TechCabal

TechCabal

@TechCabal

Future-focused publication that speaks to African innovation and tech in depth.

Joined March 2023

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TechCabal
TechCabal
May 2, 2024
Renda Raises $1.9M to Scale E-commerce Logistics Across Africa 🚚💰
Discover how Nigerian logistics startup Renda secures $1.9 million in pre-seed funding to expand its reach into Kenya and other Nigerian cities, catering to the growing demand for efficient last-mile delivery and warehousing solutions in Africa's booming e-commerce sector.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
May 1, 2024
Twiga Foods Appoints Jumia's Charles Ballard as New CEO
Twiga Foods, the B2B e-commerce startup, welcomes Charles Ballard, former CEO of Jumia Kenya, as its new CEO, marking a significant transition following the departure of founder Peter Njonjo.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
May 1, 2024
Swvl Achieves Profitability Milestone with $3.1 Million Net Profit in 2023 📈💰
Dive into Swvl's remarkable turnaround story as the NASDAQ-listed mobility startup posts its first full-year net profit in 2023, signaling a shift from previous struggles to profitability, amidst strategic financial restructuring and expansion plans.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 30, 2024
BuuPass Expands Reach: Acquires QuickBus in Cash and Stock Deal
Join us as we unveil the latest game-changer in African travel! BuuPass, the pioneering travel booking platform, has just made a groundbreaking move by acquiring QuickBus, its prominent competitor in Nigeria and South Africa. This strategic deal promises to revolutionize travel across the continent, offering travelers unparalleled convenience and access to a wide array of destinations. Don't miss out on this exciting journey with BuuPass! 🚀🌍
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 29, 2024
Wasoko denies Rwanda exit as it ramps up hiring across East Africa 🇷🇼
Wasoko, the Kenyan e-commerce platform, refutes rumors of exiting Rwanda while intensifying recruitment efforts across East Africa. Despite recent exits from Zanzibar and pauses in Uganda and Zambia, Wasoko emphasizes its commitment to Rwanda, Tanzania, and Kenya. The platform is actively hiring for various roles in these regions, signaling a strategic expansion amidst operational adjustments.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 29, 2024
Nigeria's OPay Approaches $3 Billion Valuation Amid Digital Payments Surge 📈💸 🇳🇬
Nigeria's fintech landscape sees a significant boost as OPay's valuation skyrockets, showcasing the country's growing digital payments adoption and the rise of innovative financial technology companies.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 29, 2024
Mauritius Emerges as a Potential African Tech Hub with Focus on Startups and Regulatory Reforms 🇲🇺
Can Mauritius replicate its financial services success in the tech industry? Discover how the island nation is fostering innovation and overcoming challenges to become Africa's next tech hub.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 25, 2024
Kenyan Parliament Approves Historic EU Free Trade Deal 🇰🇪📜 🇪🇺
Kenya's parliament passes a landmark trade deal with the EU, offering duty-free access for Kenyan traders to the European market. The agreement underscores a commitment to labor rights, gender equality, and environmental sustainability, heralding a new era of economic cooperation between Kenya and the EU. 🇰🇪🤝🇪🇺
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 25, 2024
Uber and Lagos State Resolve Dispute Over Real-Time Data Sharing 🚖📊
After a month-long dispute, Uber and Lagos State have come to an agreement on sharing real-time data, ending concerns over service disruption and driver discontent.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 23, 2024
South Africa Grants Crypto Licences to Luno, VALR, and 73 Other Companies 🇿🇦
South Africa's financial conduct regulator has approved licenses for 75 crypto businesses, including major exchanges like Luno and VALR. This move signals a significant step in the country's acceptance of the crypto regulatory landscape.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 20, 2024
Kenya's Ministry Advocates Regulation Over Ban for TikTok 🇰🇪📱
Kenya's Ministry of Communications recommends regulatory measures for TikTok, emphasizing the importance of maintaining access to global social media platforms while addressing concerns of misuse and harmful content.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 19, 2024
Canal+ Boosts MultiChoice Stake to 40.8% Amid Acquisition Bid
Canal+ escalates its bid for MultiChoice, acquiring a significant stake and navigating regulatory hurdles in South Africa.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 18, 2024
MarketForce Shuts Down RejaReja B2B E-commerce, Shifts Focus to Social Commerce
Discover why MarketForce, a Y Combinator-backed startup, is closing its B2B e-commerce arm, RejaReja, and shifting gears to focus on social commerce with Chpter. Learn about the challenges faced in the competitive market and the startup's strategic pivot to adapt to changing dynamics in the industry.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 17, 2024
Equity Bank Hit by $2.1M Debit Card Fraud: 19 Suspects Nabbed
Discover the latest on Equity Bank's $2.1M debit card fraud, with 19 arrests made in connection. This incident shines a light on the escalating issue of cybercrime in Kenya's financial landscape, prompting increased tech investments by local banks to combat fraud.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 17, 2024
Cellulant Reinvents Leadership Post-CEO Departure, Prioritizes Profitability 🚀
After a significant CEO departure, Cellulant, the African payments startup, reshuffles its leadership, focusing on profitability and operational excellence to navigate its growth across 13 African markets.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 11, 2024
WeBuyCars Aims for $420M Valuation in JSE Listing 🚗💰
South Africa's leading used-car platform, WeBuyCars, is gearing up for its Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) debut, targeting a valuation of $420 million. Discover the potential upsides and concerns surrounding this IPO frenzy! 📈🤔
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 8, 2024
Zimbabwe to Resume Online Payments After April 12 as Banks Adjust to New Currency 🇿🇼
Get ready, Zimbabwe! Online payments are set to return as banks adapt to the country's latest currency shift. Find out how this change will impact your digital transactions! 💳
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 6, 2024
Nigeria Tops Musical Charts, But South Africa Reigns in Streaming Revenue 🎵💰 🇳🇬 🇿🇦
Nigeria's musical scene thrives with passionate listeners like Deborah, but despite the country's hit-making prowess, South Africa dominates streaming profits. Find out how the industry juggles growth and challenges in the streaming era.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 5, 2024
Foreign Investors Return to Nigeria, Eyeing High Yields Amid Interest Rate Hike 📈💼 🇳🇬
As Nigeria's Central Bank implements reforms and raises interest rates to combat inflation, foreign investors are flocking back to the country's government securities market. With an uptick in Foreign Portfolio Investments (FPIs) and growing investor confidence, Nigeria is becoming an attractive destination for investors seeking high yields amidst global economic uncertainties.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 4, 2024
Huawei Offers $10 Million Cloud Credits to Nigerian Startups in Bid for Market Share 🌐💰 🇳🇬
Huawei, the Chinese tech giant, is making a bold move in Nigeria's burgeoning cloud computing market by offering $10 million in cloud credits to 100 local startups. Will this strategic initiative help them carve out a significant share in the competitive landscape?
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 3, 2024
Roam Partners with Mogo to Drive Electric Motorcycle Adoption in Kenya 🌍⚡🇰🇪
Discover how Roam and Mogo's partnership is driving the adoption of electric motorcycles in Kenya, revolutionizing the transportation landscape and boosting boda boda riders' earnings by 30%. 🏍️⚡ Don't miss out on the electrifying journey towards a greener and more sustainable future in East Africa! 🌱✨
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 3, 2024
Baobab Network Strengthens Portfolio Support with Reflector Marketing Acquisition 🚀 🇰🇪
Baobab Network, on its mission to empower African startups, acquires Reflector Marketing to bolster portfolio companies’ marketing strategies, signaling a shift towards comprehensive support beyond funding. 💼💡
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 2, 2024
YC Picks Kenyan Fintech Startup Triply for Winter 2024 Batch 🇰🇪 🚀
Breaking news! Y Combinator, the renowned startup accelerator, has chosen Kenyan fintech Triply for its highly anticipated winter 2024 batch. Joining the elite ranks of African startups in the program, Triply aims to revolutionize payment solutions for small travel businesses in Africa, promising a game-changing approach to streamline operations and boost efficiency. 🚀
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 1, 2024
Uganda’s Core Inflation Drops to 3.3%, Below Central Bank’s Target of 5% 🇺🇬 📉
Uganda's annual inflation rate for March 2024 dips to 3.3%, staying under the Bank of Uganda's target, signaling stability in the economy. 📉💰
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 29, 2024
Patrice Motsepe's Involvement in Canal+'s Bid for MultiChoice: Implications and Possibilities 🌍💼
Discover how Patrice Motsepe's potential partnership with Canal+ in their bid for MultiChoice could impact the deal, navigating regulatory hurdles and potential conflicts of interest.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 28, 2024
GTBank Shifts Status After Bank of Uganda Reclassification 🇺🇬
The Bank of Uganda's reclassification of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) and two others from Tier I commercial banks to Tier II credit institutions signals a strategic shift in the Ugandan banking landscape.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 27, 2024
Kenya Airways Achieves First Operating Profit in Years, Cuts Losses 📈 ✈️ 🇰🇪
Kenya Airways (KQ) has significantly reduced its net loss for the year ended December 31, 2023, marking the first operating profit in nearly seven years due to increased revenues from a 35% year-on-year growth in passenger traffic. Despite reporting a net loss of $171.9 million, down 47%, the airline's revenues improved by 53% to $1.35 billion, indicating a positive trajectory for the national carrier.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 27, 2024
Empowering African Startups: Inside Oui Capital's Strategy and Support System
Discover the secrets behind Oui Capital's success in fostering African startups' growth, from early-stage investments to nurturing budding entrepreneurs.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 26, 2024
MTN Streamlines Operations, Exits Guinea-Bissau and Guinea-Conakry to Focus on Growth Markets
Discover how MTN Group's strategic move to exit smaller West and Central African markets signals a shift towards high-growth opportunities, reshaping its operational focus and revenue strategy.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 25, 2024
Access Holdings and Coronation Group Join Forces with M-Pesa to Revolutionize Regional Remittance
Discover how Access Holdings and Coronation Group are teaming up with M-Pesa to reshape the remittance landscape, connecting millions across East and West Africa.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 24, 2024
Freelancers Navigate AI Threats: Struggle for Fair Pay and Integrity 🌍 ✍🏾 🧠
As AI permeates freelance markets, Nigerian freelancers grapple with diminishing pay rates, resorting to AI tools to meet demands. The balance between integrity and income becomes precarious in an evolving landscape.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 23, 2024
Congolese Fintechs Forge Alliance with Government to Shape Industry Standards 🇨🇩
Congolese fintech companies are teaming up with the government to establish the Congolese Fintech Network (CFN), aiming to bolster financial inclusion and facilitate collaboration within the industry. Led by board member Joel Tshilumba, CFN seeks to foster effective communication channels with government representatives to promote mutual benefits and innovation.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 22, 2024
Meta Expands Monetization Opportunities for Nigerian Creators, Targets Africa Growth 🌍💰 🇳🇬
Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, announces plans to enable Nigerian content creators to monetize their content through ads and other features, aiming to retain top creators on its platforms. This move follows the successful launch of a performance-based monetization program called "Ads on Reels" in select countries in 2023. Nick Clegg, Meta's President of Global Affairs, highlights the global reach of Nigerian creators and discusses upcoming monetization tools during a visit to Lagos, emphasizing the importance of African markets. Additionally, Clegg addresses connectivity challenges and Meta's efforts to enhance internet infrastructure resilience in Africa through subsea cables.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 22, 2024
Telkom to Sell Tower and Mast Assets for $356 Million, Focusing on Infrastructure-Led Strategy
Discover how Telkom, South Africa's third-largest mobile network operator, is set to strengthen its core operations by selling off tower and mast assets worth $356 million, paving the way for an infrastructure-led business model aimed at shaping the country's digital future.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 21, 2024
Access Bank Acquires National Bank of Kenya for Approximately $100 Million in East Africa Expansion 🏦💼 🇰🇪
Access Bank's acquisition of National Bank of Kenya (NBK) marks a significant move in its East Africa expansion strategy, valued at around $100 million, pending regulatory approval. 📈💰
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 20, 2024
Access Bank Expands Footprint in Kenya with National Bank Acquisition 🏦 🇳🇬 🇰🇪
Nigeria's Access Bank strengthens its presence in Kenya with the acquisition of the National Bank of Kenya from KCB Group, marking its second Kenyan acquisition in recent years. 🌍💼
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 20, 2024
Acasia Ventures Backs Egypt's Pharmacy Marts with Six-Figure Investment 💼 💊 🇪🇬
Pharmacy Marts secures a significant investment boost from Acasia Ventures, signaling a major milestone for the Egyptian health tech startup and its plans for expansion across African markets.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 19, 2024
tappi and MTN Partner to Empower Ivorian Businesses Online 📱🇨🇮 🫱🏾‍🫲🏿
Discover how tappi's collaboration with MTN is revolutionizing online commerce for Ivorian businesses, empowering them to thrive in the digital era. With user-friendly tools and affordable subscriptions, tappi is bridging the gap for SMEs seeking to establish a credible online presence in Côte d’Ivoire. Join the movement towards digital empowerment and economic growth with tappi and MTN. 💪📈
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 19, 2024
GetEquity Expands Investment Offerings, Eyes Safer Asset Classes 📈💰
GetEquity, backed by TechStars, shifts its focus to include bonds and fixed-income assets amidst changing market dynamics, aiming to cater to retail investors seeking safer investment options in uncertain times.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 19, 2024
Vodacom Announces Job Cuts Across All Levels in South Africa 📉 🇿🇦
South Africa's telecom giant, Vodacom, shocks markets with plans to trim 80 jobs, impacting every level of its operations. 😱
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 19, 2024
Nigeria's Growing Data Demands Drive Investment in Hyperscale Data Centres 🇳🇬
With the proliferation of eight subsea fibre optic cables in Nigeria, investors are pouring funds into hyperscale data centre projects to meet the surging demand for data storage solutions. 🌐💰
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 19, 2024
Kuda Expands Globally with New Licenses in Tanzania and Canada 🌍 🇹🇿 🍁 💳
Nigerian neobank Kuda, backed by Target Global, is expanding its reach globally with newly acquired payment licenses in Tanzania and Canada. These licenses will enable Kuda to offer remittance and multi-currency wallet services to Africans in both countries, tapping into the growing market of diaspora communities. Kuda's move puts it in direct competition with other neobanks targeting Africans abroad, such as LemFi and Nala.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 18, 2024
SEC Proposes ₦1 Billion Capital Requirement for Virtual Asset Companies 🇳🇬
Nigeria's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposes a substantial increase in the minimum paid-up capital for virtual asset service providers (VASPs) to ₦1 billion, aiming to reshape the crypto landscape.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 16, 2024
Chipper Cash Cuts US and UK Roles After Suspending US Operations 🛑 🇺🇸 🇬🇧 👉🏾🌍
Chipper Cash, a prominent fintech company, announces layoffs and salary cuts after suspending its services in the US, highlighting a strategic shift towards focusing on its African markets.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 16, 2024
Wasoko Makes Strategic Moves: Exits Zanzibar, Pauses Uganda and Zambia Operations Amid Profitability Drive
Discover the behind-the-scenes restructuring at Wasoko as it navigates mergers and market dynamics, affecting operations in Zanzibar, Uganda, and Zambia.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 15, 2024
Overcoming Adversity: How Zimbabwean Startups Thrive Amid Hyperinflation and Sanctions 🚀 🇿🇼
Despite economic challenges fueled by hyperinflation and sanctions, Zimbabwean startups are resilient and forging ahead. Learn how they navigate funding constraints, access markets beyond borders, and embrace alternative financial technologies.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 14, 2024
Interswitch Pursues PSB License After Merging with M-Kudi: What's Next?
Interswitch, backed by Visa, embarks on a new phase with its merger with M-Kudi, eyeing a payment service bank (PSB) license from Nigeria's Central Bank. But what does this mean for the fintech giant and the future of banking in Nigeria?
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 14, 2024
Telkom Kenya's Subscriber Base Plummets Amid Tower Dispute 🇰🇪
Amid a contentious dispute with tower partner American Towers Corporation (ATC), Telkom Kenya's subscriber base takes a significant hit, shedding 800,000 customers in just three months. This decline underscores the critical role of tower infrastructure and the challenges faced by telcos in managing such partnerships, shedding light on the complexities of the telecommunications industry in Kenya.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 13, 2024
📱💰 Airtel Africa Considers IPO for Mobile Money Arm 🌍💼
Airtel Africa is contemplating an initial public offering (IPO) for its mobile money unit, potentially valuing it at over $4 billion, amidst discussions in early stages, reports Bloomberg. Despite a significant profit drop in 2023, Airtel Money, the telco's financial arm, saw substantial revenue growth, signaling investor interest in fintech ventures.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 12, 2024
Interswitch Diversifies into Telecoms with $1 Million MVNO License, Aims to Bridge Connectivity Gaps
Dive into the synergy of finance and telecom as Interswitch, backed by Visa, embarks on a transformative journey with a $1 million MVNO license. Unleashing possibilities for underserved areas and catering to overlooked consumer segments, Interswitch aims to revolutionize Nigeria's telecom sector, promising affordable 4G/5G services and innovative communication solutions.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 12, 2024
Chams Strategizes for Growth: Shifts Focus to Mobile Money and Cross-Border Payments 🚀 💳 🌍
Discover how Chams Holding Company's CEO, Mayowa Olaniyan, navigated the aftermath of a $100 million loss from a government project, leading the company to a surge in share prices. Now, with a renewed focus on consumer-centric projects, Chams is set to capitalize on the burgeoning mobile money and cross-border payments sectors, emphasizing innovation and expansion across its financial service subsidiaries.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 11, 2024
Breaking News: Ex-Paystack Leaders Launch GoLemon Grocery Delivery Startup! 🍋 🚀
🌐 GoLemon's Vision: Transforming the grocery delivery landscape by managing inventory and fulfillment centers, GoLemon optimizes costs, targeting customers with large, repeat orders. With a robust team leveraging experience from Supermart and Lagos supermarkets, GoLemon enters the market poised to weather challenges and build a formidable business.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 11, 2024
Kenya Strengthens Digital Credit Sector Oversight: Licenses 17 New Providers Amid Crackdown 🇰🇪
In a bid to protect borrowers and curb predatory lending, Kenya's Central Bank has granted licenses to 17 new digital credit providers, including Autochek. This move comes after a comprehensive crackdown that saw the total number reduced to 51, emphasizing a commitment to consumer protection and ethical practices.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 11, 2024
How Huawei Emerged as Nigeria’s Leading Telecom Vendor and Enterprise Giant: A Tale of Ambition and Controversy 🚀 🇳🇬
Dive into the captivating journey of how Huawei, since its 1999 debut in Nigeria, strategically maneuvered to become the nation's top telecom vendor and enterprise behemoth. Unveil the success factors, ambitious projects, and a touch of controversy surrounding Huawei's ascent in the heart of Africa.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 8, 2024
Flutterwave Pivots to Enterprise and Remittance, Sunsets Barter: A Strategic Move for Africa's Fintech Leader 🚀
Discover how Africa's leading fintech, Flutterwave, is reshaping its focus by closing the chapter on Barter, the virtual card service. 🔄🔒 Dive into the reasons behind this strategic decision and the company's intensified commitment to enterprise and remittance services, aiming for even greater financial impact in the market. 💼💸
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 7, 2024
MTN Nigeria Recovers ₦12.5 Billion After Mobile Money Glitch; Monthly Users Surge
MTN Nigeria bounces back, reclaiming over half of the ₦22 billion lost in a Mobile Money glitch, showcasing the challenges of fraud in Nigeria's financial sector. Despite setbacks, CEO Toriola highlights a surge in monthly active users to 5.3 million, driven by a growing ecosystem of agents and merchants.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 6, 2024
Patient Capital, Diverse Exits: Verod-Kepple's Vision for the Future of African Startups 🚀 🌍
Explore the $45 million vision of Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures (VKAV), backed by industry veterans Ory Okolloh, Ryosuke Yamawaki, and Satoshi Shinada. With decades of African operational and investment experience, VKAV is shifting focus to growth-stage startups, bringing hands-on support, a unique lens on scalability, and a commitment to diverse exits.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 5, 2024
🚀 YC-Backed TAP and Pay Revolutionizes Lagos Commuting with Cowry Cards, Processing 500,000 Daily Payments 🚌💳
Discover how TAP's Cowry cards have transformed Lagos commuting, offering seamless payments for buses and trains. With 3.8 million users making 500,000 daily trip payments, the contactless technology enhances travel convenience while reducing corruption in Nigeria's transport system. 🌍💸
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 5, 2024
🚨 Binance Halts Naira Services Amid Regulatory Woes: What You Need to Know 🇳🇬
In a significant development, Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, is set to discontinue all its Naira services starting March 8. Amidst ongoing regulatory challenges in Nigeria, the exchange will cease Naira deposits after March 5, with withdrawals ending on March 8. Here's a quick rundown of the key details and implications for users.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 5, 2024
Ghana's Central Bank Suspends Forex Licenses of Guaranty Trust Bank and FBN Bank Over Regulatory Breaches 🇬🇭
Ghana's Central Bank takes decisive action, suspending the foreign exchange licenses of Guaranty Trust Bank and FBN Bank for one month, citing various regulatory breaches. The move underscores the country's commitment to enforcing forex market regulations and ensuring financial institutions adhere to strict guidelines.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 5, 2024
🚀 Nigeria's 5G Surge: Telecom Giants Invest Billions as Users Embrace Faster Networks 📱💨
As 4G and 5G adoption soars, MTN and Airtel lead the charge in Nigeria's telecom revolution, with billions invested in network infrastructure. Discover how the nation's smartphone landscape is transforming and why users are embracing faster connectivity despite economic challenges. 🌐📈
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 5, 2024
Bolt Takes on Uber in Cairo with Aggressive Pricing and 15% Driver Commissions 🇪🇬
Bolt, the global ride-hailing giant, has launched in Cairo, challenging Uber's dominance with a bold pricing strategy. Offering a 15% commission for drivers (compared to Uber's 22-33%) and a 50% discount for riders in the first six months, Bolt aims to boost demand and provide a more economical alternative in the Egyptian market. This move follows Bolt's recent expansion in Southern Africa and a commitment to invest over $500 million in the continent by the end of 2024.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 4, 2024
Fintech Struggles: Brass Blames Funding Winter for Customer Withdrawal Delays
Nigerian fintech startup, Brass, cites a challenging funding environment and a surge in customers for persistent withdrawal delays, highlighting the broader struggles faced by fintechs. CEO Sola Akindolu acknowledges the costly nature of running a fintech and discusses the need for substantial capital amid ongoing funding challenges.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 2, 2024
Unlocking Potential: Malawi's Emerging Tech Ecosystem Gains Momentum 🇲🇼💡🚀
Discover how Malawi, once underestimated in tech, is making strides with initiatives like hosting the 2024 Africa Smart Cities Congress and attracting global players like Flutterwave. Government policies, international support, and grassroots efforts are reshaping the narrative, paving the way for a brighter future in innovation.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 1, 2024
InDrive Introduces 10% Commission Charge for Drivers in Botswana Amidst Bolt's Arrival 🚗 🇧🇼
Get ready for a ride-hailing showdown in Botswana as inDrive, the California-based platform, implements a 10% commission for drivers just as Bolt enters the scene. This strategic move aims to fuel further investments in Botswana, marking a shift from inDrive's commission-free model over the past five years. The battle for urban mobility dominance is heating up in this key African market.
