All about Tech.
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…
Kena Health is a new health app located in South Africa that allows users to interact with a nurse, doctor, or mental health expert directly from their phone. Kena Health is an app that connects users to a team of certified healthcare practitioners for guidance, diagnosis, prescriptions, sick notes, and, if necessary, referrals to a…
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Stax is a firm that moves banking with Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) from the phone dialer to an offline mobile application, improving the user experience of offline banking. According to Stax’s blog, USSD has been around for 24 years and is largely utilized by telecoms to let them communicate with their clients. Telcos, for…
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…
Climate change has piqued the public’s interest for several decades. As a result, in the recent past, innovations toward engines that do not emit waste products have emerged. eWAKA has launched an electric ‘bodaboda’ in response to the go-green campaign. This new market entrant in Africa not only introduces sustainable mobility options, but also aims…
FreshSource, an Egyptian startup, is a B2B agri-supply chain platform that connects food producers to businesses and exporters, increasing their income, and it is now looking to expand across the MENA region. FreshSource, founded in January 2019 by Farah and Omar Emara, is a B2B agri-supply chain platform that uses technology to transform the way…
Yemaachi Biotech, a Ghanaian cancer research and diagnostics company, has raised $3 million in a seed round to advance its goal of global precision oncology diversification. V8 Capital led the round, which included LifeLine Family Heritage Fund, Y Combinator, Tencent, LoftyInc Capital, VestedWorld, V Square Capital, and Ethan Perlstein. In January, the company launched its…
A swift buzz has taken over the streets and suburbs of Kampala about this new and amazing technology, you can almost hear the words ‘my ADAS?’ ringing in your head. On 6th April 2021, Africa Digital Address Systems Ltd, a Ugandan based company, revealed ADAS for the first time, to the world. The ADAS app…
According to Google, an undersea cable that will boost internet speeds for millions of Africans has arrived in Togo, the latest phase in a multi-year program to provide customers with cheaper access across the continent. The Equiano cable, the first of its kind to reach Africa, has twisted its way from Portugal and will increase…
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…
South Africans aren’t unfamiliar with the concept of a side hustle. Indeed, according to a recent Momentum/Unisa Household Index, an estimated 14% of all households are currently engaged in side hustles. While many people wear multiple work hats out of a love for a particular craft or to simply help others, side hustles are more…
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…
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….
Are you a student, entrepreneur, tech enthusiast, creator, developer, marketing professional, media practitioner, or project manager with a big idea that can disrupt Marketing and Media in Nigeria? You can win up to $20,000 at MarkHack 1.0. We are faced with a fast-changing ecosystem, with new media frontiers, new consumption patterns, and a new way…
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…
Digital Marketing Skill Institute, a global leader in the education of Digital Skills has announced the launch of its newest product, Accredital, a platform that matches businesses both home and abroad with rigorously trained and tested digital marketing talents using Artificial Intelligence (AI). Accredital, the first of its kind, is quickly establishing itself as the…
Access to basic financial services in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is severely limited, as it is in most Sub-Saharan African countries (DRC). Only 14 percent of the population has a bank account, and only 25 percent has an account with any banking or financial institution. Furthermore, the French-speaking country has less than 35…
Moderna, a biotechnology and pharmaceuticals company based in Massachusetts, is planning to build a manufacturing facility in Kenya to produce mRNA vaccines, including those for COVID-19. The facility will be Moderna’s first manufacturing plant in Africa, with the company investing $500 million in its construction in order to supply up to 500 million doses of…
Seeing imported agricultural machinery – often paid for by the government or donors – lying abandoned due to a lack of local servicing or parts motivated Minsob Logou to invest his time, money, and energy into a local solution for farmers. As a result, the Logoutrac mini-tractor was born. This award-winning Togolese inventor is venturing…
Kemisola Bolarinwa dreamed of becoming an innovator as a young girl. Her favorite secondary school subjects were math, physics, and chemistry. Her STEM interests prompted her to join the Junior Engineers, Technicians, and Scientists (JETS) club at her secondary school, St. Helen’s Unity Secondary School, Ondo. The JETS club was founded to introduce students to…
What exactly is User-Generated Content? User-generated content is any content created by your users that expresses their feelings about your brand. Customers, clients, and even employees can be among your users. UGC refers to all of the content created by these users about your brand and its product or service. UGC can be found everywhere…
Africa and Asia are the birthplaces of mobile money, and the transition to digital wallets is well underway in countries with high smartphone penetration. According to a recent report, African and Asian consumers are increasingly accepting digital payments. This is the conclusion of a white paper published by TerraPay in collaboration with IBS, highlighting trends…
Bizzyn, a Tanzanian startup, has launched a full-featured business and financial management suite of products designed to scale as businesses grow. Bizzyn, which was founded in 2019 by Emmanuel Kimaro and Abbasi Mussa, officially began operations in November of last year. The startup has created a financial and marketing platform for SMEs that monitors finance,…
Lipa Payments, a South African fintech startup, has raised R10 million ($659 thousand) in funding from Empowerment Capital’s Imvelo Ventures, which is backed by Capitec Bank SA. Lipa Payments was a finalist in Capitec Bank’s 2020 Life 2.0 Hackathon. With its software solution that allows merchants to accept contactless payments directly from a mobile phone,…
The Createch Accelerator focuses on businesses that employ innovation or technology to improve value chains in Africa’s creative industries or to address market problems in these value chains. The program’s goal is to provide knowledge, networks, and assistance to companies operating at the interface of technology and creativity, allowing them to accelerate their route…
The story of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) has recently spread like wildfire, and Africa has joined the party. Some of these digital assets, ranging from art and music to games and videos, are worth millions of dollars. In case you’re unfamiliar, NFTs are unique and non-interchangeable units of data on the blockchain, a digital ledger that…
According to a person familiar with the matter, Apple acquired AI Music, a startup that uses artificial intelligence to generate tailor-made music, adding technology that could be used across its slate of audio offerings. In recent weeks, AI Music, a London-based company founded in 2016, was purchased. Prior to the acquisition, the company had about…
Africa’s data center market is expected to attract billions of dollars in investment as the continent’s internet economy grows. According to new data, the African and Middle Eastern data center market received $6.55 billion in investments in 2021 and will receive an additional $12.19 billion by 2027, with the continent receiving half of that amount….
Biometrics are increasingly being used in corporate and governmental security systems, as well as consumer devices. According to Research and Markets, a market research firm based in the United States, the global biometrics market is expected to grow from $17 billion in 2018 to $76 billion by 2027. For a variety of reasons, an increasing…