like Mtititi and Ga Marishane the most. MTN’s “Modernisation of Network South Africa project” (MONZA), as well as improved rural reach,…
Telecommunication providers in Nigeria obeyed the Federal Government’s order on Monday to block any unlinked Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) card without a National Identification Number (NIN) from being used on their networks, in an effort to reduce insecurity, extortion, and kidnappings. According to The Guardian, the Federal Government had ordered the carriers to block all…
Today, we can attest to the rise in connected consumers who are demanding almost immediate engagement with brands to satisfy their quests. Companies are now investing in ecommerce, moving into social mostly via mobile. Considering all that is going on with digital technology and the impacts, it is mind-blowing. So, evolving consumer behaviour is an…
Africa Data Hub (ADH) is commencing its Community Journalism Fellowship Programme. This initiative aims to improve the coverage of under-reported issues in local communities across Nigeria, paying special attention to potential solutions with lasting impact towards effective public service delivery, grassroot development and improving the quality of life. Community journalism holds the key to bridging…
Wura is a mobile app that allows you to give and receive used stuff from people in Nigeria that are close by or far away. Clothing, books, shoes, jewelry, headphones, and other products may be included. On the app, you may give away anything that is still useful and valuable. After multiple scheduling problems, I…
Techiva Technologies, a Nigerian IT consulting firm, was named the winner of the SheTrades Hackathon and received a cash reward of $10,000. In July 2021, the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) established the “ITC SheTrades Hackathon,” an opportunity for entrepreneurs all around the world to leverage technology for sustainable growth…
Andela Wednesday, a talent outsourcing firm, has announced that it is expanding its services beyond engineering to encompass design, data, and product management. The news comes six months after Andela raised $200 million in a Series E round, valuing the company at $1.5 billion and confirming its status as one of Africa’s unicorn startups. “Having…
What is Skill Gap? The concept of skill gap characterizes the divergence that currently exists in what potential job prospects are required of and what is being offered. Skill Gap Analysis is a method of determining which skills and knowledge gaps exist between the workforce system in Nigeria and its students of higher learning. On a general note, the…
PEACE Cable, in collaboration with Telkom, Kenya’s third largest telecoms company, has landed a new submarine cable in Mombasa. The PEACE Cable aims to provide more reliable and stable communication services between Africa, Europe, and Asia. This new cable will link France to Pakistan via the Europe-Asia route, as well as Mombasa, Kenya. It will…
In the last few years, we’ve seen great innovation across various industries, breakthroughs for marginalised communities, and a digital revolution that has impacted every aspect of our lives. Although these are milestones to be celebrated, there is still so much more that needs to be done when it comes to developing the presence of women…
The African Development Bank Group has invested over $1 billion in Mozambique’s north, including the Liquefied Natural Gas Rovuma Area 1 project, a climate resilience project, the Mueda Negomano Road project, and the Mozambique Energy-for-All program. Akinwumi A. Adesina, President of the African Development Bank, and President of the Republic of Mozambique Filipe Jacinto Nyusi…
On Friday, a former Microsoft employee published an essay on Lioness, a whistleblower website, alleging that corruption in the company has spread throughout Africa and the Middle East. According to Tech Central, in 2019, the tech giant company and its former partner, South African EOH Mthombo, were accused of being involved in alleged corruption in…
Applications for the fourth year of the Africa Business Heroes (ABH) prize program are now open in English and French. ABH annually awards a share of a US$1.5 million grant to ten outstanding African entrepreneurs. The fourth annual edition of the Jack Ma Foundation’s flagship philanthropic program highlighting and celebrating Africa’s entrepreneurial excellence, “Africa’s Business…
The Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA) has announced that the 2022 .ng Awards is scheduled to hold on Friday, 29th April 2022. NiRA seeks to recognize and acknowledge those who are contributing to the growth of the .ng domain name registration and promotion of the DNS Industry. Using the .ng Awards, NIRA celebrates the achievements and innovation of Nigerian Internet…
Betacube, a Tunisian venture capital firm, has launched the second edition of its Women in Fintech pre-incubation program, which aims to help aspiring entrepreneurs shape their ideas and build long-term businesses. The six-week Women In Fintech programme, run by Betacube in collaboration with the US Embassy in Tunisia, enables Tunisian women-led fintech projects to gain…
The Department of Basic Education (DBE) has announced that robotics and coding will be added to the South African curriculum. According to the department’s recently released annual performance plan 2022/2023, full-scale implementation for Grades R through 3 and Grade 7 is planned for the academic year 2023. Robotics and coding will be piloted in other…
AVC, founded by a Grammy Award-winning Nigerian musician, has announced the launch of its platform to assist content creators in creating and trading non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The AVC platform, based in Lagos and Accra, aims to make it easy for African creators to create, manage, and sell digital art and assets by collaborating with global…
Netflix, one of the world’s leading entertainment streaming services, has launched the Creative Equity Scholarship Fund (CESF) for film and television students in the Eastern African region. The $1 million scholarship fund for Sub-Saharan students is part of Netflix’s global Netflix Creative Equity Fund, which was launched in 2021 and will be allocated to various…
Pranary Business School, based in Cape Town, South Africa, has helped entrepreneurs and startups raise over $1.5 million in investment and has engaged with 50,000 entrepreneurs from 50 different countries since its launch in 2020 through online mentoring. The business school assists entrepreneurs in starting new businesses as well as existing businesses in finding investors…
On September 16, 2021, we launched the #Digitalforall Challenge, a free digital skilling initiative and competition designed to drive young people’s engagement in the digital economy across Nigeria, with the goal of equipping Nigerian youths with skills to enable equal access to technology-centric decent work and economic opportunities. It is a sub-program of Microsoft’s Emerging…
Eight more African startups have been confirmed as participants in the renowned Silicon Valley-based Y Combinator accelerator’s W22 batch, bringing the total to 23. The W22 batch of the Y Combinator program is currently underway and will conclude with a demo day next week, having played a role in the early days of companies such…
The Hague Institute for Innovation of Law (HiiL) has opened applications for its Innovating Justice Challenge 2022, which seeks innovations aimed at preventing or resolving a justice problem for a large number of people, including small and medium-sized businesses. HiiL is looking for justice innovators from Africa and the Middle East, specifically Ethiopia, Jordan, Kenya,…
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…
The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) and Google have announced a new Google.org Fellowship to provide one million more Africans with access to the TEFConnect platform, which connects entrepreneurs with tailored tools, market partnerships, coaches, and investors. The announcement was made at a TEF headquarters event in Lagos, Nigeria, attended by several African political and business…
Africa No Filter and Meta have announced the winners of the Future Africa Grant for Extended Reality Creators. Africa No Filter and Meta (Facebook.com) are pleased to announce the six finalists of the program ‘Future Africa: Telling Stories, Building Worlds,’ which aims to identify and invest in the continent’s next generation of Extended Reality (XR)…
Katapult, based in Norway, has collaborated with the Tony Blair Institute (TBI) for Global Change, Norrsken, and Smart Africa to launch the Katapult Africa Accelerator Programme, which will aim to accelerate and invest in agri-tech and climate-tech startups. The Katapult Accelerator, based in Norway, has invested in a number of African startups and launched spin-offs…