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TechCabal
Mar 1, 2024
MTN Nigeria Faces ₦137 Billion Loss in FY 2023 Amid Naira Devaluation 🇳🇬 📉
MTN Nigeria, a telecom giant, experiences its first annual loss in three years, amounting to ₦137 billion in 2023. The impact of Naira devaluation and increased business costs, notably tower lease expenses linked to the US dollar, played a significant role in the financial downturn. Despite challenges, the company eyes expansion in non-core services, emphasizing 4G and 5G growth, while engaging with regulators to resolve disputes.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 1, 2024
🏠 Nigerian Property Startup, Spleet, Faces Layoffs Amidst Inflation Challenges 📉
As inflation and landlord price hikes squeeze Spleet, the proptech startup that garnered $2.6 million in 2022 faces tough decisions. Monthly rental disruptors are feeling the heat in Nigeria's real estate market, with layoffs looming and macroeconomic conditions taking a toll. Can proptech weather the storm?
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Feb 28, 2024
Nigerian Crypto Platforms Halt USDT and USDC Trades Amid CBN Scrutiny 🇳🇬 ₿
Amid renewed scrutiny from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), several Nigerian crypto platforms are suspending the purchase and sale of USDT and USDC stablecoins with Naira. The move comes after CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso claimed that $26 billion had passed through Binance Nigeria from unidentified sources. Crypto exchanges face increasing regulatory challenges, triggering cautious responses and even arrests, echoing concerns reminiscent of past regulatory uncertainties.
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TechCabal
Feb 28, 2024
Bolt Expands Its Ride-Hailing Service to Botswana, Waives Driver Commissions for Six Months 🚗 🇧🇼
Estonian ride-hailing giant, Bolt, makes its mark in Botswana, entering a market dominated by inDrive. In a strategic move, Bolt exempts drivers from commissions for the initial six months, aiming to foster high demand through competitive pricing. With features focused on safety, Bolt navigates the challenging Botswana landscape, aiming to revolutionize the ride-hailing experience.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Feb 22, 2024
Rising Cloud Costs in Nigeria Trigger Startup Concerns: Can Local Providers Offer a Solution?
As the Naira depreciates, Nigerian startups grapple with soaring bills for global cloud services, pushing some entrepreneurs to explore local alternatives. With the dominance of major players like AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud, startups face the challenge of balancing cost concerns and infrastructure capabilities. Are homegrown cloud providers equipped to rescue startups from escalating cloud expenses?
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Feb 22, 2024
South Africa Eyes Nomad Goldrush, Targets Wealthy Remote Workers with New Visa Regulations ✈️ 🇿🇦
🌍 South Africa aims to become a global hub for digital nomads, publishing draft regulations for a digital nomad visa. The proposed visa targets remote workers earning at least R1 million (~$53,000) annually. However, regulatory hurdles and amendments to existing laws pose challenges for the realization of this ambitious plan. Share your thoughts on shaping South Africa's digital nomad visa!
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TechCabal
Feb 21, 2024
Miden: Revolutionizing Card Issuance Speed in African Fintech
In the dynamic landscape of African fintech, Miden emerges as a game-changer by slashing the card issuance time from months to weeks, aiming to drive financial inclusion. With innovative solutions and rapid growth, this Y Combinator-backed startup navigates the complexities of the virtual card space.
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TechCabal
Feb 21, 2024
Binance Takes Desperate Measures Amid Naira Slide: Limits USDT/NGN Trading ₿ 🇳🇬
As the Nigerian Naira hits record lows, Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, implements restrictions on the USDT/NGN trading pair, aiming to combat fraud and manipulation. This move sparks concerns among users and prompts a shift to alternative peer-to-peer platforms, highlighting the challenges faced by crypto traders in Nigeria amidst economic uncertainties.
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TechCabal
Feb 18, 2024
Inflation's Impact on BNPL Startups: Navigating Challenges and Opportunities in Nigeria's Changing Economic Landscape 📉🛍️
Discover how Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL) startups like CDCare and CredPal in Nigeria are adapting to the dual effects of rising inflation and changing consumer behaviors. From surging demand for installment payments due to reduced purchasing power to the cautious optimism in the face of economic uncertainties, these startups are reshaping their strategies to thrive amidst challenges. 🇳🇬💳
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Feb 16, 2024
Jumia's Q4 2023 Financial Results Spark 41.18% Stock Surge Despite Operating Loss 🛒 📈
Investors cheer as Jumia's Q4 2023 financial report reveals a 41.18% surge in stock value, even as the Africa-focused e-commerce giant trims operating losses to the lowest in four years. With strategic changes and a focus on profitability, Jumia aims to build a leaner, more agile company in the face of challenging macroeconomic conditions across its African markets.
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Feb 16, 2024
Jumia Implements Workforce Reduction Following Jumia Food Exit
Amid strategic changes and its recent exit from the food delivery business, Jumia, Africa's leading e-commerce platform, undertakes employee layoffs in Kenya and other markets. The move aims to optimize capital and pursue cost efficiencies as the company continues its path to profitability.
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TechCabal
Feb 15, 2024
Jumia Trims Operational Losses in Q4 2023, Yet Profitability Remains a Challenge 📉💼
Despite slashing operating losses and implementing strategic changes, Jumia faces questions on profitability in Q4 2023. The company's shift includes shutting down Jumia Food, staff reductions, and a focus on higher-ticket items, showcasing impressive cost discipline under CEO Francis Dufay. 🌍🛒
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Feb 15, 2024
Qubit Hub Study Advocates Building Strong Foundation Before AI Regulation in Africa ⚖ 🧠 🌍
Discover insights from a new study by Qubit Hub, revealing that Africa should prioritize strengthening its AI ecosystem before rushing into regulations. The study emphasizes the need for improved data infrastructure, talent development, and market-focused AI solutions for sustainable growth.
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TechCabal
Feb 15, 2024
Nigeria Faces Economic Strain as January Inflation Hits 29.90% and Food Costs Soar 🇳🇬 📈
Amidst soaring inflation at 29.90%, Nigerians grapple with surging food costs, prompting economic concerns. As the Central Bank considers drastic measures, including potential interest rate hikes, the nation awaits solutions to ease the financial strain on households.
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TechCabal
Feb 14, 2024
Firstmonie Emerges as Nigeria’s Top Bank-Led Agency Banking Service with ₦1.1 Trillion Transactions 🇳🇬 🚀
Firstmonie, the agency banking arm of First Bank of Nigeria, dominates the country's agency banking market, processing over ₦1.1 trillion in transactions in 2023, surpassing the combined total of major banks. Fintech players, including Moniepoint and Opay, are gaining momentum, outpacing traditional bank-led services, driven by agility, accessibility, and innovations in response to the 2023 cash crunch.
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Feb 14, 2024
Sierra Leone's Ambitious Tech Leap: Aiming to Become Africa's Innovation Hub 🇸🇱
President Julius Maada Bio envisions Sierra Leone as the "Estonia of Africa," investing in tech to supply talent across the continent. With a strategic focus on building a tech and innovation city, the country aims to create 500,000 jobs by 2028 and position digital skills as an exportable commodity. As Sierra Leone embraces cross-border collaboration and draws inspiration from successful models, it sets the stage for a collaborative tech future in Africa.
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Feb 14, 2024
Unlocking Agricultural Potential: How AI Revolutionizes Farming in Africa 🌍🚜
Discover how Artificial Intelligence is transforming African agriculture, addressing challenges like inefficient farming methods and low investment. From precision farming to success stories like India's AI-driven initiative, explore how AI empowers farmers and propels Africa towards an agricultural revolution! 🌾🤖
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TechCabal
Feb 13, 2024
🚀 Flutterwave Invested $3 Million in PiggyVest's Parent Company, Fueling Future Equity 🌐💰
Africa's fintech leader, Flutterwave, silently invests $3 million in PiggyTech, the powerhouse behind PiggyVest, marking a strategic partnership for future equity. This move amplifies PiggyVest's drive for external funding amidst valuation disagreements and economic challenges. 🚀💸
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Feb 12, 2024
Ethiopia Grapples with Soaring Inflation at 28.7%, Central Bank Struggles Amidst Ongoing Challenges 📈🇪🇹
Discover Ethiopia's economic turmoil as inflation hits a staggering 28.7%, posing formidable challenges for the National Bank of Ethiopia. Uncover the factors behind this surge, from internal conflicts to global commodity price spikes, as the nation strives to curb inflation below 20% by June 2024.
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Feb 9, 2024
Kenyan E-commerce Startup Wasoko Faces Employee Backlash Over Hidden Merger Plans with MaxAB 🇰🇪
Employees at Wasoko, a prominent Kenyan e-commerce platform, claim the company concealed its merger with Egypt's MaxAB for over six months, leading to unexpected layoffs. The fallout has resulted in a legal battle with accusations of unfair dismissals and disputes over severance packages. As the case unfolds, Wasoko's reputation and handling of the situation are under scrutiny.
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Feb 7, 2024
From Inception to N15 Trillion: Hydrogen's Ambitious Plans to Transform Nigeria's Payments Landscape 🇳🇬
Discover how Hydrogen, the payments arm of Access Corporation, aims to revolutionize Africa's payment ecosystem, processing a staggering 15 trillion Naira in transactions within its first significant year. With a robust infrastructure focus, Hydrogen competes with key players, envisioning itself as the powerhouse behind one in every three transactions across the continent.
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Feb 7, 2024
Remoteli, Ghana's Tech Talent Startup, Secures £250,000 Pre-Seed Funding Led by Footballer Jeremie Frimpong
Ghanaian tech talent platform, Remoteli, scores big with £250,000 in pre-seed funding from professional footballer Jeremie Frimpong. As the startup aims to connect African tech talents with remote opportunities, Frimpong's investment aligns with a growing trend of sports stars backing tech innovation, aiming to make a difference both on and off the field.
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Feb 5, 2024
🚫 Senegal Temporarily Shuts Down Mobile Internet Amidst Political Tensions 🇸🇳
Senegal faces heightened instability as the government suspends mobile internet for the third time in nine months, citing the spread of "hateful messages" on social media. The move follows protests sparked by the postponement of the Presidential elections for six months, contributing to growing political uncertainty in the historically stable democracy.
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Feb 5, 2024
🚨 Unpaid and Laid Off: 40 Tingo Mobile Contractors Left in the Lurch Amid Fraud Charges 📉💼
Amidst facing fraud charges and a financial storm, Tingo Mobile leaves 40 contractors in distress, laying them off without paying December and January salaries. The startup, embroiled in a scandal, redirects blame to outsourcing company HR Indexx, leaving affected employees in limbo. The unfolding drama raises concerns about the fate of workers and the company's credibility amidst ongoing legal scrutiny. 🤯💔
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Feb 4, 2024
📵 Safaricom Tightens Security: Halts M-PESA Transfers to Unregistered Users 🛑💰
Safaricom, Kenya's leading telco, takes a bold security step by discontinuing M-PESA transfers to unregistered users, impacting Airtel Money and T-Kash users. The move is speculated to enhance traceability and address concerns over unregistered SIM cards in mobile money transactions. 🚫💳
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Feb 2, 2024
Legal Victory: Flutterwave Celebrates Release of $3 Million in Kenya After Lengthy Court Battle 🏦💰
In a landmark decision, Flutterwave, the fintech giant, triumphs as a Kenyan court unfreezes $3 million previously withheld, ending a legal dispute that began in 2022. With the funds restored, Flutterwave now gears up for new business ventures, including obtaining a payments and remittance license in Kenya, further solidifying its presence in key African markets.
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TechCabal
Feb 1, 2024
🌍 Zone, Africa’s Blockchain Pioneer, Set to Revolutionize Remittances in 2025! 🚀💸
Africa's leading licensed blockchain payment infrastructure, Zone, gears up to launch a groundbreaking remittance product in 2025, aiming to tackle distribution, liquidity, and licensing challenges faced by remittance providers and IMTOs. CEO Obi Emetarom reveals the company's strategic approach, leveraging its existing network and licenses, while envisioning a future shaped by regulated DeFi.
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Jan 31, 2024
Kippa, Backed by Target Global, Takes a Leap into EdTech - Exclusive Insights
Exclusive insider information reveals that Kippa, initially a fintech startup supported by Target Global, is making a strategic shift into the EdTech landscape. Unveiling a new platform, Kippa aims to empower users to effortlessly create and deliver online courses, embracing innovative AI-driven learning formats. This pivot comes in the wake of challenges in Kippa's financial management endeavors, including a significant layoff in 2023, indicating a bold move towards educational technology.
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Jan 31, 2024
Pade Processes ₦11 Billion in Salaries in 2023 After Securing Flutterwave as a Key Client
Discover how Pade, a HR management startup, made waves by paying ₦11 billion in salaries for over 6,500 employees in 2023. With significant growth driven by key clients like Flutterwave, Pade's innovative solutions and plans for employee empowerment position it for continued success in 2024 and expansion into the East African market. 💼💸🚀
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Jan 31, 2024
📉 Nigeria's Broadband Penetration Drops by 10.7% Following Population Adjustment 🇳🇬
Discover the impact of Nigeria's population figure adjustment on broadband penetration, revealing challenges in meeting the 2025 target. 📊🇳🇬
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Jan 31, 2024
Bolt Accelerates Expansion: Launches Ride-Hailing Services in Zimbabwe with a Bold Move 🇿🇼
Estonian e-taxi giant, Bolt, drives into Harare, Zimbabwe, offering a unique incentive by waiving driver commissions for a minimum of six months. This strategic move marks Bolt's twelfth country entry, focusing on fostering driver earnings and competitive pricing. As part of its broader African investment plan, Bolt aims to redefine ride-hailing safety standards, reflecting its commitment to both riders and drivers. 🚗💨
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Jan 30, 2024
Nigeria to Introduce Fraud-Flagging Feature on PoS Terminals by Q1 2024 🇳🇬
Nigeria's Central Bank, in collaboration with AMMBAN, is set to enhance PoS terminals with a fraud-flagging feature, requiring specific KYC details for transactions. The move aims to combat fraud at agent locations, with launch expectations by the end of Q1 2024.
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Jan 29, 2024
Chaka Founder Tosin Osibodu Steps Down After Rise Merger, Joins Alpaca for Global Expansion ✨📈
Founder Tosin Osibodu exits Chaka, the Nigerian stock investment startup, following its merger with Rise. Now part of Alpaca, Osibodu is set to contribute to the global expansion of the API-focused trading platform. The move sparks speculation about the future integration of Chaka and RiseVest under Rise's sole CEO, Eke Urum.
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Jan 27, 2024
🚀 Moniepoint's Soaring Success: Over 5 Billion Transactions, $150 Billion Value in 2023 🌐💸
Moniepoint, Nigeria's payment giant, had a phenomenal 2023, processing a staggering 5.2 billion transactions valued at over $150 billion, marking a remarkable 205% increase from the previous year. As it continues to dominate the Nigerian market, Moniepoint's expansion into Kenya hints at even greater strides in the fintech landscape. 📈💳
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Jan 27, 2024
Access HoldCo Nears Regulatory Approval for ARM Pensions Acquisition, Aiming to Dominate $34.9 Billion Pension Market
Access HoldCo, the parent company of Access Bank, is on the verge of regulatory approval for acquiring ARM Pensions, positioning itself as a major player in Nigeria's $34.9 billion pension market. This move follows Access HoldCo's strategic expansions, including the integration of Sigma Pension and First Guarantee Pension, potentially challenging Stanbic IBTC for the top spot. The acquisition faces scrutiny from both NGX and PenCom, ensuring financial stability and safeguarding pensioners' interests.
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Jan 26, 2024
🚀 Takealot Gears Up for Amazon Challenge with New CEO Appointment 🌐🛒 🇿🇦
South African e-commerce giant Takealot announces Frederik Zietsman as its new CEO amid Amazon's impending market entry. As the e-commerce landscape heats up, the reshuffle aims to fortify Takealot's leadership to counter the global e-commerce giant.
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Jan 24, 2024
AltSchool Africa Expands to Kenya, Sees Significant Traction in Second-Largest Revenue Market 🇰🇪
Edtech startup AltSchool Africa, known as the African counterpart to the US coding bootcamp BloomTech, extends its reach to Kenya, its second-largest revenue-generating market. The move aims to provide hands-on support to Kenyan learners and streamline local payment processes, marking a strategic expansion for the platform.
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Jan 24, 2024
Kenya’s PesaLink to Introduce Merchant Payment Services Amidst M-PESA Outage
As M-PESA experiences a service disruption in Kenya, PesaLink, a real-time fund transfer platform, is set to launch a merchant payments option, providing an alternative for users frustrated by the outage. Amidst customer demands for enhanced features, PesaLink aims to rival M-PESA's offerings with a separate merchant payment service, promising an innovative and independent ecosystem.
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Jan 24, 2024
Twiga and Incentro Resolve $261k Debt Dispute, Seek Google Contract Renegotiation 🤝🏾💻💰
In a significant development, Twiga Foods and Incentro have amicably settled their $261,000 debt dispute, with plans to request Google to cancel the original contract. The resolution comes after negotiations led by Twiga's CFO, Zuber Momoniat, in the wake of leadership changes at Twiga. The case sheds light on the challenges African companies face in managing long-term contracts with global cloud providers amid currency fluctuations.
