Smart Applications International, Africa’s leading high–tech technology solutions provider, has joined forces with the Kenya Healthcare Federation (KHF), the Health Sector Board of the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA), to promote strategic Public–Private Partnerships aimed at achieving national healthcare access. The collaboration will allow the Kenya Healthcare Federation to have an automated system powered by…
COVID-19 has accelerated the adoption of digital payment platforms by millions of people across Africa. The need for contactless transaction methods transformed what was once a nice-to-have into a requirement. Indeed, while the pandemic has increased the adoption of digital payments across industries, demographics, and payment types on the continent, Africa has been at the…
TikTok is truly unstoppable: the video-sharing platform has surpassed Google to become the most popular website in the world, according to Cloudflare’s 2021 Year in Review internet traffic rankings. TikTok made Cloudflare’s top ten list last year, ranking seventh in popularity behind Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Apple, Netflix, and Amazon’s.coms. Aside from TikTok’s surge to the…
The EdTech sector grew by 30-35 percent in 2020, and it is expected to grow by 20-25 percent by the end of 2021. This is strong evidence that a growing number of people prefer online learning, with paper textbooks and rigid learning plans gradually falling out of favor. Analyze Product Demand One of the major…
Field Intelligence, a Nigerian e-health startup that is digitizing the supply chain and transforming access to essential, life-saving medicine, claims to have saved the Nigerian government US$2 million in losses due to expired medication over the last five years. Field Intelligence, founded in 2015, is the leading pharmaceutical supply chain provider in Nigeria and Kenya,…
Fifteen startups have progressed to the second stage of the E-Track Programme, which is run by UCT GSB Solution Space in collaboration with ayoba. The E-track Program is a three-stage venture acceleration program aimed at high-impact individuals, aspiring entrepreneurs, and experienced founders. The first phase is Venture Launch, which focuses on validating the venture concept;…
As we get closer to Christmas, the crypto market appears to be on its way to a quick recovery following days of constant dips. Bitcoin is currently trading at $51,484 per token on the Indian exchange CoinSwitch Kuber, up 0.80 percent. In recent days, Bitcoin’s low-lying values in India have hovered around $50,000. The world’s…
After experiencing rapid growth, Nigerian startup Get It Done Now, a mobile fintech e-commerce platform where users can access services, loans, and insurance, is expanding to Spain. Get It Done Now, founded in mid-2018 by Alberto Rodriguez and Bode Bamgboye after they met while studying for an MBA at the IE Business School in Madrid,…
Nigeria has moved one step closer to enacting its Nigeria Startup Bill (NSB), which aims to strengthen the country’s technology ecosystem and enable the sector. President Muhammadu Buhari has worked with the Presidency and leaders in the Nigerian technology industry on the bill, which has now been approved by the Federal Executive Council and is…
Collaboration between IT and business is critical for business innovation in the future. The financial benefits, on the other hand, are well worth it. The Collaborative IT-Business Model is an open innovation architecture that aims to create a collaborative network of diverse stakeholders to generate new ideas. IT and business must collaborate to break down…
Planet42, a startup that fights transportation inequality by putting cars in the hands of people who are unfairly ignored by banks, has just announced a $30 million round of equity and debt financing. The $6 million equity round was led by South African conglomerate Naspers, with participation from other existing investors including Bolt founders Martin…
2016 is the year. Idris Marcial Monthe recently completed the Abidjan Founders Institute. Monthe was feeling quite confident after an incredible three months of learning from the best. With little to no experience in the financial sector, he and Daniel Dindji had just launched their payment gateway, CinetPay, in the same year. They met at…
WhatsApp is developing two new visual indicators to inform users about the use of end-to-end encryption in various parts of the messaging app. On the iOS version of WhatsApp, the features were discovered on the app’s Call and Status screen. Users are informed on the calling screen that their personal calls are protected by end-to-end…
Pipit Global, an international cash payments platform, and Cellulant, a pan-African payments company, have expanded their partnership agreement to include eighteen Sub-Saharan African countries. The companies will provide both B2B and B2C payments services to existing and emerging financial institutions, eCommerce merchants, billers and billing platforms, mobile money providers and eWallets, digital financial service providers,…
Google Maps has begun to roll out a feature that highlights the busiest parts of your city or town. The new feature, dubbed ‘Area Busyness,’ is intended to help you avoid crowds by instantly detecting whether your neighborhood or a section of your city has more than the usual number of footfalls. The feature is…
