Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA) has reduced the price of .NG domain by over forty per cent (40%). NiRA is responsible for maintaining the database of registered names in the .ng country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) namespace in the public interest of Nigeria and the global internet community. Like the currency, the Naira and…
Simplifyd Systems Inc., a YCombinator-backed Nigerian startup aiming to become the platform of choice for data-free Internet access across Africa, has taken a giant step forward. The company is announcing the launch of ZeroData, its toll-free internet application platform, to address the challenges associated with accessing affordable data in the face of the staggering rate…
Ghana’s central bank has released information about its ‘eCedi’ digital currency, which it hopes will encourage more people to use the country’s banking system. The Bank of Ghana has released a digital paper advocating for hardware wallet services for Ghanaians who do not have internet access or bank accounts. The West African country is developing…
Engen, a South African petroleum company, has opened applications for its Pitch & Polish pitching competition, in which 16 entrepreneurs will compete for a ZAR1 million (US$67,000) first prize. Pitch & Polish, now in its 12th year, went fully virtual for the first time in 2021, when Cape Town-based business partners Pieter du Plessis and…
Startupbootcamp AfriTech and Telecel Group have chosen 11 African startups to participate in the second edition of the Africa Startup Initiative Programme (ASIP), which provides funding and support to participants. Startupbootcamp AfriTech was founded in 2017 as the first pan-African startup accelerator backed by multiple corporations. Disrupt Africa announced in March of last year that…
Mercy Corps, a global humanitarian organization, has established a $1 million Crypto for Good Fund to test and support blockchain-based solutions for people who are low-income and/or unbanked. “We are excited to partner with visionary founding teams to identify, test, and prove the potential of crypto and web3 to improve financial access for the world’s…
According to the National Infrastructure Plan 2050, which was released on Friday by South Africa’s Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Patricia De Lille, every South African household will receive 50GB of data by the fiscal year 2025/6. According to the document, the government’s goal is to provide high-speed, affordable, and accessible broadband to underserved…
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…
Google for Startups Accelerator Africa Class 7 participants have been announced, with the selected startups set to receive mentorship and expert advice over the course of the three-month program. The Google for Startups Accelerator Africa, announced in 2017, is a three-month program that connects early-stage African tech startups with the best of Google’s products, people,…
Curacel, a Nigerian insurtech startup that offers an AI-powered platform for claims processing and fraud management in Africa, has announced its participation in the latest Y Combinator cohort, as well as the launch of Grow, an embedded insurance product that enables technology companies to seamlessly offer insurance as part of their existing products and services….
Twelve African tech startups have been chosen for the first cohort of the FAST startup accelerator, which was developed by Microsoft in collaboration with Flapmax to strengthen and scale Africa’s digital ecosystem. The 12-week FAST programme, which starts next week, brings together startups from six different countries and nine industries, chosen from over 800 applications…
On Friday, three Nigerian federal government agencies—the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), the National Information and Technology Development Agency (NITDA), and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Related Offences Commission (ICPC)—worked together with the Nigerian police force to raid some illegal financial institutions based on Opebi Road in Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria. Digital lending platforms…
The United States government is committed to assisting the next generation of female leaders in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) by connecting them with networks and opportunities that will help them advance their careers and dreams in the technology fields. The United States government is committed to assisting the next generation of female leaders…
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…
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Fintech Conference has announced the grand prize winner of its 2022 Fintech Startup Pitch Competition as Kenyan startup Money254. Money254 is a financial services comparison platform that will be launched in April 2021, making it easier for users to find, compare, and apply for financial products that meet both…
Mali Magic, a digital treasure trove aimed at preserving and showcasing Mali’s historic and contemporary art and culture, was launched today by Google. Google Arts & Culture has been collaborating with local and international organizations (see list below) since 2015 to digitize, curate, and share Mali’s incredible stories and rich heritage. Google Arts & Culture…
TeamApt, one of Nigeria’s leading Fintechs that provides a financial platform for businesses, is now accepting applications for its ‘The Apt 5’ 2022 Women in Tech internship program. This year, it is leveraging the Ingressive for Good community to ensure that as many women as possible have access to opportunity. With over 150,000 businesses and…
The fourth and final edition of the European Union (EU)-funded Uganda Green Enterprise Finance Accelerator (UGEFA) has opened for applications, which provides sustainable Ugandan enterprises with support to scale and contribute to a green and inclusive economy. UGEFA is implemented by adelphi Research gGmbH, a leading global independent “think and do tank” on environment and…
Sophos, a global leader in next-generation cybersecurity, today released findings of a dual ransomware attack where extortion notes left by Karma ransomware operators were encrypted 24 hours later by Conti, another ransomware gang that was in the target’s network at the same time. Sophos details the dual attacks in the article, “Conti and Karma Actors Attack Healthcare…
Bitmama becomes first African blockchain company to launch Physical Crypto Cards for in-store payments globally Leading blockchain company, Bitmama pioneers a new feature, Physical Crypto Cards for users in the African market. Lagos, Nigeria – Monday, Mar 8, 2022. Today, leading blockchain company Bitmama, announces its latest product – Physical Crypto Cards. This comes three…
The African Small Business Catalyst (ASBC), a business accelerator for early growth-stage small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Sub-Saharan Africa, has been launched by the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and the US African Development Foundation (USADF). The ASBC seeks to assist SMEs in four countries: Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Senegal, and Uganda, with a…
Google.org, the company’s philanthropic arm, announced today that it will donate $1 million (R15.3 million) to programs that help women entrepreneurs grow their businesses, as part of a series of new initiatives aimed at supporting women-owned businesses. According to Mojolaoluwa Aderemi Makinde, Head Brand and Reputation, Africa – Google, “research shows that 58 percent of…
Datacentrix excelled at the recent Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) South Africa Channel Partner awards ceremony held at Fancourt in the Western Cape, taking home the title of HPE Overall FY21 Partner of the Year, as well as seven other hotly contested awards. “This year’s HPE awards ceremony was probably our most successful to date,” says…
Microsoft intends to provide $500 million in potential funding to African startups with the help of venture capitalists in order to help them grow quickly. The Africa Transformation Office will launch a series of new initiatives over the next five years with the goal of assisting 10,000 African businesses in reaching their full potential. With…
Codecademy, a leading online learning platform for technical skills, is teaming up with the advocacy organization Black and Brilliant to launch an applied artificial intelligence accelerator and mentorship program in Africa. Following the launch of their first accelerator together in 2021, the organizations are reuniting to bring the program to Africa and empower a new…
Netflix and TikTok suspended most of their services in Russia on Sunday, as the government tightens restrictions on what citizens and media outlets can say about Russia’s conflict in Ukraine. Pulling the plug on online entertainment — and information — is likely to further isolate the country and its people, coming after a growing number…
Stitch, a South African API finance business, announced in January that it would conduct a “startup showcase” to allow early-stage fintech from across the continent to share their solutions with local and global investors and receive support, according to Disrupt Africa. The event was part of a Stitch-hosted meetup for global fintech investors interested in…
Over the course of a record-breaking 2021, total funding in the African digital startup ecosystem trebled, passing the US$2 billion – and even the US$1 billion – threshold for the first time. In 2021, 564 businesses raised a total of US$2,148,517,500, according to the seventh edition of Disrupt Africa’s annual African Tech Startups Funding Report,…