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Jan 23, 2024
Botswana's Unemployed Youth Turn to Online English Tutoring Amid Rising Unemployment 🇧🇼
As Botswana grapples with a soaring youth unemployment rate of over 44%, young Batswana are leveraging online platforms like Preply and Cambly to teach English to Asian students, tapping into the vast market of almost 400 million Chinese citizens learning English. With a low barrier to entry, these online tutoring opportunities provide an alternative source of income, enabling unemployed youth to earn between $3 and $7 per hour while facing challenges like occasional racism and limited internet access.
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Jan 23, 2024
Nigerian Crypto Startups Seek SEC Licences After Central Bank Lifts Ban 🇳🇬 ₿
In the wake of Nigeria's Central Bank lifting the two-year ban on crypto-related bank accounts, crypto exchanges Quidax and Luno, among others, are racing to secure licences from the Security Exchange Commission (SEC). This marks a pivotal shift for the crypto industry in Nigeria, indicating a strategic move by startups to navigate regulatory changes.
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Jan 23, 2024
🔍 Safaricom Faces Backlash as M-PESA Outage Hits Kenya: Poor Communication Raises Concerns 📵💬
Safaricom's M-PESA service faces scrutiny as a prolonged outage leaves users frustrated. Lack of communication from the telecom giant sparks social media uproar, questioning the reliability of Kenya's leading mobile money platform. Rivals struggle to compete, highlighting the dominance of M-PESA despite periodic service disruptions.
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Jan 22, 2024
🚀 Zilla Shifts Gears: Pauses BNPL Services, Focuses on Cross-Border Payment Product Zillawire 🌐💳
Facing challenges in consumer understanding, Zilla, the Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL) startup, hits pause on its BNPL services. Instead, it's steering towards success with Zillawire, a robust cross-border payment product, overcoming hurdles in the evolving FinTech landscape. 🔄💼
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Jan 19, 2024
Timbuktoo: UNDP-Backed $1 Billion Fund Revolutionizing African Tech Startups
🌍 The largest-ever startup fund in Africa, Timbuktoo, launches with a $1 billion commitment over 10 years to empower 1000 tech startups across the continent. Led by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and eight African countries, this initiative aims to catalyze domestic capital, making venture investments riskier and more attractive. 💡💰
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Jan 18, 2024
Safaricom Escapes Fines Despite Third-Year Drop in Service Quality, Other Telcos Face Penalties 📉📱
Kenya's leading telco, Safaricom, avoids penalties despite a third consecutive year of declining service quality, as it meets the minimum compliance threshold of 80%, according to the Communications Authority. While Airtel and Telkom face fines for not meeting QoS standards, Safaricom's overall performance stands at 87.60%, securing its position. The regulator has collected over KES 500 million in fines over the past five years for QoS violations.
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Jan 18, 2024
Access Bank Ventures into Standalone Digital Lending with Oxygen X, Receives Central Bank Approval
Nigeria's Access Corporation, the parent company of Access Bank, is set to launch Oxygen X, a standalone digital lending subsidiary, expanding its reach beyond traditional banking customers. With approval from the Central Bank, Oxygen X aims to compete with existing digital lenders, serving a broader market of digital-first consumers. This strategic move aligns with Access Corporation's ambitious plans for global expansion and diversification in the fintech space.
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Jan 17, 2024
🚀 Future Africa's Founders Launch $750K-Backed Accelerate Africa, Aiming to Be the YC of the Continent 🌍💡
Iyin Aboyeji, founder of VC firm Future Africa, and Mia von Koschitzky-Kimani are spearheading Accelerate Africa, a game-changing accelerator fueled by a $750,000 USAID grant. With the goal of becoming Africa's answer to Y Combinator, they plan to nurture ten pre-seed and seed-stage startups across the continent, providing invaluable mentorship and guidance.
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Jan 17, 2024
TymeBank Achieves Remarkable Turnaround, Reports Profit Six Months After $45 Million Loss
South African neobank TymeBank surprises the market by bouncing back from a significant loss, revealing a profitable December 2023 just six months after posting a $45 million deficit. With strategic partnerships, a growing lending portfolio, and backing from venture capitalists, TymeBank showcases a remarkable financial turnaround in the competitive digital banking landscape.
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Jan 17, 2024
🚀 Africa Tech Summit Showcases 10 Innovative Startups Competing for Funding Boost 💰
Discover the future of African innovation! 🌍 Ten dynamic startups, spanning fintech, agritech, Web3, and more, will pitch groundbreaking ideas for funding at the Africa Tech Summit in Nairobi. As Africa charts a new path in 2024, these startups aim to secure investments ranging from $500,000 to $15 million, driving growth in diverse sectors. 🚀💡
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Jan 16, 2024
General Atlantic Expands Sustainable Infrastructure Reach with $12.5B+ Acquisition of Actis
General Atlantic, a New York-based growth equity firm, is set to acquire Actis, a London-based energy infrastructure investor with a significant presence in Africa, in a deal exceeding $12.5 billion. The partnership aims to deepen investments in sustainable infrastructure, creating a global platform with $96 billion in assets under management (AUM). Actis, known for its investments in African energy projects, will become the sustainable infrastructure arm within General Atlantic's investment platform, maintaining independence over its investment decisions.
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Jan 16, 2024
Canza Finance Secures $2.3M Funding to Revolutionize Cross-Border Payments in Africa 🌍💸
Canza Finance, the Web3 neobank, has raised $2.3 million in a strategic round led by Polychain Capital, aiming to simplify cross-border payments for African startups. With plans to acquire licenses across the continent and introduce its innovative FX DeFi platform, Baki, Canza aims to empower businesses with faster, cost-effective international transactions. The startup, having raised a total of $5.5 million, envisions providing financial services typically reserved for large corporations to businesses in markets like Nigeria, Cameroon, and Senegal.
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Jan 16, 2024
🚨 Exclusive: Nigerian Fintech Kippa Hit by ₦30 Million Internal Fraud Amid Shutdown Crisis
Nigeria's Kippa, a finance startup, faces turmoil as internal fraud connected to its agency banking product, Kippa Pay, results in a loss of ₦30 million. The fraud, discovered in November, follows the recent shutdown of Kippa Pay and layoffs of 40 employees. Despite promises of severance pay, the affected workers are left in uncertainty.
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Jan 12, 2024
Showmax 2.0 Relaunch: MultiChoice Aims for Streaming Supremacy in Africa 🎬🔥
Dive into the streaming revolution as MultiChoice reveals big plans for the Showmax 2.0 relaunch, set to debut in February! With 1,300 hours of original African content and a groundbreaking standalone Premier League mobile streaming plan, Showmax is on a mission to dominate the African streaming landscape. Can it fulfill MultiChoice's ambitious goal of reaching $1 billion in revenue and acquiring 50 million subscribers within the next five years?
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Jan 12, 2024
African VC Landscape: Navigating Secondary Markets for Startup Exits
Discover how Africa-focused venture capitalists are turning to secondary markets for liquidity, providing early investors and startup employees with profitable exit options amid a challenging funding landscape. 🚀💰
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Jan 10, 2024
📈 NGX Anticipates Tech Startup Listings Amid Rule Changes in 2024 🇳🇬
🚀 The Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) is optimistic about tech startups listing on its specialized technology board this year, thanks to imminent regulatory changes. With the NGX tech board rules approved in 2022, discussions are underway with startups considering accessing local capital, potentially marking a pivotal moment for the Nigerian tech ecosystem.
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Jan 10, 2024
🚨 Fintech Shutdown Alert: Woven Finance, Backed by Coronation Group, Ceases Operations 🛑
In a surprising move, Woven Finance, a licensed fintech backed by Coronation Group, announces its shutdown, citing market dynamics. The company, fully licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria, will transfer its services to Hydrogen, a fintech under Access Bank's umbrella, in a bid to navigate the evolving fintech landscape.
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Jan 10, 2024
📈 Nigeria's Top 5 Banks Surpass ₦1 Trillion Market Cap Each, Riding High on NGX's Soaring Performance 🇳🇬 🏛️
🚀 Nigeria's banking giants—First Bank, Access Bank, UBA, GT Bank, and Zenith Bank—have joined the exclusive ₦1 Trillion market cap club, with a remarkable ₦6.1 trillion gain fueled by the NGX's bullish run. This surge in the banking index signals a flourishing market, tempting even tech startups to consider stock listings.
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Jan 9, 2024
🚨 Twiga Faces Executive Exodus: Legal Chief Departs Amidst Founder's Resignation 🚨
Amidst a series of shake-ups at Twiga Foods, the departure of Daniel Ngungi, Head of Legal and Administration, unfolds shortly after founder Peter Njonjo's resignation. The company faces challenges with debt resolution and legal battles, marking a turbulent period for the once-prominent food distribution platform.
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Jan 9, 2024
Wasoko and MaxAB Trim Workforce by 10% Amid Merger Talks Advancement
Discover the latest developments as Tiger Global-backed Wasoko and Egyptian counterpart MaxAB reveal plans to cut 10% of their combined workforce during the integration phase of their anticipated merger. CEOs Daniel Yu and Belal El Merghabel are steering the transition, ensuring affected employees receive severance packages, and even allowing them to retain stock options. Stay tuned for insights into this strategic move shaping the future of e-commerce leadership in Egypt and East Africa.
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Jan 6, 2024
Swvl's Remarkable Turnaround: Achieves First-Ever Profitability by Navigating Challenges and Strategic Shifts
In a surprising twist, mobility startup Swvl has reported its first net profit in H1 2023, marking a significant rebound from previous financial struggles. 🚀 Despite a 49% revenue decline, the company's strategic moves, including layoffs and business focus realignment, have propelled it to profitability. 📈 Discover how Swvl's shift to a B2B model and concentrated market approach led to this remarkable financial reversal.
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Jan 5, 2024
📈 Nigerian Equities Soar in 2024: Record Highs Mark Third Consecutive New Year Surge 🇳🇬
🚀 Nigerian equities kick off 2024 with a bang, marking three consecutive years of stellar New Year performances. With the All Share Index hitting an all-time high and banking stocks leading the charge, early investors position for another robust year, fueled by last year's impressive 45.90% growth. 🌍💹
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Jan 5, 2024
Cellulant's Restructuring: Staff Departures and CEO Exit Precede Strategic Shift
Discover the inside story of Cellulant's recent upheavals – a series of layoffs, high-profile exits, and the departure of CEO Akshay Grover. The fintech firm's restructuring aims for operational efficiency and a leaner product-focused strategy, following challenges in securing the anticipated $100 million Series D funding.
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Jan 4, 2024
Leadership Shift: Cellulant Faces Surprise Exit as CEO Akshay Grover Departs Amidst Growth Plans
In an unexpected move, Akshay Grover, CEO of African payment giant Cellulant, steps down after less than three years, citing personal reasons. The company reassures its commitment to sustained growth under the interim leadership of Peter O'Toole, the current CFO, with further leadership additions on the horizon.
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Jan 3, 2024
Cameroonian Fintech Koree Secures $200K Pre-Seed Round for Innovative Digital Savings and Cashback Platform 🇨🇲
🚀 Cameroonian fintech Koree raises $200,000 in a pre-seed round to revolutionize digital savings and introduce cashback rewards. Backed by Ecobank and other investors, Koree aims to transform cash-based economies across Africa. Stay tuned for its innovative solutions reshaping the fintech landscape! 💰🌍
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Jan 2, 2024
Navigating African Tech in 2024: Trends Unveiled 🌍💡
Dive into the pulse of African tech as we unravel the transformative trends shaping 2024! From funding shifts to AI dominance and regional recalibrations, get ready for a dynamic ride through the continent's tech landscape.
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Dec 29, 2023
The Southern Africa Tech Scene in 2023: Hits, Misses, and What's Next
🌟 Dive into 2023's Southern Africa tech journey! Uncover the triumphs of fund launches, startups addressing critical issues, and ecosystem explorations.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Dec 29, 2023
Policy Wins and Challenges: Nigeria's Tech Ecosystem Reflects on a Pivotal 2023 🇳🇬
Explore the dynamic landscape of Nigeria's tech scene in 2023, marked by regulatory victories and hurdles. From groundbreaking open banking regulations to the appointment of tech influencer Bosun Tijani as a minister, discover the highs and lows shaping the future of Nigeria's tech ecosystem. What's next as the industry navigates opportunities and uncertainties in the coming year?
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Dec 23, 2023
MaxAB and Wasoko Merger Set to Create Africa's E-commerce Powerhouse with Record-Breaking Deal 🤝🏻 🌍💼
Two major players in Africa's B2B e-commerce, MaxAB and Wasoko, are gearing up for a groundbreaking merger, positioning themselves to lead the continent's market. With talks in the early stages, the deal is anticipated to be finalized in Q1 2024, creating a united force with unparalleled financial strength and market dominance. 🌐💪🏾
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TechCabal
Dec 22, 2023
Nigeria's Cash Crunch Returns: Unraveling the Causes and Consequences 🇳🇬
Amid scenes of frustrated customers at ATMs and cash-strapped businesses, Nigeria grapples with a resurgence of a cash crunch, triggering chaos reminiscent of the earlier currency redesign woes. But what's driving this latest financial turmoil, and who bears the blame?
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Dec 22, 2023
Ghanaian Ride-Hailing Drivers Resist New Vehicle Income Tax, Citing Income Strain 🚖 🇬🇭
Ride-hailing drivers in Ghana are opposing a proposed vehicle income tax set to commence on January 1, 2024, arguing that it would adversely affect their earnings. The Ghana Revenue Authority's plan requires commercial vehicle owners to pay income tax quarterly, a move met with dissatisfaction by drivers who believe the tax burden should rest on ride-hailing companies rather than individual drivers. As tensions rise, the drivers question the impact on their already strained incomes, adding another layer of financial pressure.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Dec 21, 2023
Cowrywise Addresses Employee Terminations, Emphasizes Performance-Linked Decisions
YC-backed Nigerian fintech, Cowrywise, clarifies recent employee layoffs, asserting a connection to performance reviews amid strategic shifts. The move raises eyebrows as affected staff receive unusual exit packages in the face of evolving business directions.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Dec 20, 2023
Aduna Capital's $20M Fund Aims to Transform Northern Nigeria's Tech Landscape 🇳🇬
🌍 Discover the story behind Aduna Capital's $20 million fund, set to revolutionize the tech ecosystem in Northern Nigeria. 💡 Learn how founders Surayyah Ahmad and Sanusi Ismail plan to unlock untapped opportunities, focusing on early-stage tech innovation.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Dec 20, 2023
Ride-Hailing Woes: Lusaka's Drivers Air Grievances Against Yango and GO 🚗 🇿🇲
In the heart of Lusaka, Yango and GO, the prominent ride-hailing giants, face a driver uprising. Complaints range from dwindling earnings to app glitches, sparking a battle between drivers trying to make ends meet and platforms prioritizing customer acquisition. 🤔 Explore the struggles of Lusaka's ride-hailing drivers in a quest for fair working conditions.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Dec 20, 2023
Unlocking the Dynamics of Venture Capital in Africa: Trends, Challenges, and Future Forecasts 🚀💡
Explore the intricate landscape of venture capital in Africa, dissecting investment trends, and unraveling the complex web of factors shaping the ecosystem. Will Stevens' insights and the nuances behind U.S. involvement in African startups reveal a compelling narrative for both investors and founders. Discover the driving forces, potential pitfalls, and the key to unlocking the full potential of the African VC scene. 🌍💰
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Dec 19, 2023
Marketforce CEO Responds to Pezesha's Liquidation Suit, Calling it Premature
Marketforce CEO, Tesh Mbaabu, challenges Pezesha's move to liquidate assets over an unpaid debt, deeming it premature. Despite ongoing debt restructuring discussions, Pezesha opted for legal action. The dispute revolves around a partnership debt related to inventory financing, adding strain to Marketforce's recent funding challenges.
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TechCabal
Dec 17, 2023
M-PESA and Visa Revolutionize Payments in Kenya: 50 Million to Receive Debit Cards 💳 🇰🇪
🚀M-PESA, the trailblazing mobile money platform with 51 million users in Kenya, is stepping into the physical payment realm through a groundbreaking collaboration with Visa. The introduction of physical debit cards marks a pivotal move beyond virtual transactions, aiming to penetrate the cash-centric retail sector and redefine the country's financial landscape.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Dec 15, 2023
🇿🇦 🎬 South Africa Dominates Netflix’s Most-Watched Movies in Africa for 2023 🌍🍿
Discover the streaming preferences in Africa! South Africa leads with its series "Unseen" topping the charts, watched for over 60 million hours, while Nigeria claims spots with "Shanty Town" and "Far From Home." Explore the dynamic streaming landscape on Netflix in the continent. 📺🌐
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Dec 15, 2023
Nigerian Consumers Face Strain as Inflation Soars to Record 28.20%, Food Costs Surge 📉 🇳🇬
Nigeria grapples with an unprecedented 11th consecutive monthly rise in inflation, hitting a staggering 28.20%. November witnessed a surge in food prices by 32.84%, intensifying the economic challenges for households. As pressure mounts on the Central Bank, analysts emphasize the need for strategic measures to boost local production and curb the impact of inflation.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Dec 15, 2023
OPay Faces Scrutiny Over Weak KYC System: Impersonation and Account Tiers Raise Red Flags 🚨
As concerns over rising financial fraud in Nigeria escalate, OPay, a prominent fintech company, is under scrutiny for its lax registration processes, allowing potential bad actors to exploit vulnerabilities. Recent investigations by TechCabal reveal weaknesses in OPay's identity verification system, posing risks to users and the financial ecosystem. Will the company address these concerns amid increasing calls for stricter know-your-customer (KYC) measures?
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TechCabal
Dec 14, 2023
Techstars and ARM Labs Inject $1.4M into 12 African Startups for Accelerated Growth
Techstars, in collaboration with ARM Labs, reveals its second cohort of 12 innovative startups in Lagos, offering a diverse range of sectors from fintech to renewable energy. With a funding injection of $120,000 per startup, plus extensive support, mentoring, and access to a network of experts, these startups are set to revolutionize Africa's tech landscape.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Dec 14, 2023
Flutterwave Bolsters Leadership Team with Key Hires Amid IPO Speculations
Flutterwave, Africa's leading fintech company, reinforces its executive team with five strategic appointments in risk, compliance, and global expansion, signaling resilience after recent challenges. The new hires, including top industry veterans, position Flutterwave for potential IPO success while addressing legal issues and building confidence in its growth trajectory.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Dec 12, 2023
🚀 African Leaders Mull Startup Visas to Ignite Innovation and Curb Brain Drain 🔐
African technology ministers unite at the African Startup Conference in Algiers, exploring the potential of startup visas to fuel innovation and combat brain drain. Inspired by successful models in Canada, the UK, and the Netherlands, the ministers aim to create a borderless Africa, fostering mobility for young entrepreneurs.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Dec 11, 2023
Chipper Cash Faces Layoffs and Salary Cuts Amidst Growth Challenges
Africa's fintech leader, Chipper Cash, grapples with internal adjustments, cutting jobs and reducing salaries, signaling a shift in strategy. How will these changes impact the unicorn's standing in the fiercely competitive market, and what does it mean for its ambitious growth plans? 📉💰
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Dec 8, 2023
Nigerian Fintechs Assure Users Amid Regulatory Clampdown on Unlicensed Deposit Acceptance 🇳🇬
Nigerian fintech giants, including Flutterwave and Paystack, rush to reassure users as a memo from NIBSS sparks misinformation about regulatory measures against unlicensed deposit acceptance. The Central Bank's directive targets companies operating without proper licenses, potentially leading to a purge of non-compliant services.