Smartphone cameras are no longer just the most convenient option; they are quickly overtaking traditional digital cameras in terms of computational power and innovation. Users can capture more details and render images accurately in complex lighting conditions thanks to increased sensor size and resolution. Many aspects of image processing have been improved by artificial intelligence…
In a tweet exchange with Grammy-winning rapper Cardi B, former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey stated that he believes Bitcoin will eventually replace the US dollar. Cardi B asked on Twitter if cryptocurrency would eventually replace the US dollar, to which Dorsey replied, “Yes, Bitcoin will.” Dorsey, who now leads Block (formerly Square), a digital payments…
Zuri Health, a Kenyan startup, has expanded its operations into Senegal through a partnership with telecoms firm Expresso Senegal. In January, Disrupt Africa reported on the launch of Zuri Health, which enables users to book appointments with any medical professional or hospital in their region, book laboratory tests, communicate with practitioners via message or video,…
Drugstoc is a health-tech startup that offers hospitals and pharmacies a procurement platform for all medications, consumables, and small medical equipment. Chibuzor Opara and Adham Yehia founded the startup in 2017 with the goal of closing the supply chain gap in Nigeria’s medical sector. In November, the company raised $4.4 million in a Series A…
Life is returning to normal as Covid-19 vaccinations become more widespread around the world. However, this is not the world we knew before the pandemic. Because of the long-term nature of this global crisis, customer needs and daily lifestyles have changed. This, in turn, will alter my expectations for the world in 2022 and beyond….
According to a new forecast, TikTok is the world’s third-largest social network, trailing only Facebook and Instagram. Insider Intelligence — the firm formerly known as eMarketer — predicts that TikTok will reach 755.0 million monthly users in 2022, after growing by 59.8 percent in 2020 and 40.8 percent in 2021 in its first forecast on…
KeyTec, a South African startup, describes itself as a “one-stop-shop for video telematics and vehicle data,” offering smart solutions to businesses of all sizes. KeyTec was founded just over a year ago after founder Michael Roberts saw a real need for maintaining and supporting assets and vehicles in the field, as well as the frustration…
It is difficult to comprehend the impact of technology on businesses and society as a whole. This year’s annual Thoughtworks Looking Glass report attempts to put a wide range of technologies into context so that business leaders can see where technology is leading them. The report examines the impact of 100 current and emerging technologies…
In the age of rapid digital transformation, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer tomorrow’s technology; it is today’s innovation, fundamentally reshaping how businesses operate. From predicting market trends to automating decision-making, AI is a game-changer for extracting meaningful insights from data, enabling companies to thrive in an increasingly competitive landscape. Modern organizations generate overwhelming data…
What is artificial intelligence (AI)? Artificial intelligence is a rapidly developing technology that is already being used in a variety of applications. AI has proven to be much more than we thought it was in the past, from self-driving cars to language translation software. AI is a concept that is frequently created before it is…
According to two people familiar with the situation and emails obtained by Reuters, California’s civil rights regulator is looking into Google’s treatment of Black female employees following allegations of harassment and discrimination. According to the documents and sources, attorneys and analysts at the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) have repeatedly interviewed several…
The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank has approved a $170 million loan to Nigeria to fund a digital and creative industries initiative. The Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises Program (i-DICE) is a Nigerian government initiative that promotes investment in the digital and creative industries. It is part of Nigeria’s efforts to…
54gene, a Nigerian health technology company advancing African genomics research for improved global health outcomes, has announced the launch of 7RiverLabs, its diagnostic arm. 54gene, founded in 2019, is a research, services, and development company that uses human genetic data from diverse African populations to improve the development, availability, and efficacy of medical products that…
Duhqa, a Kenyan retail-tech startup, was named one of six global winners of the FTxSDG Challenge, which means it could receive US$500,000 in funding and growth support. According to Disrupt Africa, the Financial Times and Seedstars partnered in September to launch the FTxSDG Challenge, which aims to find impact-driven entrepreneurs and ventures developing innovative solutions…
Sympl, Egypt’s first ‘Save Your Money Pay Later’ service, has announced a partnership with El Nada Hospital, Egypt’s leading maternity hospital. Through the Sympl checkout platform, the partnership provides patients with interest-free deferred payment plans. The collaboration will provide El Nada Hospital patients with more payment options and improve their checkout experience by enabling better…