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TechCabal
Dec 8, 2023
🔄 Kippa Transfers Agency Banking Product KippaPay to Bloc: Seamless Transition for Merchants 🌐💳
Nigerian fintech Kippa has smoothly handed over the operations of its agency banking product, KippaPay, to Bloc, a rising Nigerian fintech venturing into banking services. Despite Kippa's initial shutdown in October due to increased costs, the move ensures continuity for merchants as KippaPay gets integrated into Bloc's GPay, offering a hassle-free transition for over 19,000 agents. 🚀💰
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TechCabal
Dec 7, 2023
🌐 Fuse Network Unveils $10 Million Grant Program to Boost Web3 Startups Globally, Focusing on Emerging Markets in Africa 🚀💸
Fuse Network is empowering startups worldwide with a $10 million grant program, prioritizing businesses in emerging markets like Africa. As the global adoption of Web3 payment systems surges, this initiative aims to catalyze innovative projects and foster financial inclusivity in regions with high grassroots crypto adoption.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Dec 6, 2023
BasiGo Secures $5 Million Loan to Boost Electric Bus Assembly in Kenya 🇰🇪
Kenya's BasiGo, an electric bus company, accelerates its green mission with a $5 million debt funding from the British International Investment. The loan aims to propel the assembly of 100 electric buses, contributing to Kenya's sustainable public transport vision.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Dec 6, 2023
tappi Secures $1.5 Million Pre-Seed to Revolutionize Digital Presence for African SMEs
Discover how tappi, the innovative digital commerce SaaS platform, has raised $1.5 million in a pre-seed round led by Mercy Corps Ventures and Chui Ventures. Learn how this startup is empowering small and medium-sized businesses in Nigeria and Kenya by simplifying online profile creation, enabling them to showcase products, engage with customers, and accept payments seamlessly.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Dec 6, 2023
Kenya's E-commerce Giant, Twiga Foods, Faces Court Drama Over Unpaid Cloud Service Debt
Kenya's top e-commerce platform, Twiga Foods, is embroiled in a court battle over a $3 million cloud services contract dispute with Incentro, a Google Cloud reseller. The drama involves conflicting claims, unpaid bills, and a delayed bonus, with the court setting a five-month timeline for resolution.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Dec 5, 2023
BitMama in Talks to Acquire Payday in a Million-Dollar Deal 🤝🏽
Nigerian crypto exchange startup BitMama is in discussions to acquire Payday, a once-prominent fintech, offering investors $1 million in equity at a $30 million valuation. The potential deal comes after months of negotiations and aligns with BitMama's expansion into global services, including remittance through its Changera platform.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Dec 5, 2023
Kenya Halts Maisha Namba Digital ID Roll-Out Amid Data Protection Concerns 🇰🇪
Kenya's High Court puts the brakes on Maisha Namba, the proposed digital ID system meant to replace the problematic Huduma Namba, citing a lack of data protection impact assessment. Digital rights groups raise concerns about transparency and inclusion, calling for a more human-rights-centered approach to the significant digital transition.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Dec 5, 2023
Jumia Nigeria Appoints Sunil Natraj as New CEO, Sets Ambitious Expansion Plans for 2024 🚀
Jumia Nigeria undergoes leadership transition as Sunil Natraj takes the helm from Massimiliano Spalazzi, revealing ambitious plans to expand its e-commerce presence to more Nigerian cities in 2024.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 30, 2023
Unlocking Capital for African Startups: B54's Innovative Fintech Approach Bridges Funding Gap
💸 B54, a Lagos-based fintech, revolutionizes startup funding in West Africa by aggregating idle cash from institutions and wealthy Africans, offering growth-stage businesses an alternative amidst a slowdown in large VC rounds. 🚀 Discover how B54 acts as a digital private bank, creating credit lines for investors to support SMEs in need of working capital, filling the void left by traditional venture debt in the challenging African market. 💼 Embracing a tech-driven approach, B54 becomes a game-changer, providing short-term credit to diverse businesses, from payment processors to B2B retail marketplaces.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 30, 2023
Tech Tales Unveiled: Fatu Ogwuche Launches "Backstories with Fatu" YouTube Show Featuring African Tech Luminaries
🚀 Dive into the minds of African tech leaders with "Backstories with Fatu"! In the premiere episode, Fatu Ogwuche chats with Kola Aina, unraveling his journey from entrepreneur to tech investor, sharing insights on the Paystack exit, and the impact of personal values in the investment world. 🌍💡 Join this captivating series for exclusive glimpses into the backstories shaping Africa's tech landscape.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 30, 2023
Empowering Africa's Digital Future: Convergence Partners Invests $296 Million in Infrastructure Revolution
Unlock the potential of Africa's digital landscape with Convergence Partners' groundbreaking $296 million fund! 🌍💰 Explore how this investment is closing the $428 billion digital infrastructure gap, fostering innovation, and propelling the continent into a self-sufficient future. 🚀🔗
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 30, 2023
Unlocking Africa's Digital Future: The Transformative Power of Alternative Payments
Dive into the heart of Africa's digital payment revolution! Discover how alternative payment methods are reshaping the landscape, bridging gaps, and propelling the continent into a future where financial inclusion and innovation reign supreme. 🌍💳
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 29, 2023
Bolt Kenya Implements Stringent Safety Measures, Expels Over 5,000 Drivers in 6 Months 🇰🇪
Bolt, the Estonian ride-hailing giant, takes decisive action in Kenya, expelling 5,000 drivers in response to safety concerns. This move comes after the National Transport and Safety Authority's directive, signaling Bolt's commitment to stringent safety regulations. 🛑
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 28, 2023
Kenya's President Ruto Set to Boost Startups with New Bill Offering Tax Breaks and Support 🇰🇪 🚀
Kenya gears up for a groundbreaking move in support of its vibrant startup ecosystem! President Ruto announces the imminent signing of the Startup Bill 2022, aiming to empower youth, provide tax breaks, and pave the way for a robust entrepreneurial landscape. Exciting times ahead for Kenyan innovators!
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 28, 2023
Twiga Foods Secures New Funding Amidst Refinancing Plans to Settle Overdue Payments to 100+ Suppliers
In a strategic move following a recent debt collection lawsuit, Twiga Foods, the Kenyan platform linking farmers to food vendors, secures undisclosed funding from investors, signaling a positive turn in its business refinancing efforts. The company, led by CEO Peter Njonjo, aims to settle long outstanding dues with over 100 suppliers, demonstrating a commitment to restructuring amidst legal challenges. 🌱💼
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 27, 2023
USSD Dominates Digital Payments in Africa Despite Growing Alternatives 💸📲
Embracing digital payments in Africa sees USSD transactions reigning supreme at 70%, overcoming challenges like smartphone accessibility. Ghana and Kenya favor USSD in their mobile money systems, aligning with high mobile money account percentages. While alternative channels emerge, the evolution of diverse payment methods showcases the continent's dynamic financial services landscape.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 27, 2023
Zenith Bank Sets Sights on France Expansion, Embracing Global Market Trend 🚀 🇳🇬 🇫🇷
Nigeria's tier-1 bank, Zenith Bank, is making bold moves beyond Africa by expressing its ambition to expand into France, following the footsteps of other Nigerian banks venturing onto the global stage. The Group CEO, Ebenezer Onyeagwu, announced the Memorandum of Understanding with the French government at the Chartered Institute of Bankers annual dinner, marking a strategic step for Zenith's international growth. 🌐✨
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 23, 2023
Kenya Chooses Microsoft Over Amazon and Google for Cloud Partnership in Ambitious E-Government Drive ☁️ 🇰🇪
Kenya has embarked on a groundbreaking digital transformation journey, selecting Microsoft as its cloud partner over tech giants Amazon and Google. This strategic move aims to leverage Microsoft's expertise in adopting a cloud-first strategy, enhancing the efficiency of e-government services and advancing Kenya's technological landscape. The collaboration signifies a pivotal step in President Ruto's ambitious agenda for a digitally empowered government.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 23, 2023
Empowering African Women in Tech: A Five-Year Journey of Growth and Challenges
Discover the transformative journey of African women in tech over the past five years, marked by increased participation, education access, and a rise in initiatives. Despite progress, funding gaps persist, showcasing the need for more support in the evolving tech landscape.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 23, 2023
Brolly and Bolt Join Forces: Ghanaian Insurtech Partners with Global Ride-Hailing Giant for Innovative Coverage 🤝🏿 🇬🇭
Ghanaian insurtech, Brolly, backed by Allianz, teams up with global ride-hailing giant Bolt to revolutionize insurance for drivers in Ghana. Offering daily premium payments within the Bolt app, this partnership streamlines access, eliminates the need for multiple platforms, and aligns with Brolly's mission for continent-wide expansion.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 23, 2023
Access Bank, Nigeria's Largest Lender, Aims for Asian Expansion in 2024 🚀💼
Access Bank, Nigeria's financial giant with $26.5 billion in assets, is set to conquer new territories by opening a subsidiary in Asia in early 2024. The move aims to serve the region, Access Bank's largest non-African trading partner, signaling a strategic push onto the global stage. Chairman Hebert Wigwe emphasizes the importance of being a global player to prevent Africa from being cut off from the world's financial system.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 23, 2023
Telkom's Share Price Surges 8% as Company Unveils Infrastructure-Focused Strategy
Telkom's strategic shift towards an infrastructure-focused model has ignited an 8% surge in its share price. The telecom giant aims to position itself as a crucial player in South Africa's digital future, emphasizing investments in mobile, fiber, data centers, marine cables, and satellite infrastructure. The six-month-old strategy is already yielding positive results, showcasing strong operational and financial performances.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 22, 2023
Alerzo, E-commerce Startup, Implements Layoffs affecting 100 Roles Despite Previous Workforce Reductions
Alerzo, the e-commerce company that secured $10.5 million in Series A funding in 2021, has recently laid off a substantial number of employees, impacting at least 100 roles. This move comes eight months after a previous round of layoffs that affected 400 employees. Discover the company's statement and insights into the reasons behind this decision.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 21, 2023
Jetstream Africa's Strategic Move: From Freight Forwarding to Export Loans for Small Businesses in Ghana 🇬🇭
Jetstream Africa, Ghana's leading e-logistics startup, is innovating by providing export loans to small businesses struggling with liquidity, aiming to fuel international trade growth. The company's unique model integrates freight forwarding with financial support, addressing the challenges faced by African exporters and fostering a one-stop-shop solution for seamless cross-border transactions.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 20, 2023
Next Wave: The obsession over unicorns or camels is weird 🦄 🐫
Africa investors need to learn to make VC math work instead of debating whether the continent needs unicorns or camels. VCs who focus on the math will be fine regardless.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 18, 2023
Nala Money Chooses Rwanda as East African Settlement Hub, Expanding Fintech Footprint 🇷🇼
Tanzanian fintech, Nala Money, backed by Bessemer Ventures and Accel, unveils plans to establish Rwanda as the settlement hub for its East African remittance operations. With a recently acquired licence from Rwanda's National Bank, Nala aims to streamline international money transfers, reducing costs and bypassing intermediaries. This move aligns with Rwanda's ambition to position itself as the premier gateway for fintech in Africa.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 16, 2023
Cellulant Expands Footprint in Egypt with New Business License 🇪🇬
Kenya-based payments firm Cellulant is set to revolutionize Egypt's payment landscape after obtaining a business license. As Egypt embraces emerging payment methods, Cellulant aims to empower global and regional merchants with seamless B2B and B2C payment solutions, contributing to the evolving fintech landscape in the country.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 16, 2023
🌍 Paystack Announces Workforce Reduction in Europe and UAE Amid Operational Shift 🚀
In a strategic move to align operations with market focus, Paystack, the Nigerian fintech powerhouse acquired by Stripe, is streamlining its global workforce. With an emphasis on localizing talent, this shift aims to enhance customer proximity and address economic challenges in key African markets. CEO Shola Akinlade assures affected employees will receive comprehensive severance packages, marking a pivotal moment in Paystack's evolution.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 15, 2023
Jumia's Q3 2023: Operating Losses Halved to $19 Million Amidst Cost-Cutting Efforts 🛒📉
Jumia, a leading African e-commerce giant, reports a significant Q3 operating loss reduction to $19 million, showcasing improved cost discipline. Despite a dip in active users and challenges from currency devaluation, Jumia's strategic measures, including workforce reductions and lowered advertising spend, contribute to this positive trend.
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TechCabal
Nov 15, 2023
Copia Global Boosts E-commerce Presence in Kenya, Encouraging Users to Embrace Mobile App Shopping 🇰🇪
Kenya's leading e-commerce platform, Copia Global, is spearheading a drive to shift customer orders to its mobile app, capitalizing on the widespread adoption of smartphones among low- and medium-income Kenyans. With a $107 million venture funding backing, Copia aims to enhance direct engagement, providing users with an extensive product range and transparent pricing through its app. The move aligns with the growing smartphone usage trend in Kenya, fostering a transformative shift in the traditional offline shopping experience.
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TechCabal
Nov 14, 2023
Nigerian EdTech AltSchool Africa Gains Support from Rwanda's $30M Tech Fund for Strategic Growth 🇳🇬 🇷🇼
Discover how AltSchool Africa, the Nigerian edtech transforming online learning, secures strategic assistance from the Rwandan Innovation Fund, fueled by a $30 million commitment. Positioned as the African counterpart to the US coding bootcamp BloomTech, AltSchool aims to empower learners across the continent, with a focus on bridging the skills gap and boosting employment opportunities.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 14, 2023
🌍 Streaming Shift: Showmax Overtakes Netflix as Africa's Top Streaming Platform 🎥
As the battle for Africa's streaming market heats up, Netflix loses its crown to Showmax, with the latter now commanding a 40% share. The competition intensifies as Showmax's subscriber base hits 1.8 million, growing 26% YoY, driven by strategic content investments.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 13, 2023
Norrsken Foundation's $20 Million Bet: Transforming Kigali into Africa's Tech Hub 🇷🇼
Sweden's Norrsken Foundation launches Norrsken House Kigali, a $20 million investment aiming to turn Rwanda into Africa's technology epicenter, with a vision for the continent's first impact unicorn. President Paul Kagame highlights the strategic importance of private-sector investment for Rwanda's economic growth.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 13, 2023
Eden Life Shifts Gear with E-Commerce Marketplace to Revolutionize Retail in Nigeria🇳🇬
Nigerian home service platform, Eden Life, is embarking on a strategic shift by launching an e-commerce marketplace catering to vendors in food, medicine, beauty, and electronics. This bold move is part of Eden's vision to significantly enhance the quality of life across Africa, challenging industry giants like Jumia and Konga. As the country's e-commerce market is projected to reach $16 billion by 2028, Eden Life aims to carve its niche by providing a diverse platform while learning from past logistic challenges to ensure efficient order fulfillment and customer satisfaction. 🚀🌍
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TechCabal
Nov 10, 2023
Uganda Sets Sights on Becoming East Africa's Tech Hub: President Announces $150M Fund and Tax Exemptions 🇺🇬
Uganda, the "Pearl of Africa," positions itself for tech prominence with an investor summit. President Museveni announces a $150 million fund and 10-year tax exemptions, signaling a government commitment. The push attracts notable investors, but challenges like visibility and homegrown leadership are acknowledged.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 10, 2023
Emata’s Collateral-Free Loans Cultivate Success for Ugandan Smallholder Farmers 🚜💰 🇺🇬
Discover how Emata, the agro-financing startup in Uganda, is sowing the seeds of success for smallholder farmers with collateral-free loans, leveraging farmer cooperatives and a WhatsApp chatbot for efficient disbursement. 🌱📲
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 10, 2023
Paystack Revolutionizes Payments with Direct Debit Launch in Nigeria 🇳🇬
Unlocking seamless transactions, Paystack, in collaboration with NIBSS, introduces a groundbreaking direct debit feature, empowering Nigerian businesses to effortlessly charge customers' bank accounts for recurring payments. The move aims to streamline payment processes, reduce costs, and enhance user experience, marking Paystack's strategic shift towards non-card alternatives.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 8, 2023
🌍 MaC Venture Capital, with over $20 million invested in Africa, shares its investment thesis for the continent's tech ecosystem. 🚀
n a fireside chat at the Moonshot by TechCabal Conference, Marlon Nichols, a managing general partner at MaC Venture Capital, a firm with over $20 million invested in Africa, shares his investment thesis.
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TechCabal
Nov 8, 2023
Flutterwave CFO and Finance Executives Resign Amid IPO Plans
Flutterwave’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Oneal Bhambani has resigned just 18 months after joining the fintech startup, raising questions about the company’s plans to list on the stock market.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 7, 2023
🇰🇪 Kenya's Crypto Market Takes First Step Towards Regulation
The crypto market in Kenya is huge and is already being taxed under the provisions of the Finance Act, 2023.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 7, 2023
Bolt Kenya Denies Acquisition Talks with Little Cab Amid License Renewal Challenges
Bolt Kenya, a popular ride-hailing app in East Africa, has refuted claims of acquisition discussions with Little App, a Kenyan competitor. The alleged talks reportedly concluded after Bolt's annual operating license was renewed by the National Transport Authority of Kenya (NTSA).
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TechCabal
Nov 3, 2023
Chipper Cash Expands Visa Partnership for Enhanced Financial Access in Africa 🤝🏼
Chipper Cash has expanded its partnership with Visa to continue their collaboration on card issuance. The fintech hopes to leverage Visa’s capacities.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 3, 2023
Chowdeck, YC-Backed Nigerian Food Delivery Startup, Achieves ₦1 Billion Monthly GMV Growth 📈 🛵 🍕
Chowdeck, the Y Combinator-backed Nigerian food delivery startup, says it has crossed ₦1 billion ($1.2 million) in monthly gross merchandise value (GMV). It marks a 10x growth spurt for a company that reportedly crossed ₦100 million monthly GMV ten months ago
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TechCabal
Nov 3, 2023
📱 Zambia to Open Smartphone Factory in June 2024, Aims to Boost Connectivity 🇿🇲
Zambia has announced plans to open a smartphone factory in the country by June 2024 to reduce the prices of the devices for citizens.
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TechCabal
Nov 1, 2023
WeWork South Africa Disassociates Itself from WeWork Global's Bankruptcy 🇿🇦
WeWork South Africa is distancing itself from WeWork Global’s bankruptcy filing, stating to TechCabal that it is in no way affiliated with the company.
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TechCabal
Nov 1, 2023
Swvl's 2022 Financial Report: Revenue Surges, But Challenges Persist
US-listed Swvl quietly releases long-delayed 2022 financial statement as it engineers its way to financial safety
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TechCabal
Oct 30, 2023
Airtel Africa's Revenue Recovers with 19.7% Growth, Despite Naira Devaluation
Airtel Africa grew its revenue in constant currency terms by 19.7%. The company also grew its customer base to 147.7 million.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Oct 30, 2023
📱 Kenya Launches $50 Locally Assembled Smartphones: Neon Smarta and Neon Ultra! 🇰🇪
Kenyan smartphones, Neon Smarta and Neon Ultra, will be locally assembled and sold by telcos Safaricom and Faiba.
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TechCabal
Oct 26, 2023
Africa’s Growing Cloud Market: A Promising Frontier 🌍☁️
Amazon recently announced it was launching its e-commerce service in South Africa—its second dedicated African market. But like its other big tech rivals, Microsoft and Oracle, the group’s heart is in Africa’s fast-growing cloud services market.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Oct 26, 2023
Botswana President Calls for Tech Investment to Boost Diamond Industry Sustainability 💎🇧🇼
Botswana is the largest diamond producer in the world. But with global advancement in innovation, President Masisi has called on diamond-producing nations to invest in technology to ensure the sustainability of the industry.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Oct 26, 2023
🔒 Nigerian Bank Fidelity Blocks Neobanks Over KYC Concerns
Fidelity Bank, a Nigerian commercial bank, has blocked neobanks like OPay, Palmpay, Kuda, and Moniepoint over concerns that their lax KYC processes are leading to increased fraud cases.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Oct 25, 2023
📈 SA Startups Return $17 Million to Investors in 2022 - A Deep Dive 🇿🇦
SA VC investors made $17 million from exits in 2022, a 3x return. However, loss-making deals still outnumbered the return-making ones.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Oct 24, 2023
Capital Films Launches ₦500 Million Fund to Invest in Nollywood Movies 🎬
Capital Film Productions, a film financing firm co-founded by a former tech professional, has launched a new fund to invest in Nollywood movies.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Oct 23, 2023
Tanzanian Mobile Money Users Return to Cash as Transaction Charges Soar 🇹🇿
Governments across sub-Saharan Africa are implementing stiff and high taxes for mobile money services. In Tanzania and even Kenya, these taxes are reversing the gains made in the past in financial services.
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TechCabal
Oct 20, 2023
Flutterwave's Enterprise Segment Leads Revenue Growth in 2023
In an exclusive interview with TechCabal, Ross Haider, chief sales officer at Flutterwave, explained the company’s highest revenue-generating segment.
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TechCabal
Oct 18, 2023
Adbot and MTN Nigeria Partner to Boost SMEs 🤝🏼
Adbot has partnered with MTN Nigeria to avail its AI-powered online ad campaign management platform to the telco’s SMEs customers.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Oct 17, 2023
🇿🇦 Amazon to Launch in South Africa's E-commerce Market in 2024 🚀
Amazon has announced that it will launch its marketplace in South Africa in 2024. The marketplace will sit on Amazon.co.za starting today and independent sellers in South Africa can register their businesses on sell.amazon.com/south-africa.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Oct 17, 2023
Kenya's Little Logistics Gains Former Sendy Clients 🇰🇪
Per Kamal Budhabhatti, Group CEO at Craft Silicon, building a sustainable logistics business can go a long way in staying in business. Kamal further mentioned that some of Sendy’s customers moved to Little Logistics.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Oct 12, 2023
🚗🔌 Possible EVS: Nigeria's First Electric Vehicle Manufacturer 🇳🇬
Possible EVS, a Nigerian electric mobility firm, is gearing up to become Nigeria's first EV manufacturer. They're establishing assembly plants in Abuja to produce up to 10,000 electric vehicles annually, including minibuses, tricycles, pickups, and taxis. This is a significant step for Africa's budding EV sector, estimated to be worth $21.4 billion by 2027.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Oct 12, 2023
Meta-Backed 2Africa Subsea Cable to Enhance African Connectivity with Nigerian Landings 🇳🇬
The 45,000 km long undersea cable will land in 32 other African countries. The new deep-sea cable project will encircle Africa when complete and is expected to land in Lagos and Kwa Ibo, a river town in Nigeria’s southeast this November, TechCabal has learned.
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TechCabal
Oct 11, 2023
Kenya Suspends Bolt’s License Renewal Over Disputed Booking Fees 🇰🇪
Per the law, e-taxi apps in Kenya, including Bolt and Uber, should receive an 18% commission from their driver partners. However, both companies introduced “illegal” booking charges.
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TechCabal
Oct 11, 2023
Flutterwave Expands in Kenya, Hires Top Talent from Chipper, Microsoft, Safaricom 🇰🇪
Flutterwave has multiple primary markets, including Kenya, Nigeria, and Egypt. However, it does not have a payments and remittance licence for its Kenya operation. Its recent activities imply it is optimistic about its future in East Africa.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Oct 10, 2023
New York-based firm, Writesea, acquires Nigerian AI startup CoverAI in a five-figure dollar deal 🤝🏾
Writesea, a New York-based firm specialising in white-label services for recruitment marketplaces, has acquired the three-month-old Nigerian AI startup, CoverAI. Chris Adolphus, CoverAI’s founder, told TechCabal that he received 12 bids for his startup on the startup marketplace Acquire.com but chose to sell to Writesea. While he said the acquisition was a five-figure cash deal, he declined to share the specific transaction value. One source estimated the deal value to be less than $50,000.
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TechCabal
Oct 9, 2023
Cameroonian Fintech Koree Triumphs in Ecobank Fintech Challenge, Winning $50,000 🇨🇲
Koree, a fintech that allows customers in cash-based economies to save spare cash on a card, wins $50,000 at the Ecobank Fintech Challenge, edging out almost 1,500 fintechs.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Oct 6, 2023
Ghanaian fintech Dash closes after raising $86.1 million in five years ⛔ 🇬🇭
Dash, the Ghanaian fintech has shuttered after a tumultuous run. The company did not achieve its vision to solve cross border payments for Africans by connecting mobile money wallets.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Oct 6, 2023
Twiga Engages in Talks to Resolve $260k Legal Dispute with Incentro Africa
Twiga has confirmed to TechCabal that it is in talks with Incentro Africa, a Google services reseller, to resolve their ongoing legal tussle. Twiga was taken to court by Incentro to recover a $261,878 debt. Incentro Africa asked the court to give a liquidation notice to Twiga if the debt remained unpaid.
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TechCabal
Oct 6, 2023
FTX-Backed Web3 Startup Bridge Network Faces Internal Strife as Co-Founders Split
The three co-founders of web3 startup Bridge Network have split after a fight for control of the company. They raised over $3.8 million from several investors, including FTX.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Oct 5, 2023
Starlink Goes Live in Zambia 📡 🇿🇲
Starlink has officially launched in Zambia today, October 5. The company initially engaged with the country’s government in September 2022, and following a year of ticking off regulatory and technical boxes, it has gone live. The service got its operating licence in June, and its distribution in the country will be handled by Paratus Zambia.
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TechCabal
Oct 5, 2023
SANTACO Challenges Uber and Bolt in South Africa's Ride-Hailing Market 🇿🇦 🚖
South Africa’s largest public transport association has entered the country’s ride-hailing market. It aims to challenge the dominance of Uber, Bolt, inDrive and others.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Oct 4, 2023
Paystack Launches Virtual Terminals to Revolutionize Offline Payments in Nigeria 🇳🇬
Paystack, the Nigeria-based fintech company, is launching virtual terminals, a new product that allows merchants to accept payments with bank transfers for multi-person businesses.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Oct 3, 2023
WhatsApp Hacks Make a Sneaky Comeback: How to Protect Your Account
It took Wuraola Onyeku about three weeks to realise that her partner was logged in to her WhatsApp account on his desktop. The first time she opened her WhatsApp after a night out with her friends to find herself in the middle of a conversation she couldn’t remember typing, she blamed the alcohol. The second time it happened, she blamed her poor memory on fatigue as she didn’t drink any alcohol. “I was always getting responses to messages I couldn’t remember sending, and at a point, I strongly believed I had a health condition that made me forget things easily,” she shared.
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TechCabal
Sep 29, 2023
MTN Expands Fintech Services: Payments and Remittances Now Available on MoMo App
MTN has launched payments and remittance features within its MoMo app, doubling down on its fintech and mobile money play in South Africa.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Sep 29, 2023
Ivorian Startup Auto24 Expands into 4 African Countries 🇨🇮
Auto24, an Ivorian used car marketplace, has expanded into Morocco, Rwanda, Senegal, and South Africa, a year after it launched.
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TechCabal
Sep 28, 2023
Genomics Startup 54gene Shuts Down Amid Controversy After Raising $45 Million 🧬🚫
54gene raised $45 million in three funding rounds to achieve the extraordinary for African genomics. But four years on, the company is shutting down in a cloud of controversy.
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TechCabal
Sep 28, 2023
South African Femtech Empowers Women's Reproductive Health with Technology 🇿🇦
Anosele Kotu is the founder of Femconnect, a South African femtech that provides access to reproductive healthcare for women. After leaving her job at a software development company, she was determined to not look for employment elsewhere but to focus on working on a vision she’s nursed for a long time, Femconnect.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Sep 28, 2023
Madica to Invest $6 Million in 30 African Pre-Seed Startups: Insights from Brenda Wangari
Brenda Wangari, head of portfolio success at Madica, shares more insights on the program which aims to invest $6 million in 30 African pre-seed startups over the next three years.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Sep 27, 2023
Kenya's ODPC Fines Digital Lenders $60,000 for User Data Abuse 🇰🇪
Some digital lenders have resumed harassing borrowers on their platform, even in cases where laws protect them against personal data abuse. The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) has stepped in.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Sep 26, 2023
Logistics Startup Sendy Faces Administration Amid Financial Crisis
Sendy has been facing a financial crisis with up to $1 million in monthly burn rate, and going into administration is the only way it can protect itself from total collapse.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Sep 23, 2023
Empowering African Youth in Tech: Somali-based Fikrcamp’s Unique Approach 🇸🇴
Based in Hargeisa, Fikrcamp was launched in Somaliland and targeted Somali-speaking people. Although it has raised only $40,000, it has already arrived in Ethiopia to impart digital skills to Amharic-speaking students.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Sep 22, 2023
East Africa Records 51 Private Equity Exits in a Decade 🚀🚀
East Africa also reported 478 private equity deals and closed $8.6 billion in private equity over the same period. In the last 10 years, there have been 51 private equity exits out of 427 investments (and 478 private equity deals worth $8.6 billion) in the East African market, per the East Africa Venture Capital Association (EAVCA).
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TechCabal
Sep 22, 2023
African Women Left Behind by Popular Femtech Apps
Femtech apps are popular with young women in Africa but the solutions they provide exclude some of those who need them the most.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Sep 21, 2023
Jumia's Struggles and CEO's Rescue Plan: The Amazon of Africa Faces Challenges 📈 📉
Francis Dufay, CEO of Jumia Group, Africa’s leading e-commerce brand, faces the daunting task of turning around the company's fortunes. Despite more than a decade in operation, Jumia continues to incur losses, with no clear path to profitability. The latest earnings report shows a loss of $167 for every $100 earned, making profitability a distant goal.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Sep 21, 2023
Fixit45 Secures $1.9 Million for East Africa Expansion
Fixit45 expansion drive into East Africa has caused the startup to raise $1.9 million to provide quality automotive spare parts, vehicle repairs and maintenance services across the continent
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Sep 20, 2023
💥 Nigerian Fintech PayDay Considering Sale After $3M Raise
Six months after raising $3 million in a seed round led by Moniepoint, the Nigerian fintech startup Payday is actively speaking to buyers. Favour Ori, the startup’s CEO, confirmed that PayDay is entertaining conversations with potential acquirers. “Active conversations are being had with people who reached out and expressed interest in buying,” Favour told TechCabal.
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TechCabal
Sep 20, 2023
Starlink Applies for Operating License in Zimbabwe 📡 🇿🇼
After initially warning the public against the usage of Starlink, citing the fact that it is unlicensed, the Zimbabwean government has confirmed it is reviewing the satellite internet provider’s licence application.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Sep 19, 2023
Canal+ Eyes MultiChoice Acquisition for Global Expansion in African Pay-TV Market 📺
With Canal+ experiencing operational challenges in its French and European strongholds a MultiChoice acquisition could be perfect but complex for the French broadcaster’s global expansion ambitions.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Sep 18, 2023
Gates Foundation Backs 29 Healthcare Supply Chain Startups in Africa with Equity-Free Funding ⚕️
i3, a pan-African initiative funded by the Gates Foundation, is giving 29 startups operating in Africa’s healthcare supply chain equity-free funding.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Sep 15, 2023
Flutterwave CEO Olugbenga Agboola Talks FW 3.0, IPO Plans, and Expanding in Africa 🚀 📈
At the Kauffman Fellows event held in Nairobi this week, TechCabal spoke with Olugbenga Agboola, the CEO of Flutterwave. This publication shared several questions for him, including the state of its products, such as Barter and Send app, and we are posting them here verbatim to fully understand what the company has been up to and what it has planned for the coming days.
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TechCabal
Sep 14, 2023
Ugandan Startup Emata Raises $2.4 Million to Revolutionize Agriculture with Affordable Loans 🇺🇬
Emata, a Uganda based startup that offers affordable loans to farmers has raised a $2.4 million seed round which it will use to expand its agri-loan offering across East Africa. Emata, a Uganda based startup that offers affordable loans to farmers has raised a $2.4 million seed round. The seed round was a mix of $1.6 million debt and $800,000 equity funding. Emata will use the funding to fund its offerings in Uganda and expand into Tanzania.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Sep 14, 2023
Tech Founders Investing in Nollywood: Unlocking 3x Returns in African Film Industry 🎬 🇳🇬
Nollywood is on a path to globalisation, and the deep pockets of tech operators will help achieve global success. On August 25, Editi Effiòng, a Nollywood director, shared a list of executive producers for his film, The Black Book. It featured African startup founders and investors like Nadayer Enegesi (Eden Life), Olumide Soyombo (Voltron Capital), and Ezra Olubi (Paystack). While this is not the first time African tech players have invested in film projects, the long list of executive producers for The Black Book has shown that tech operators are increasingly funding film projects.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Sep 14, 2023
Ghana's Inflation Drops to 40% in August Driven by Food Prices 📉 🇬🇭
Driven by food prices, Ghana’s inflation rate dropped to 40.1% in August from 43.1% in July—a 10-month low. Data from Ghana’s Statistical Services (GSS) showed that headline inflation for August dropped to 40.1%. It is a 10-month low after July’s inflation figure reached a four-month high of 43.1%. According to Bloomberg, Ghanaian statistician Samuel Kobina Annim said it was the slowest rate recorded since last October.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Sep 14, 2023
Why inDrive Has Become a Popular Choice for Riders and Drivers in Gaborone, Botswana 🇧🇼
In the absence of Uber and Bolt, inDrive has become a popular way to access public transport services in Gaborone, Botswana. inDrive lets drivers and passengers determine their fares rather than using prices determined by algorithms. Passengers can suggest a fare, while drivers may accept, decline, or make a counteroffer without any penalties. The decision on whether to proceed with a ride can be made by considering the fare amount, car type, estimated arrival time, and driver ratings. Drivers can select profitable and convenient requests.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Sep 12, 2023
Lipa Later Raises $5M in Debt, Seeks $20M More for Expansion
Kenyan fintech firm Lipa Later Group has raised KES 500 million ($5 million) in a privately placed debt issuance. The startup will raise an additional KES 2 billion ($20 million) in equity and debt to fund its expansion plans in Kenya. It is currently crowdfunding $1.2 million in exchange for equity at a valuation of $30,000,000.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Sep 11, 2023
Flutterwave's New Product "Swap" Aims to Revolutionize Nigeria's FX Market with CBN Backing 🇳🇬
Backed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Flutterwave has launched Swap, an attempt to digitise the Nigerian foreign exchange (FX) market, in partnership with Wema Bank, the 10th biggest Nigerian bank by assets, and Kadavra BDC.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Sep 9, 2023
Kenyan BNPL Firm LipaLater Crowdfunding $1.2 Million to Strengthen Its Position 🇰🇪
Despite decreasing VC interest in growth-stage startups, 5-year-old Kenyan BNPL firm LipaLater says it is not crowdfunding $1.2 million for the money. Kenyan BNPL company LipaLater is crowdfunding $1.2 million at a $30,000,000 valuation months after acquiring Kenyan online marketplace SKY.Garden, which was going to shut down due to a failed funding round. The startup is accepting investments as low as $100 on the crowdfunding platform Republic. So far, it has raised $27,228 from 29 investors.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Sep 8, 2023
Flutterwave Partners with IndusInd Bank to Expand Remittance Product into India 🇮🇳
Flutterwave is expanding its remittance product, Send App, into India after partnering with IndusInd, an Indian bank with approximately 35 million customers. The partnership will allow Flutterwave, which is present in 30 African countries, to send money from the 5th largest economy in the world to the African continent.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Sep 8, 2023
Wetility Raises $48 Million to Expand Solar Energy Solutions in South Africa ☀️⚡ 🇿🇦
South African solar energy startup Wetility has raised R903 million (~$48 million) in a funding round comprising debt and equity. According to CEO Vincent Maposa, the funds will be used to accelerate expansion plans and grow its customer base.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Sep 8, 2023
Ethiopia Advances Toward Digital ID Adoption with $300,000 Contract 🇪🇹
With a population of 120 million, Ethiopia has chosen a firm to produce new digital IDs, also known as Fayda. Ethiopia has taken steps towards adopting digital IDs after it picked Madras Security Printers Private Limited as its partner for printing the documents.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Sep 8, 2023
MTN Nigeria Chooses American Towers as New Tower Operator Amidst IHS Towers Dispute
MTN Nigeria has said its tower operations will be run by the Nigerian subsidiary of the American Towers Corp. (ATC) from 2025. ATC will be taking over from IHS Towers—whose lease to run MTN’s 2,500 network sites—will expire in 2024 and 2025.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Sep 7, 2023
Sama AI to Hire 2,100 Kenyans for Computer Vision Projects After Exiting Content Moderation 🇰🇪
Sama, no longer involved in content moderation, is set to hire 2,100 Kenyan workers in the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, focusing on computer vision artificial intelligence (AI). This initiative aligns with Kenya's goal to create 1 million BPO jobs and follows Sama's entry into the Kenyan market in 2015. The first wave of 600 employees has already begun work, with an additional 1,500 to be hired in the coming weeks. This move will increase Sama's workforce from 3,400 to 5,500, with an all-Kenyan leadership team.
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TechCabal
Sep 5, 2023
As Starlink faces hurdles, Amazon launches competitor in Africa 📡🌍
Vodafone and Amazon are working on Project Kuiper satellite internet service, a competitor to Starlink in Africa. Vodafone and Project Kuiper, Amazon’s Low Earth Orbit satellite (LEO) communications initiative, today, September 5, 2023, announced a collaboration to use Project Kuiper’s network to extend the reach of 4G/5G services to more of their customers in Europe and Africa.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Sep 5, 2023
Habari Pay’s profits demonstrate GTCO’s bet on retail banking
According to GTCO’s half-year financial statements, Habari Pay reported a profit of ₦1.3 billion after tax. A breakdown of GTCO’s operating segments shows retail banking is its second-biggest revenue-generating segment.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Sep 5, 2023
Andrew Barden and Zekarias Amsalu: A conversation with the minds behind the Africa Fintech Summit
Noel K. Tshiani is the founder of Congo Business Network, which has partnered with the Africa Fintech Summit (AFTS) since April 2019 to mobilise startups and government officials from the Democratic Republic of Congo to participate in various editions of the summit held in Washington, Addis Ababa, Cairo, and Cape Town. He discusses the evolution of the summit from its inception to the upcoming November edition in Lusaka, Zambia, with Andrew Barden, lead organiser, and Zekarias Amsalu, co-founder of the event.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Sep 5, 2023
Exclusive: Leatherback Denies Losing Funds to SDQ Facilitators
Leatherback, a cross-border payments startup, is the subject of ongoing speculation within high-level online communities of the Nigerian tech ecosystem. The UK-based company, which raised $10 million pre-seed, is backed by ZedCrest Capital and provides cross-border payment services to customers in South Africa, Egypt, Uganda, India, the UAE, and Nigeria.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Sep 4, 2023
Exclusive: mPharma lays off 150 employees due to tightening macroenomic conditions
mPharma is parting ways with some of its workforce as it doubles down on its Mutti product. mPharma, the Ghanaian startup that manages prescription drug inventory for pharmacies and their suppliers, has laid off some members of its workforce. “We took the difficult decision to right-size the team,” said Gregory Rockson, the company’s CEO; “[the layoffs are] in light of the current macroeconomic conditions driven by the devaluation of the Naira.”
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TechCabal
Sep 4, 2023
Paving the way for affordable cross-border payments in Africa
According to the African Development Bank (AfDB), cross-border banking has emerged as a critical feature within Africa’s financial landscape. It not only facilitates transactions across regions for individuals but also plays a pivotal role in expanding markets and nurturing innovation for businesses.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Sep 4, 2023
“You can invest in Africa” and other common mistakes in how the world sees our continent
Africa, with some of the world’s fastest-growing economies and a rapidly expanding population, has the potential to become a global leader in telecommunications. But enabling this requires overcoming certain shortfalls. First, there is a need to shift fundamental misconceptions about the continent.
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TechCabal
Sep 2, 2023
M-PESA to introduce standing orders as Safaricom strengthens its mobile money product
Standing orders are common in banking services but are very rare in mobile money products such as M-PESA. Safaricom’s M-PESA is set to introduce standing orders in an announcement revealed by the telco’s CIO George Njuguna.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Sep 1, 2023
“We are bridging Nigeria’s digital finance gap”- Moniepoint’s CEO
Picture a restaurant in Ikeja, Lagos State, where a customer needs to make a payment after a meal. To make this interaction successful, two critical parts of the digital financial experience need to happen. On one side of this are businesses, like, in this case, the restaurant. Businesses serve as an important locus, collecting payments from millions of customers. By empowering businesses to collect payments and manage their finances digitally, great transformation is possible.
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TechCabal
Sep 1, 2023
Months before Starlink’s Zimbabwe launch, government warns against its ‘unlicensed’ use 🇿🇼
Starlink users and resellers in Zimbabwe have been warned that unless they secure requisite licenses, they are breaking the law by using and providing the service. Zimbabwe’s communications regulator, the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ), has issued a warning against the unlicensed use of Starlink.
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TechCabal
Aug 31, 2023
Amid high fuel costs, Uber launches electric motorbikes in Kenya 🇰🇪 🏍
Uber has revealed an e-mobility product in the Kenyan market—an electric motorbike named One Electric. The launch is key as the worldwide automotive industry plans to transition toward electric vehicles, with countries such as the U.K. planning to phase out vehicles with internal combustion engines. This also marks Uber’s third key product announcement in the Kenyan market this year, following the rollout of an audio recording feature for safety and the integration of M-PESA into its payment system.
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TechCabal
Aug 31, 2023
MultiChoice writes down $108 million on its investment in betting company KingMakers
Thus far, MultiChoice has lost R1.3 billion (~$108 million) in acquiring a 49% stake in Nigerian sports betting company KingMakers in three years. Can the company manage to turn its gamble on KingMakers around?
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Aug 31, 2023
Chargel expands into Cote d’Ivoire 🇸🇳 ⏩ 🇨🇮
After a $2.5 million seed raise and an expansion into Cote d’Ivoire, Chargel, a Senegalese logistics startup that connects truck drivers with shippers, wants to change how goods move through Francophone Africa.
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TechCabal
Aug 30, 2023
Black Ostrich Ventures announces $20m pre-seed and seed stage fund for African startups
Black Ostrich Ventures, a Los Angeles-based VC firm, has launched a $20 million pre-seed and seed-stage fund to support African startups in the cleantech, supply chain, ag-tech, and edtech sectors.
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TechCabal
Aug 30, 2023
Nigeria’s stock market hits 15-year high, but market experts are skeptical about investor movements 🇳🇬 📈
As Nigerian stocks hits 15-year high, experts urge investors not to buy the top On Tuesday, the All Share Index (ASI) of the Nigerian Stock Exchange hit a 15-year high. The ASI rose by 0.51% to close yesterday’s trading at 66,490.34 basis points, rising above the high of 66,371.20 bps recorded on March 5, 2008. While other investors may be looking to get in on this run, experts have warned against getting their fingers burnt.
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TechCabal
Aug 27, 2023
Eden Care Medical: Y Combinator’s latest health insurance bet in Africa ⚕️ 🇷🇼
In 2018, Moses Mukundi had a life-threatening health emergency. As an investment banker accessing health insurance, he needed the doctor to sign off on his form. “My insurance rejected paying a claim because the doctor had stamped but had not signed the claim form. I had an acute allergy attack and had to be treated immediately,” he said on a call with TechCabal. And as the turnaround time took much longer than usual, Mukundi had to pay out of his pocket to get treated.
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TechCabal
Aug 25, 2023
Despite price fluctuations, Africa’s Bitcoin maximalists remain bullish on its future 🌍 ₿
Bitcoin, as well as other crypto, has had a wild run in the past year. In the face of this, however, the African Bitcoin community has remained unfazed. Anita Porsch is a digital nomad who has spent the past two years travelling Africa as a Bitcoin educator and teaches Bitcoin at grassroots levels. For Porsch, who started a learning platform titled Crack The Orange, Bitcoin has one goal; facilitating a more just financial system. She believes in the potential of Bitcoin as an equaliser, giving people across the world access to the same monetary system and is committing a lot of time and effort to that gospel.
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Aug 25, 2023
Egyptian payments provider Fawry is considering digital banking 🇪🇬
Egyptian payments provider Fawry plans to launch a digital bank this year. This comes weeks after the company announced its plan to obtain a digital bank license from the Central Bank of Egypt.
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TechCabal
Aug 25, 2023
As Africa’s struggling currencies hinder growth, should startups fundraise in local currencies?
For African startups that raised funds in foreign currencies, rising inflation and currency devaluation have affected how they report revenue to investors. Can raising funds in local currencies help reduce the effect?
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Aug 24, 2023
TikTok to set up a Kenyan office and employ more Kenyans for content moderation 🇰🇪
TikTok has agreed to set up a Kenyan office for better content moderation and African operations. Despite existing legal troubles around content moderation in Kenya, the president’s statement about the meeting ignores TikTok’s involvement with one of the key parties, Majorel.
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Aug 24, 2023
Kenyan fintech, Cellulant to lay off 20% of its employees in organisational restructuring
Cellulant is undergoing a restructuring exercise that will impact a fifth of its workforce. In a statement to TechCabal, Cellulant, which operates across 19 markets, disclosed that these changes will be implemented in the coming days as the company focuses on a product-led approach that ideally creates user-centric products for growth. The company has clarified that this strategic shift has been in development for some time and has come to mutual agreements with affected employees. While Cellulant has declined to disclose the exact number of employees leaving the company, Cellulant has 634 employees per LinkedIn.
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Aug 23, 2023
How crypto gaming in Africa can reach its full potential ₿ 🎮
Like the rest of the world, the African gaming space fell in love with crypto. In Africa, gaming is often viewed as a sign of unproductivity, but crypto came with the promise of helping players get rewarded while playing. The 2021 crypto bull run saw play-to-earn (P2E) games—blockchain-based video games that allow players to earn crypto or non-fungible tokens (NFTs)—dominate the global gaming market, and Africa hasn’t been an exemption.
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Aug 22, 2023
Knife Capital will write $3-$7 million checks for SA growth-stage startups with $50m expansion fund 🇿🇦
Knife Capital co-founder Keet van Zyl speaks on the firm’s Knife Fund III fund for growth-stage South African startups. Knife Capital recently closed its $50 million expansion fund, ‘Knife Fund III.’ The VC firm will use Knife Fund III for the “expansion of African innovation-driven companies.” It will also power follow-on funding for some of Knife Capital’s portfolio companies. TechCabal spoke to Keet van Zyl, co-founder of the Cape Town-based venture capital firm, to understand how the firm plans to deploy its new fund.
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Aug 22, 2023
InDrive continues southern Africa expansion with Lesotho launch 🚕
inDrive has launched in Lesotho, continuing its expansion in southern Africa where Uber and Bolt are unavailable in most markets. California-headquartered ride-hailing platform InDrive is continuing its expansion into southern Africa, announcing the launch of its services in Lesotho. According to the company’s business development representative, Vincent Lilani, “There’s a clear need for a new approach to ride-hailing. inDrive’s unique fare negotiation model empowers drivers and passengers to agree on a price without algorithmic restrictions. We believe that this method offers a sound solution to many current challenges in the Southern African ride-hailing market.”
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Aug 22, 2023
Moniepoint Inc gets the regulatory approval to acquire Kenyan credit startup Kopo Kopo
Moniepoint may extend its presence beyond Nigeria after getting approval to acquire Kenya’s payments and credit startup, Kopo Kopo. The transaction value has not been disclosed.
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Aug 21, 2023
After pushback, Nigeria’s ride-hailing union drops ‘workers’ from its new name 🇳🇬
Delays in formalising an amalgamated drivers union focused on one technicality, so the drivers union has chosen pragmatism as a way forward. In January 2023, Nigeria’s ride-hailing drivers merged all existing unions and groups into one body: the Amalgamated Union of App-Based Transport Workers Of Nigeria (AUATWON). It was a critical moment for the drivers whose unionisation efforts date back seven years. As part of formalising the new union, AUATWON applied to be registered with Nigeria’s Ministry of Labour. While the application was supposed to be straightforward, a part of the process allows the ministry to hear objections to a union’s registration.
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Aug 21, 2023
South Africa is proposing a change in how remote workers pay taxes and employers will bear the brunt 🇿🇦
Proposed amendments in South Africa’s tax law may impose stricter tax requirements for remote workers and their employers. South African Revenue Services (SARS) has shared a draft of the proposed tax administration bill [pdf], that will seek to change how remote workers pay taxes. One of the proposed changes includes removing the distinction between remote and non-remote workers and requiring employers of South Africa-based remote workers to deduct pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) tax.
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Aug 20, 2023
Exclusive: Twiga lays off 283 employees citing tough business environment
E-commerce food distribution company, Twiga, is undergoing operational restructuring due to tough market conditions, a process that will lay off a third of its 850 permanent employees. The changes that Twiga has made are not sudden. The company’s CEO, Peter Njonjo, told TechCabal that Twiga has been “on a transformative path in the last few months to become a lean, agile, cost-efficient organisation, undertaking several interventions to adopt and sustain the business during these economic times.” To this end, Twiga reviewed its operating model and cost to “ensure organisational structure is fit for purpose”.
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Aug 19, 2023
Derek Thomas is building Zambia’s biggest e-commerce marketplace 🛒🛍️ 🇿🇲
Gwila is one of the first e-commerce marketplaces in Zambia that allows people to sell their products and services, and Derek Thomas is determined to expand into other markets as soon as he can. He believes that Gwila provides Zambian youth with an opportunity to reach a wider market and earn money. According to Thomas, “We’re here to serve the market.”
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Aug 18, 2023
Kobo360 appoints Cikü Mugambi as new CEO
Days after its founding CEO Obi Ozor was appointed transport commissioner in Enugu, Nigerian logistics startup Kobo360 named current COO Ciku Mugambi the new CEO. Kobo360, a Nigerian logistics startup, has announced the appointment of a new CEO, Cikü Mugambi, after its co-founder, Obi Ozor stepped down to serve as commissioner of transportation in Enugu State. In a statement shared with TechCabal, the company’s Board of Directors named Mugambi—the COO—as Ozor’s successor.
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Aug 16, 2023
Kenyan Assembly receives petition to ban TikTok 🇰🇪
Kenya’s National Assembly considers a petition to ban TikTok. The petition, submitted by Bob Ndolo, CEO of Bridget Connect Consultancy, cites inadequate regulation and concerns about explicit content.
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Aug 16, 2023
MTN fintech and data products drive boost service revenue to $335 million in Uganda 🇺🇬
MTN has reported service revenue strides to $335 million. Its fintech product, among other services such as data and voice, substantially contributed to this growth. MTN Uganda has recorded a 15% jump in service revenue, reaching Ush 1,250 billion ($335 million), driven by strong voice, data, and fintech performance.
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Aug 16, 2023
What is the next frontier for Africa’s creative sector?
In recent years, Africa’s creative sector has grown significantly, with African music and movies reaching a more global audience. For experts who spoke at a panel session on the creative economy at the second Africa Social Impact Summit, the continent has only scratched the surface.
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TechCabal
Aug 16, 2023
The long road to building sustainable food systems in Africa
Food is expensive in many African countries and not enough for everyone. It has caused political revolutions in Egypt, Sudan, and Tunisia. And it was the inspiration for the 1985 hit, ‘We Are the World,’ courtesy of Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson. Yet the problem is far from being solved. Technology companies are stepping into the ring of entities duelling with this problem, and they have a chance to show that aggregating smallholder farmers with technology and farming support can make a dent.
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Aug 15, 2023
After M-PESA, Airtel Money increases wallet limit to $3,400
Airtel Money has received approval to increase mobile money limits to KES 500,000 ($3,400). Customers will also transact up to KES 500,000 daily, up from KES 300,000 ($2085). Yesterday, Safaricom announced it had made some adjustments to its M-PESA wallet, reporting a limit increase from KES 300,000 ($2,085) to KES 500,000 (a little over $3,400). The company further shared that the daily transaction threshold had also been raised to KES 500,000 from its previous mark of KES 300,000.
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Aug 15, 2023
State-owned Telecom Egypt reports $217 million in profits for H1 2023 🇪🇬
Telecom Egypt reported a net profit of EGP 6.7 billion ($217 million) in the first half of this year. The company’s total revenues grew to EGP 28.1 billion ($909 million), a 38% growth compared to the same period of the previous year.
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Aug 11, 2023
Relief for ride-hailing drivers caught in the middle of Cape Town’s taxi strike
The Western Cape branch of South Africa’s taxi union has called off a strike protesting a new by-law that allowed the City of Cape Town to impound vehicles instead of fining drivers for not displaying registration plates. The new law also states that cars can be impounded if they’re unlicensed, overloaded or don’t stop when they’re instructed to do so by a police officer. Taxi operators say the by-law targets them unfairly.
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Aug 11, 2023
Inside ChowCentral: Y Combinator’s latest food delivery bet in Africa 🌮🍕🥪
TechCabal caught up with Tosin Onafuye, and Adeyemi Onafuye, Co-founders of ChowCentral Y Combinator’s Summer class of 2023. Here’s how the team is re-imagining the food restaurant business. When Tosin Onafuye started 500Chow—ChowCentral’s subsidiary—as a fun experiment in April 2020, his plan was to deliver quality meals at the most affordable rate. “We started 500 Chow to sell meals for N500 for people that didn’t have so much money during the covid lockdown,” he tells me on a video chat from ChowCentral’s kitchen in Lekki.
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Aug 10, 2023
Airtel Uganda will sell 20% stake in an IPO 🇺🇬
Airtel Africa has announced its plans to list on the Uganda Securities Exchange with 8,000,000,000 worth of shares. According to a statement published on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX), Airtel Africa has announced plans to list shares on the Uganda Securities Exchange. It will do this through its wholly owned subsidiary in Uganda, Airtel Uganda Limited.
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Aug 10, 2023
Kenyan government claims Worldcoin illegally collected biometric data 🇰🇪
Kenya’s ICT and digital economy cabinet secretary, Eliud Owalo, was questioned today about Worldcoin’s operations in Kenya. According to Owalo, the firm collected iris data illegally, and there are plans to preserve that data before an assesment is made about the case.
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Aug 9, 2023
SA competition regulator says no to Vodacom’s acquisition of fibre operator Maziv 🇿🇦
South Africa’s competition regulator has rejected Vodacom’s acquisition of Maziv, a holding company which owns Dark Fibre Africa, the country’s second-largest fibre network operator. The competition commission of South Africa has recommended against Vodacom’s acquisition of Maziv, a holding company whose assets include fibre network operators Dark Fibre Africa (DFA) and Vumatel.
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Aug 9, 2023
Multichoice terminates DStv service in Malawi after court blocks price increase 🇲🇼
Multichoice is exiting Malawi following a high court ruling preventing the company from invoking further price increases for DStv service in the country. Pan-African broadcaster Multichoice is pulling its satellite television service provider, DStv, out of Malawi. This follows a decision by Malawian regulators to reject DStv’s latest price hikes. At the end of July, the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) obtained an interim injunction from the country’s High Court. The injunction prohibited Multichoice Malawi from changing or modifying DSTV tariffs. Yesterday, August 8, the high court further ordered Multichoice to comply with the order, leading the broadcaster to terminate its DStv offering in Malawi.
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Aug 9, 2023
Ghana’s inflation hits 43% due to rising food costs 🇬🇭
Driven by food prices, Ghana’s inflation rose to 43.1% in July from 42.5% in June—a four-month high. The increase may force the central bank to increase the interest rates again to help the country’s struggling economy.
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Aug 9, 2023
Twitter influencers in Nigeria are now being paid for tweets 🤑💰
Elon Musk is trending on X (formerly Twitter) today, and for the first time in a long time, it’s for something positive. This morning, Desmond Oris and a number of his friends were greeted with credit alerts from Twitter. The group of influencers, also X Premium users, each received payments of between $251 and $500 for being active on the platform. These payments, which make up X’s Ads Revenue Sharing programme for creators globally are a part of Musk’s strategy to encourage subscriptions to X Premium by sharing income made from advertising with the creators. The criteria for eligibility include being subscribed to X Premium, and having a minimum of 500 followers and at least 15 million impressions on cumulative posts within the past three months.
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Aug 8, 2023
Zenith Bank digitalises intra-Africa trade for exporters through the SMARTAfCFTA portal MoU
Nigeria’s Zenith Bank has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), to develop the SMARTAfCFTA portal. The SMARTAfCFTA portal is an initiative of the bank to digitalise trade, according to the Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, Wamkele Mene. The GMD of Zenith Bank, Dr Ebenezer Onyeagwu and the AfCFTA General Secretary signed the agreement during the 2023 international trade seminar of Zenith Bank today.
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Aug 8, 2023
Cashlinq wants to foster financial inclusion in Zimbabwe. Here is how 🇿🇼
A conversation with Tendai Mugovi, co-founder of Zimbabwean fintech startup Cashliq which offers banking as-a-service products. He speaks on the origins of the startup, challenges they have faced in its operations and how they have working their way through the challenges.
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Aug 8, 2023
DRC Congo’s Vault Pay is the third African startup in Y Combinator’s Summer 2023 batch 🇨🇩
Vault Pay, a payments infrastructure company from DRC Congo, is the third African startup selected for the Y Combinator’s 2023 summer class. The payments company joins Nigeria’s food delivery startup ChowCentral and Rwanda’s Eden Care in this year’s cohort. Per a statement published on Y Combinator’s website, DRC-based Vault Pay is building core payments infrastructure for Central Africa. The startup was founded in 2023 by Ntambwa Basambombo and Christel Ilaka.
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Aug 7, 2023
Content creation is booming in Botswana but monetisation remains a puzzle 🇧🇼
With a youth unemployment rate of 38%, young Batswana are turning to content creation to create employment for themselves and their fellow citizens. For Marang Selolwane, a Gaborone-based content creator with over 275,000 followers across Facebook and Instagram, her work goes beyond the confines of the definition of “content creation.” This ethos has seen Marang score deals with some of Botswana’s leading corporates, including telcos, commercial banks, and insurance companies. “I consider myself a connector or a storyteller. My partnerships are with corporates because my brand ethos is simplifying complex services for everyday Motswana,” she told TechCabal over a call.
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Aug 7, 2023
Kenya police raid Worldcoin warehouse and confiscate equipment 🇰🇪
Kenyan law enforcement officials seized machines that they suspect contained data collected by Worldcoin from a warehouse situated on Mombasa Road, Nairobi. According to Capital News, the team transported this equipment to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations headquarters for further analysis.
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Aug 7, 2023
Buguard raises $500k in seed round to fund growth
Buguard, an Egypt-based cybersecurity firm, has raised $500,000 in seed round. The funding round was led by A15, the leading MENA venture capital firm, with participation from angel investors. Buguard will use the funds to grow its team, focusing on product, sales, and channel partnerships.
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Aug 4, 2023
Hacker group targets Nigerian companies over ECOWAS threat of military action against Niger 👩🏾‍💻 💀
Anonymous Sudan, a Sudanese hacker group, says it is targeting Nigerian companies in response to the threat of military action in Niger. Yesterday, Nigeria’s national IT agency issued an advisory for the public as the group attacks NITDA and claims responsibility for an attack on MTN.
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Aug 3, 2023
Tanzania ignores digital IDs as East Africa pushes for wider adoption 🇹🇿
Most East African countries are on a path to adopting digital IDs. While others express mixed reactions about the readiness for the documents, others have yet to start conversations about biometric identification.
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Aug 3, 2023
Gender inequality is obstructing Ghana’s path to a larger digital economy
Ghana has an ambitious digital policy that is set to make it a leading digital economy in Africa. However, the existing digital gender gap in the country may obstruct the achievement of the levels of digital literacy required for universal e-government service delivery.
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Aug 2, 2023
Nigeria’s ChowCentral is one of three African startups in Y Combinator’s Summer 2023 batch 🍗 🍟
ChowCentral, ‘a Nigerian startup building restaurant chains for Africans who want high-quality meals,’ has been accepted into Y Combinator’s Summer class of 2023. Only three African startups were selected in this year’s cohort, including Rwanda’s Eden Care and a yet-to-be-named startup from DRC Congo. ChowCental was founded by Tosin Onafuye, Christopher Obasi and Adeyemi Onafuye.
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Aug 2, 2023
Safaricom, Craft Silicon tap into the buy-now-pay-later trend 🇰🇪
Safaricom has expanded its credit services to include a Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) product. Craft Silicon has also launched a similar product with different terms and target customers. In the past week, two new Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) products have been launched in Kenya. The first, Faraja, is offered in partnership between telco Safaricom and financial services firm EDOMx. The second is SpotIt by Craft Silicon, the software development company behind Little Cab, an e-cab app. Both products have the same fundamental model but are functionally different because they are offered on different channels, have different partners, and take different approaches to interest rates.
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Aug 1, 2023
Blockchain 2.0: Building the next generation of African blockchain products
While blockchain technology has many doubters, many experts insist that it could solve some of Africa’s problems. Cross-border payments, inflation hedge, database management and transparency in healthcare and agriculture, intellectual property protection, and election management were some of the use cases to test blockchain’s prowess. The race to launch the definitive Web3 apps to solve these problems for Africans has been in earnest, backed by eager investors. Today, the excitement has mellowed, especially with popular exchanges like FTX going defunct or declaring bankruptcy. The future of blockchain feels uncertain with AI taking the spotlight.
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Aug 1, 2023
How the Congo Business Summit can help Nigerian startups expand to Kinshasa 🇨🇩
Noel K. Tshiani is the managing director of Congo Business Summit, a flagship conference and expo organised by Congo Business Network. The network works with startups, corporations, and government officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo and abroad. With a profound dedication to innovation, the organisation is passionate about nurturing and advancing the country’s startup and tech ecosystems, recognising the transformative impact they can have on the country’s economy.
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Aug 1, 2023
President Tinubu announces ₦125 billion fund for micro and small businesses
In a nationwide broadcast on Monday evening, President Bola Tinubu announced a ₦75 billion to fund MSMEs. ₦125 billion has also been earmarked to support the informal sector. President Bola Tinubu has announced a plan to support small businesses and startups in Nigeria in response to the country’s current economic challenges.
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Jul 31, 2023
Senegal’s government suspends internet again to “prevent disturbances” 🇸🇳
The government has shut down Senegal’s internet again after an internet shutdown in June and the awarding of a 5G licence two weeks ago, following Friday’s arrest of opposition leader, Ousmane Sonko. Citing a need to prevent disturbances to public order, Senegal’s government has shut down the internet.
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Jul 28, 2023
Data centre infrastructure: An exclusive interview with Raxio Group’s Bhavik Pattni and Yannick Sukakumu
Yannick Sukakumu and Bhavik Pattni are players in the data centre industry in Africa. In this exclusive interview for TechCabal, they discuss with Noel K. Tshiani, founder of Congo Business Network. Sukakumu, who holds the role of country manager in Kinshasa, and Pattni, performing duties as the head of corporate and business development for the Raxio Group in Dubai, share their valuable insights and extensive experiences navigating the dynamic data centre business in the Democratic Republic of Congo and across the African continent.
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Jul 27, 2023
Pro-Sudan hackers attack digital services in Kenya
Since Sunday, websites belonging to government agencies, media, hospitals and banks have been targeted by hackers claiming to be exacting revenge on behalf of the Sudanese regime.
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Jul 27, 2023
Copia fires 350 employees in third round of layoffs
Copia, a Kenyan e-commerce platform serving low-income households, has laid off 25% of its 1,800 workforce. The company blamed labour costs and a need to improve profitability for the layoffs.
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Jul 27, 2023
Endowed with $21 million, Kasha wants to transform healthcare in Africa
Interview with Joanna Bichsel, founder and CEO of Kasha on the startup’s recent Series B raise, fture expansion plans and the state of healthtech startups on the continent. Last week, Rwandan healthtech startup Kasha announced a $21 million Series B raise led by Knife Capital. Founded in 2016 by Joanna Bichsel, the startup provides a digital retail and last-mile distribution platform for pharmaceuticals and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs).
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Jul 27, 2023
SA houses 78% of all healthtech innovators in southern Africa, according to report 🩺 🇿🇦
South Africa dominates healthtech innovation in southern Africa, according to a report by healthcare consulting firm Salient Advisory. With the country also attracting the most VC capital in the region, it is perhaps not surprising that innovators are following where the money is in an industry where capital is still hard to come by.
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Jul 26, 2023
Cost of data breaches in SA surged by 73% in last 8 years, according to IBM report 🇿🇦
South Africa has one of the highest costs of data breaches in the world, according to a study by IBM Security. According to IBM Security’s annual “Cost of a Data Breach” report, the average data breach cost for South African organizations reached an all-time high of R49.45 million in 2023. This is an 8% increase over the last 3 years, and a 73% increase since South Africa was added to the report 8 years ago.
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Jul 26, 2023
Triggerfish wants to take African stories to the world through animation 🎬
Feat after feat, Africa is demonstrating that its stories are for the world to hear. Triggerfish, an animation company, is making this happen through Africa-centred stories. Netflix just released Supa Team 4, its first-ever original animated African series. This is a win for Malenga Mulendema, the Lusaka-based writer and creator of the show. Mulendema’s achievement adds to the growing buzz around Africa-centred animated stories, which, in recent years, have attracted significant global attention. Supa Team 4 is produced by Triggerfish, a South Africa-based company on a mission to export African stories to a global audience. “With world-class storytelling, we are building bridges that connect Africa to the world,” said Stuart Forrest, the company’s CEO.
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Jul 26, 2023
Electronic transfers make up 82% of all B2B payments in SA, according to study 🇿🇦
South Africa leads the way in the digitisation of B2B payments on the continent, according to a latest study. According to a report by business payment platform Duplo, electronic transfers made up over 82% of the $994 billion of business-to-business transactions in South Africa.
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Jul 24, 2023
Earnings from Upwork will no longer be untaxed in Kenya 🇰🇪
Upwork freelancers in Kenya face new tax obligations. VAT will be collected and remitted by Upwork to the Kenyan government. Those eligible for exemptions must provide a valid tax certificate. Meanwhile, other freelancing platforms’ tax compliance remains uncertain.
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Jul 24, 2023
Africa’s traditional economy vs. gig economy: Which way forward?
In today’s vertiginous economic landscape, Africa is plagued with a massive exodus from its longstanding formal traditional work economy to the informal gig economy. While the traditional economy has been the backbone of the continent’s livelihood for centuries, in recent years, the gig economy has created new opportunities and challenges.
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Jul 24, 2023
Nigerian payments provider, eTranzact reports N1.17 billion profit after tax for 2022
Nigerian payments provider eTranzact International Plc has reported that its profit after tax rose to N1.17 billion in 2022—representing a 157.81% increase compared to the previous year. The company’s chairman, Wole Abegunde, disclosed this during its 19th annual general meeting in Lagos last Thursday, describing 2022 as “a significant year in the history of the company’s financial performance” thanks to the focus and expansion of core switching services.
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Jul 21, 2023
Kenyan vendors face a shortage of smartphones as KRA tightens grip on tax evaders 🇰🇪 📲
Smartphone vendors in Kenya face challenges as taxation measures and supply shortages impact prices and availability. The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) wants to stem tax evasion, leading to slower business and higher consumer prices.
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Jul 21, 2023
Bundle Africa shuts exchange operations after three years
After three years of operations, Bundle Africa has shut down its exchange services. The crypto payments app will now be focusing on Cashlink, its peer-to-peer platform. Bundle Africa, a social payments app for cash and cryptocurrency, has announced it is shutting down operations of its exchange services after three years. According to a statement published on its website on Friday, the company said the decision was made by its shareholders in a bid to “restructure the business”. Instead, Bundle will now be focusing on Cashlink, its peer-to-peer platform. The company said it hit 50,000 monthly active users and a $50 million monthly volume on Bundle and crossed over 3 million transactions on Cashlink.
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Jul 20, 2023
SING is building an ecosystem from scratch in Gabon 🇬🇦
In Gabon, private companies came together to create an incubator for startups. Since its inception in 2018, it has incubated over 140 startups. Gabon, an oil-rich country in central Africa, has the makings of a supercharged tech ecosystem. With a young population, the 3rd highest gross national income (a metric used to measure a nation’s wealth) on the continent, and 72% internet penetration, the country has a stable foundation for digital solutions. Another advantage is that most Gabonese (91%) live in the urban region. However, the ecosystem is still very young and far from reaching its potential.
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Jul 20, 2023
IMF approves $1 billion loan to Kenya as concerns over growing debt persist 🇰🇪
Kenya’s economic situation is dire, with unsustainable borrowing, soaring debt servicing costs, and limited revenue generation. IMF keeps approving loans despite the country’s escalating debt, leading to widespread criticism, protests, and loss of faith in the government.
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Jul 20, 2023
Nigeria’s new FX regime has birthed fresh competition between banks and remittance startups
Nigeria’s unified FX rate will affect the operations of digital remittance startups and possibly alter their strategies. With traditional banks staging a comeback, what will a path to winning in cross-border payments look like for Nigerian fintechs?
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jul 19, 2023
Analysis: How Egypt’s fintech ecosystem is finding its pace and dragging banks along 🇪🇬
In 2017 there were 32 financial technology companies in Egypt—including but not limited to payments providers. By 2022, the number of technology companies that offered fintech services had increased five-fold to 177. A new report published by the Central Bank of Egypt sheds light on what has influenced this growth.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jul 19, 2023
As MultiChoice’s troubles continue, Canal+ is smelling blood 📺
As MultiChoice continues to face troubles, French broadcasting giant Canal+ continues to up its stake in the company. Is a takeover in the works? Two weeks ago, MultiChoice’s share price plunged by 13% after JP Morgan Chase & Co downgraded the pan-African broadcaster’s rating. According to Reuters, the brokerage firm adjusted MultiChoice’s ratings downwards from “neutral” to “underweight.” An “underweight” rating means JP Morgan expects the company to underperform based on the average total return of stocks in its coverage universe over the next 6 to 12 months. Hence, it encourages stockholders to sell.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jul 18, 2023
The next wave of innovation: Why US investors should look to francophone Africa
Noel K. Tshiani, founder of Congo Business Network, is convinced that American business angels and venture capital firms have promising investment opportunities at their fingertips: French-speaking Africa. He advocates for a smart partnership strategy that involves working with local organisations that have a deep understanding of the region’s unique business dynamics and access to a vast network of decision-makers in the public and private sectors in a specific country. That is how US investors can easily and confidently navigate any perceived cultural, risk, or language barriers and position themselves for profitable investments in this emerging continent.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jul 17, 2023
African countries are making digital service tax for foreign companies a norm as Uganda joins the race 🇺🇬
Uganda’s new law imposes a 5% income tax on non-resident companies offering digital services. Services covered include online advertising, data services, and online marketplaces. Major tech corporations like Meta and Netflix will be affected, joining Kenya and Nigeria in implementing similar taxes.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jul 15, 2023
After raising $1 million, My 1Health looks to Ethiopia and South Sudan as its new markets ⚕️ 🇪🇹 🇸🇸
My 1Health launches a global platform connecting patients to healthcare services, merging companies, and eyeing new markets. Specialised health facilitator My 1Health has launched its global platform to connect patients to worldwide healthcare services. The platform was created by merging My 1Health (formerly MyHealth Africa) and International Medical Treatment. The firm, which raised $1 million in December 2022, operates in several African countries, including Nigeria and Egypt, and has plans to launch in new markets. In total, My 1Health has a presence in 14 territories. Some of its users also receive medical attention from outside Africa, in countries such as England and Turkey.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jul 14, 2023
Access Bank to acquire Standard Chartered’s subsidiaries in sub-Saharan Africa 🤝🏽 🏛️
Access Bank’s pan-African drive sees another boon: an acquisition that could make it one of the continent’s topmost banks. Access Bank has completed negotiations to acquire the sub-Saharan subsidiaries of Standard Chartered Bank for an undisclosed sum. This acquisition is in line with Standard Chartered’s plan to divest its businesses in Africa.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jul 11, 2023
Africa VC funding dips by 54% in H1 2023, as accelerators lead the way in cheque-writing 📉
VC funding of African tech startups dips by 54% in H1 2023 as funding crunch continues. According to data from research firm MAGNiTT, VC firms invested $951 million in the African tech ecosystem in H1 2023. It’s a 54% drop compared to H1 2022. VC firms also completed 214 deals, a 50% decline from the 2022 numbers. Exits continue to be few and far between in 2023 with only 15 exits so far.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jul 11, 2023
Why DRC will soon be a major player in global tech scene 🇨🇩
Noel K. Tshiani, founder of Congo Business Network, shares his vision for tech startups in the Democratic Republic of Congo, based on his conviction that the country has the potential to emerge as a major tech hub in Central Africa. He is optimistic about the future of the DRC’s startup and tech ecosystem, believing that with improved policies and increased investments, Kinshasa can become a major player in the global tech scene.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jul 10, 2023
How Zambia’s national debt restructuring can boost country’s tech ecosystem 🇿🇲
Despite the much-heralded development over the last two years, Zambia’s tech ecosystem has lagged behind in attracting venture capital. With the country having reached a debt restructuring agreement with some of its major creditors, can this development benefit its ecosystem?
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jul 7, 2023
Afreximbank and Fiducia join forces to provide financing to SMEs through factoring 🤝🏾
Through its partnership with African Export-Import Bank, Fiducia is providing financing to SMEs in Africa through factoring and actively raising awareness about its benefits among African businesses.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jul 6, 2023
Mastercard and SomBank partner to launch debit cards in Somalia 💳🇸🇴
Somalia’s government is betting on QR codes, but low internet and smartphone penetration make debit cards a more resonant move. Mastercard is betting on cards with SomBank.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jul 6, 2023
Bolt records 150 million users and appoints new CFO
Bolt has appointed a new CFO. Although it has faced legal challenges in Kenya, the company, which has been in operation for ten years, continues to maintain its position as one of the country’s most widely utilised ride-hailing apps.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jul 5, 2023
Kenya’s E-Gov App Gava Mkononi Will Integrate Over 5,000 Services 🇰🇪
Kenya has launched an app with over 5,000 government services. Referred to as the Gava Mkononi app, the service is an extension of the country’s eCitizen platform and part of President William Ruto’s programme to digitise government services. eCitizen is a digital platform that provides Kenyans access to government services and will be fully integrated into the Gava Mkononi app. Gava Mkononi has also been developed to integrate the Huduma Kenya Service Delivery Programme (HKSDP) functions, a network of service centres that provide access to various public services and eCitizen.
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TechCabal
Jul 5, 2023
Jumia’s race to profitability takes it to Africa’s rural markets
Jumia urgently needs to become profitable across its 11 African markets. To drive this, the Nigerian arm of the ecommerce giant is looking to rural markets where ecommerce potential is untapped. How will this strategy play out?
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jul 4, 2023
How Netflix and HBO’s partnership could mean trouble for Showmax 🔗📺
As Netflix and HBO commence a content deal that would see popular titles like Insecure and Ballers come to Netflix, Showmax, being the exclusive provider of HBO content in Africa thus far, has a reason to be worried.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jul 4, 2023
Remote working responsible for surge in cybersecurity threats in Africa, according to report 👨🏽‍💻🔒
A survey of 139 companies in South Africa, Zambia, and Kenya showed that 62% of companies blamed remote working for the surge in cybersecurity threats.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jul 4, 2023
SecondSTAX and ASEA join forces to unify Africa’s stock markets
Healthy stock exchange markets are a major source of business capital globally. But not in Africa. A former Goldman Sachs banker and an IT consultant want to change this by simplifying institutional access to Africa’s many but small capital markets.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jul 4, 2023
DRC-based startup Nuru has secured $40 million to build the biggest mini-grid in sub-Saharan Africa 🇨🇩 ⚡💡
Nuru, a solar energy startup based in the Democratic Republic of Congo, wants to provide 24-hour electricity for five million people in the country. Its Series B raise of $40 million is still a long way from the $300 million needed to achieve this goal.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jul 3, 2023
Zuvy raises $4.5 million to scale invoice financing in Nigeria
Zuvy, a Nigeria-based invoice financing company, is changing the vendor-buyer relationship by offering cash upfront to vendors to meet their business needs and invoice management software for buyers to eliminate inefficiencies tied to traditional pen-and-paper.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jul 3, 2023
Nurturing Africa’s AI ecosystem for global impact
In Africa, entrepreneurs, researchers, and organizations are beginning to harness the power of AI to tackle unique challenges and drive impactful change. From healthcare to agriculture, education to finance, the continent is witnessing the influence of AI across diverse sectors, fostering sustainable development and empowering communities.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jul 3, 2023
Island of challenges & opportunities: Inside Madagascar’s fledgling startup ecosystem
Despite having a few startups that have managed to raise funding and expand their operations beyond the island, Madagascar still does not have what one can describe as a vibrant startup ecosystem. TechCabal spoke to some ecosystem players to understand the country’s challenges in trying to establish an ecosystem and the efforts to address them.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jun 30, 2023
Nigeria’s Central Bank issues new rules for contactless payments
Nigeria’s financial regulator on Tuesday announced new guidelines for digital payment providers who offer contactless payment solutions. Contactless payments broadly refer to transactions where users pay by simply tapping or waving their payment devices at point-of-sale terminals. It is also called proximity payments.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jun 29, 2023
Mozilla is aiding Kenya’s upcoming tech startups with grants and acceleration
The Mozilla Africa Mradi Innovation Challenge in Nairobi is poised to help Kenyan tech entrepreneurs develop their products and be ready for market.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jun 29, 2023
Smile Identity lays off eight employees as it increases its ‘focus on profitability’
Smile Identity, a KYC compliance and ID verification startup, has laid off eight employees in what it says is a move to achieve its profitability targets.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jun 28, 2023
Kenya Expands Tax Net By Going After Influencer And Crypto Earnings
Kenya’s Finance Bill 2023, recently passed and signed into law, impacts digital content creators, crypto traders, and digital lenders. Content creators will now face taxes on their earnings, while crypto traders will be subject to a digital asset tax.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jun 26, 2023
Ecobank taps Africa Union’s PAPSS system for cross-border transfers
The Pan African Payment and Settlement System (PAPPS), which was launched to make cross-border transactions seamless, has since onboarded over 25 commercial banks on its system since its launch by the African Union and the Afreximbank in 2022. The partnership with Ecobank could make adoption even easier.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jun 26, 2023
Despite Kenya’s central bank backing, mobile money rivals are no match for M-PESA
Kenya’s ICT services in Q3 2023 show a decrease in mobile money subscriptions, Safaricom’s dominance in the market, a rise in mobile and 5G subscriptions, and a higher penetration rate of feature phones over smartphones.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jun 23, 2023
Flutterwave wants to make Kigali its settlement hub in East Africa
Kigali wants to establish itself as a leading technology centre for African companies. Flutterwave, like several of Africa’s biggest fintechs, is turning to the ambitious East African country to give their operations a surer footing.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jun 23, 2023
Tuma raises the largest round for a Congolese fintech startup
Tuma, a Congolese fintech startup, has raised the largest investment round in fintech for the Congolese tech ecosystem ever.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jun 22, 2023
Four things we learned from Bill Gates’ speech in Lagos
At an event in Lagos, Bill Gates shared what his charity foundation wants to achieve in Nigeria and the potential for AI to be implemented in its work.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jun 22, 2023
ARTSPLIT is betting it can get you to collect, co-own, care about African art
ARTSPLIT, the art investment platform, is making alternative investment assets such as artworks and music more inclusive and accessible for everyday people and at the same time, helping artists to make money from their works.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jun 21, 2023
With SA experiencing a cybercrime epidemic, startups are coming to the rescue
Cybercrime attacks are becoming a fairly regular occurrence in South Africa, with some research pegging the cost at R2.2 billion annually. What is causing this surge in attacks and how can this problem be tackled?
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jun 20, 2023
Google lists 25 African startups for its Black Founders Fund 2023 cohort
Google has listed 25 African startups as beneficiaries of its annual Black Founders Fund. Now in its third year, the $4 million fund seeks to help tackle systemic racial inequality in venture capital (VC) funding by providing equity-free grants and mentoring to early-stage, Black-led, and high-growth businesses across Africa and Europe.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jun 19, 2023
Nigerian fintech, Glade, loses $214,000 to internal hack
Techstars-backed fintech startup, Glade, was the victim of an internal breach. Two sources told TechCabal that the breach led to the loss of $214,000. The company’s CEO, Liyi Victor, confirmed the breach to TechCabal but did not comment on how much was lost. Liyi said that the perpetrators hacked the company’s backend infrastructure and made away with the funds. The case has been reported to law enforcement agencies.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jun 15, 2023
Here’s why Flutterwave accounts were frozen in Kenya
From a fraudulent betting company in Nigeria to aggrieved customers, and a Nairobi High Court order, here’s how Flutterwave accounts were frozen in Kenya.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jun 14, 2023
Digital Economy Taxation: The Two-Pillar Framework and Africa’s Response
The evolution of digitalization is changing how multinationals operate and relate with foreign governments. It is raising questions about taxation in the digital economy. There have been debates over the last few years about how the standard international tax system needs to properly capture the expanding reach of digitalization.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jun 13, 2023
Telkom profits plunge by more than 76%, company blames loadshedding
According to Telkom’s annual results, the company’s profits are down by 76.6%, and the company blames loadshedding among other factors.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jun 9, 2023
Sudan’s war is crippling its budding tech ecosystem
Sudan’s tech ecosystem is caught in a crossfire between militants. But operators are daring to hope.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jun 9, 2023
Cellulant bullish on Zambia’s payments ecosystem, according to GM
Having entered the Zambian market in 2011, Cellulant is bullish on the country’s payments ecosystem, a sector the company pivoted to after dabbling in banking.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jun 9, 2023
Israeli AI startup Ravin launches operations in South Africa
Israeli AI startup RavinAI is pursuing expansion of their fleet management product offering with entry into the South African market.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jun 8, 2023
Inaugural GITEX Africa leaves a firm imprint of Morocco’s surging tech ambition
Morocco is positioning itself as a gateway to Africa’s technology sector and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) which shares the same ambitions for the Middle East is more than happy to help.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jun 8, 2023
Twiga confirms it laid off its sales team in 2022 as it adjusts its commercial model
Twiga shifted its sales model after restructuring operations that eliminated internal sales teams. It has the right to terminate working relationships with underperforming independent contractors.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jun 7, 2023
Ride-hailing drivers in Nigeria begin nationwide strike as they ask Uber and Bolt to increase fares by 200%
Across Nigeria, ride-hailing drivers are protesting. They’re demanding that Uber, Bolt and other ride-hailing companies increase fares by at least 200%.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jun 6, 2023
Amidst sanctions, this AI chatbot is offering Zimbabweans an alternative to ChatGPT
To address his country’s barred access to OpenAI’s famous generative AI chatbot ChatGPT, Zimbabwean developer Kuda Musasiwa and his team have built alternatives—ZivAI and DanAI. These AI chatbots offer capabilities such as image and PDF generation, e-commerce, etc. Access to ChatGPT is barred in Zimbabwe as a result of the sanctions against the southern African nation by the US government and European Union.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jun 4, 2023
Nigerian start-up Nearpays wins coveted fintech prize at Gitex Africa
Nigerian fintech start-up Nearpays flew the country’s flag high at the inaugural Gitex Africa tech conference in Marrakech, Morocco, on Friday when it was awarded the coveted Fintech and Blockchain Technology category of the Supernova Challenge.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jun 2, 2023
Fuel hikes trigger surge in ride-hailing prices, leaving customers and drivers discontented
Following the removal of fuel subsidies, fuel prices nationwide have skyrocketed, triggering a struggle for profits and cost savings among riders, drivers, and ride-hailing platforms.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jun 1, 2023
It’s Africa’s time to lead, Lagos Governor tells GITEX Africa
Africa is ready to own its narrative in the global technology story. This was the clear message on the first day of GITEX Africa, the continent’s largest business and tech conference, taking place in Marrakesh, Morocco.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jun 1, 2023
Tech builders in Nollywood are trying to solve the industry’s production and distribution problems
Nollywood is the second largest film industry in the world and contributes 2.3% to Nigeria’s GDP, and now filmmakers are creating startups to develop niche solutions for the industry.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
May 31, 2023
As new fuel prices hit N488 per litre in Lagos, Logistics startups will increase prices by 50%
“Fuel subsidies are gone!” With those words, an otherwise unexciting first speech by President Bola Tinubu soon became a trending topic. While the removal of fuel subsidies was written into law through the Petroleum Industry Act, it was due to happen in June. Bola Tinubu’s announcement may only have pushed the timeline up a couple of weeks, but it prompted a mad rush to fuel stations. The Federal Government has kept fuel prices artificially low for decades—between N25 to N185 per litre. But worsening government finances means that fuel subsidies no longer make financial sense. A BusinessDay report has now confirmed that the new pump prices for fuel will range between N488 to N550 per litre.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
May 30, 2023
Load shedding slowing down SA’s economic growth, according to reserve bank
According to the South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB) Financial Stability Review, load shedding is expected to detract two percentage points from the country’s overall economic growth this year.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
May 29, 2023
Intron Health is bringing AI superpowers to hospitals in Africa
Africa does not have enough healthcare personnel. So healthcare workers are expected to take care of more patients per doctor than in more developed economies. Paperwork takes up a significant portion of time on the job. Healthcare workers need to take patients’ medical histories, fill forms and update these records with time. Modern hospitals are digitising how they take these records but a computer and some software do not necessarily make the job easier. Sometimes, it takes up too much time and doctors go back to writing their notes on paper.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
May 26, 2023
Where is Africa in the global conversation on regulating AI?
Globally, stakeholders are talking about the need to regulate Artificial Intelligence. African governments have developed regulations to drive the adoption of AI on the continent, but there is still a burning question of Africa’s place in the ongoing debate.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
May 26, 2023
Nigeria’s YouVerify is on a global expansion drive. But first, Kenya
Identity verification processes can sometimes be lengthy, complex, and inconvenient for users. YouVerify—a Nigerian startup—which recently launched in Kenya, plans to address the issues as it works with local banks, telcos, and fintechs.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
May 25, 2023
Kenya’s first publicly accessible fast-charging station for electric buses launched
BasiGo, an e-bus company, has set up a charging station in Nairobi, becoming the first connected through the new e-mobility tariff. Its electric buses replace imported diesel with clean power, fostering the growth of the EV industry.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
May 24, 2023
Jumia’s Q1 2023 report shows path to profitabliity
Coming on the heels of its financial woes last year, eCommerce giant Jumia has reported a 5% growth in its gross profit and a 54% reduction in operating losses in the first quarter of 2023.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
May 24, 2023
TECNO, Infinix and itel remain unbeaten in Africa’s market share
While smartphone purchases have dropped, Transsion Holding, which owns TECNO, Infinix and itel, continues to record notable growth in Africa and other emerging markets. However, how does the competition fare?
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TechCabal
TechCabal
May 23, 2023
Showmax looking to double down on African content, according to COO
Spurred on by a young population and increasing internet connectivity, London-based business intelligence firm, Digital TV Research, projects subscriptions of video-on-demand in Africa to reach 15 million by 2026.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
May 23, 2023
Zoho’s new office in Kenya will not pursue product development
Zoho unveiled its Kenyan office in an event held today in Nairobi. The corporation, which offers a wide range of cloud-based business software solutions, had previously announced plans to set up a local office for Kenya operations.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
May 18, 2023
Ghana secures $3 billion IMF bailout for economic recovery
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has granted Ghana a $3 billion bailout to aid its economic recovery from the debt crisis. The anticipation of this approval has boosted investor confidence, resulting in Ghana’s currency, the Cedi, becoming the world’s top performer against the dollar.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
May 18, 2023
The ‘big four’ are not reducing steam, but new leaders are emerging in Africa’s tech ecosystem
The ‘big four’—Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa, and Kenya— are all known for pulling the weights in Africa’s tech ecosystem, however, new countries are emerging as frontiers and are rapidly carving out their space in the tech landscape.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
May 17, 2023
Tizeti and Microsoft partner to bring broadband to Côte d’Ivoire
Tizeti, a Nigerian internet service provider, has partnered with Microsoft to bring its broadband solution to Cote d’Ivoire.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
May 16, 2023
Here’s what the Nigerian tech ecosystem expects from a Tinubu presidency
The manifesto of President-elect Bola Tinubu offers plausible plans for Nigeria’s tech ecosystem, but stakeholders believe much more needs to be done in areas of infrastructure and enabling policies.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
May 15, 2023
Fin South Africa partners with NHFC to disburse housing loans to South Africans
South African fintech startup Fin announced that it has signed a First Home Finance Subsidy Memorandum of Understanding with the National Housing Finance Corporation (NHFC).
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TechCabal
TechCabal
May 12, 2023
South Africa records 600% increase of fraud cases in four years
According to statistics from the Southern African Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS), there was a 600% increase in incidents of fraud reported by their members in 2022 when compared to 2018.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
May 12, 2023
Wasoko expands operations to Southern Africa with launch in Zambia
Wasoko, an African e-commerce company operating in the informal retail supply chain, has expanded into Zambia – the company’s first location in Southern Africa.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
May 11, 2023
Africa’s funding winter means smaller budgets for marketing campaigns
Marketing is a crucial part of a startup’s growth, but for every company the process is different. How do tech companies and startups approach marketing, especially in an economic downturn?
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TechCabal
TechCabal
May 5, 2023
Mozambique gets its first 5G network, courtesy of Vodacom
Vodacom has launched Mozambique’s first 5G network. The mobile network operator plans to deploy 5G services at selected sites in Maputo, Matola; the central area of Nampula; downtown Nacala, Munhava, Maquinino and Chipanga neighbourhoods; Beira; and Tete.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
May 4, 2023
Treepz pivots to car-sharing model
Pan-African mobility startup Treepz has pivoted into becoming a car-sharing marketplace that allows car owners to put their vehicles up for rent. According to the startup, this pivot is a more affordable and sustainable option for mobility in Africa.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
May 3, 2023
Exclusive: A fire incident at Zenith Bank’s primary data centre is causing a network downtime
Zenith Bank, Nigeria’s biggest bank by market capitalisation, is experiencing a total infrastructure downtime after a fire at the company’s primary data centre. The downtime affects Zenith Bank’s services, leaving millions of customers in the lurch. At one of the bank’s branches, a security official could be heard telling a customer that the network was down. The security official did not provide further information.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
May 3, 2023
Exclusive: Nigerian VC firms are considering collaborating to check unethical founders
“Nobody here can check him. He is the founder; and to him, that means that he is God.” That’s Pearl, the co-founder of an Africa-focused fintech firm, speaking to me about the startup’s founder. Pearl asked to be identified by a pseudonym to avoid clashes with this founder. “He is always at loggerheads with investors,” she adds. “But we have to keep up with it. We are in a fragile ecosystem and cannot avoid the bad PR. That will be bad for everyone.”
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TechCabal
TechCabal
May 3, 2023
Wi-flix streaming service launches in Zambia
Wi-flix, one of Africa’s fastest growing streaming services, has launched in Zambia in partnership with MTN Zambia. Zambia is the fourth country in which the service is available on the continent, joining Kenya, Ghana, and Nigeria.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 28, 2023
Startup accelerators are failing in South Africa: What is the cause and solution?
In March this year, Naspers shut down its R1.4 billion venture capital fund slash accelerator, the Naspers Foundry. The reason given for its unexpected sunsetting was that the “global investment environment, as well as the local SA one, has changed and we have made clear the need for our business to adapt,” a spokesperson for the company said. Just a few months earlier, Rand Merchant Investment Holdings (RMI) had also shut down its accelerator slash incubator AlphaCode, one of the most prominent in South Africa.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 28, 2023
AfDB & Smart Africa Alliance team up for $1.5 million digital trade & ecommerce project
The African Development Fund and Smart Africa Alliance have jointly launched a $1.5 million project to streamline digital trade and e-commerce policies across 10 African countries.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 27, 2023
Spleet partners Repit to offer rental support for Africans in the UK
Spleet, a Nigerian proptech startup, has announced a partnership with United Kingdom-based rental assistance specialists, Repit. Repit provides relocation support, property search, viewings, referencing guidance, paperwork negotiations, and settling-in advice. This partnership aims to provide relocation and rental support for Africans moving to the UK.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 26, 2023
GTCO’s 2022 report show the company’s plan to take on fintechs like Risevest and Bamboo
Guarantee Trust Holding Company (GTCO), the parent company of GTBank, has released its full-year financial statements for 2022, marking its first anniversary as a holding company. The report demonstrates the company’s continued focus on expanding its non-banking offerings, including wealth management and payment service solutions.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 25, 2023
42Markets raises $10 million from Convergence Partners to expand its fintech portfolio
Financial and capital markets fintech investment group 42Markets has received $10 million in growth funding from Convergence Partners to advance the growth and development of its portfolio companies. 42Markets describes itself as an incubator of specialised fintech businesses with deep expertise in financial and capital markets.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 22, 2023
Where does YC’s scaleback leave the African tech ecosystem?
Y Combinator (YC), one of the world’s leading startup accelerators, has been a major player in shaping Africa’s tech ecosystem since the middle of the past decade, when tech-powered upstarts began to spring across the continent. The accelerator has backed over a hundred startups, including some of the continent’s success stories such as Flutterwave, Wave, and the Stripe-acquired Paystack. A report from last year, by research firm Briter Bridges, described YC’s portfolio companies as having the propensity to scale, evidenced by the over $1.3 billion follow-on funding raised by YC-backed companies.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 21, 2023
Meet the insurtech startup which wants to revolutionise SA’s insurance industry
YuLife, a UK-based insurtech startup, has launched its operations in South Africa. YuLife’s product offerings include a wellbeing app which harnesses the latest trends in behavioural science and game mechanics to encourage employees to make proactive lifestyle changes, while prioritising prevention by de-risking individuals through healthy activities.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 20, 2023
15 founders building solutions to look out for in 2023
People all across the continent are taking their experience, skills, and network, and using them to build purpose-driven solutions for the continent. From Aisha Husseini, who is making digital tools more accessible, to Nomsa Makgabenyana, who is helping marketers better understand the African market. In the past years, the African startup scene has witnessed a sharp rise in the number of founders using technology to innovate and profer solutions to African problems.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 20, 2023
Funding trackers are aplenty in the Africa tech ecosystem, but whose data can be trusted?
Since the initial boom of venture capital funding in Africa in the mid 2010s, ecosystem observers have relied on publications like TechCabal, as well as numerous newsletters published by independent journalists to keep them up to date about various aspects of venture funding on the continent.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 19, 2023
South Africa is the cybercrime hub of Africa, according to INTERPOL
According to INTERPOL’s 2022 Africa Cyberthreat Assessment report, South Africa leads the continent in the number of cybersecurity threats identified. In 2022, the country had 230 million threat detections in total. In second place was Morocco at 71 million.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 18, 2023
SeamlessHR partners Moniepoint to revolutionize payroll management
SeamlessHR, a cloud-hosted HR and payroll software provider, has partnered with Monnify by Moniepoint, a payment platform for Nigerian businesses. The partnership will offer Nigerian businesses the ability to seamlessly pay salaries and payroll remittances through Monnify.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 17, 2023
Edtech platform, 10Alytics, grants tech scholarships to 300 women
10Alytics, a Nigerian edtech platform helping people learn premium tech skills and lowering the entry barrier into tech for Africans, has granted tech scholarships to over 300 women. The scholarship is in commemoration of the 2023 International Womens Day celebrations.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 17, 2023
SA’s Competition Commission greenlights Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision
South Africa’s Competition Commission has given the greenlight for Microsoft to acquire video game platform Activision Blizzard, in what will be the company’s biggest-ever acquisition at almost $70 billion.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 14, 2023
Cassava Technologies pledges to invest $250 million into SA economy
Cassava Technologies has pledged a total of R4.5 billion (~$250 million) in investment in South Africa through its business units—Liquid Intelligent Technologies, Africa Data Centres, and Distributed Power Africa.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 13, 2023
Nigerian crypto startup, Lazerpay shuts down
Lazerpay, a web3 and crypto payment company, is shutting down. The shutdown comes months after the startup’s founder, Njoku Emmanuel, shared that the company was having trouble raising money. According to a statement shared by the founder Njoku Emmanuel on Twitter, the company has been struggling to stay afloat after failing to secure funding, and although they tried to “keep the lights on for as long as they could, they’re now at a point where they need to shut down.”
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 13, 2023
SA startup founders tackle EV mobility amidst weak national grid
South Africa’s power challenges, exacerbated by national provider Eskom’s seemingly never-ending issues, are no secret. Despite the obvious elephant in the room, there are electric vehicle (EV) startups in the country that are swimming against the current by actively partaking in an industry which is heavily reliant on electricity. For most EV mobility startups, load shedding has been more of a double-edged sword for their businesses.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 12, 2023
Kenyan agritech Victory Farms raises $35 million Series B
Victory Farms, a Kenya-based aquaculture startup, has raised $35 million in a Series B round. The startup says it will use the funding to finance the expansion of its operations in Kenya and Rwanda and potential entry into Ethiopia, Uganda, and Tanzania.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 12, 2023
Nigeria’s sovereign wealth fund is setting up a carbon credit market
The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) and Vitol, an oil refining and trading group have completed a $50 million joint venture to invest in carbon avoidance and removal projects. The joint venture which was first mooted in July last year, aimed to aggregate voluntary market carbon credit from project partners and third parties, as reported by PremiumTimes, a Nigerian online newspaper.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 6, 2023
As short term loan products boom in Botswana, opportunities for fintech await
On Friday, March 31, Botswana’s leading mobile network operator by subscriber base, Mascom, announced that it was launching a short-term loan product through its mobile money entity, MyZaka.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 6, 2023
Flutterwave denies being breached for a second and third time even as it pursues legal action to recover funds
In new claims made by three sources who shared several pieces of evidence with TechCabal, the Nigerian fintech unicorn, Flutterwave, was likely breached a second and third time on March 1 and 14, 2023. The sources alleged that, much like the first incident on February 5, the perpetrators used monies fraudulently obtained from Flutterwave accounts to buy USDT on the crypto platform Binance. According to those sources, the monies involved in both incidents in March are estimated to be N550 million. It remains unclear how the perpetrators were able to move the money.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 5, 2023
Liquid Intelligent Technologies commits to building a data centre in Zambia
Liquid Intelligent Technologies has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the government of Zambia to launch a new data centre in the country.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 5, 2023
Eskom to enter the venture capital industry via $10 billion pension fund
The Eskom Pension and Provident Fund plans to expand into venture capital to reduce its dependence on traditional investments.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 5, 2023
Africa-focused crypto firm Paxful announces closure
Paxful, a global Bitcoin marketplace with strong roots in Africa, is shutting down operations and returning funds to users. The CEO, Ray Youssef, cited mass staff exits and increasing regulatory issues as reasons for the company’s closure.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 4, 2023
Green mobility startup Spiro to deploy 140,000 electric motorcycles in Uganda 🏍️🇺🇬
Spiro, a company that designs vehicles and smart batteries, has partnered with the Ugandan government to deploy over 140,000 electric two-wheelers and 3,000 charge-and-swap stations across the country. The project, which will run till 2028, will contribute to Uganda’s vision to lead Africa in the adoption of electric mobility solutions.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 4, 2023
Top 5 benefits of fintech for African countries and economies
Fintech, or financial technology, has revolutionised the financial services sector worldwide, and African countries and economies are no exception. In the past five years, fintech solutions have driven significant changes in the African banking industry. As a result, individuals and businesses have gained new opportunities. Here are the top five benefits of fintech for African countries and economies.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 3, 2023
Funding for African tech startups declined by 57% in Q1 of 2023
African tech startups raised 57.2% less capital in Q1 of 2023 than they did in the same period last year. This is according to data released by Disrupt Africa.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 31, 2023
Moniepoint and PayDay deny acquisition
Moniepoint, a Nigerian business bank, and PayDay, a neobank, have denied reports of a planned acquisition. This comes after WeeTracker, an African tech publication, reported that Moniepoint is set to acquire PayDay for $40 million after leading its $3 million seed round. Moniepoint is a business bank that has the largest agency banking network in Nigeria and processed a total annualised payment value of $170 billion last year. PayDay is a neobank that connects Africans with the world at large with virtual dollar cards and other similar offerings.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 31, 2023
As load shedding hits its pockets hard, MTN is passing the $112 million cost to customers
As Eskom’s infamous load shedding initiative continues to bite into the pockets of South African businesses, instead of taking on the costs themselves, some businesses are choosing to pass it to consumers. MTN is one of those.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 31, 2023
AfDB loans Sao Tome and Principe $3.2 million for payment system
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has loaned the government of Sao Tome and Principe, a Central African country, $3.2 million to upgrade its payment infrastructure. The loan agreement will allow Sao Tome and Principe to upgrade its national switch payment system, which supports the clearing and settlement of country-wide retail payments.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 30, 2023
Liquid C2 launches Cyber Security Fusion Centre in Zambia
Liquid C2, a business of pan-African technology group Cassava Technologies, has opened its Zambian Cyber Security Fusion Centre (CSFC) in Lusaka, making this the third of its kind in Africa.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 28, 2023
10 digital lenders obtain the much-coveted CBK licence
The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has officially licenced an additional 10 digital lenders to operate in the country, bringing the total number of authorised digital credit providers (DCP) to 32. In line with Section 59(2) of the Central Bank of Kenya Act (CBK Act), the apex bank began the supervision of the digital lending space last year, establishing a transparent licencing process that will see to a saner digital lending space in Kenya.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 27, 2023
Twitter code leak raises red flags for African tech founders
Twitter is actively seeking the person responsible for the recent leak of parts of its source code, which was posted on Microsoft-owned GitHub. According to The New York Times, the code had been available online for months before Twitter took action to have it removed on Friday. Executives investigating the matter say the leak may have been done by an employee who left the San-Fransico-based company last year.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 27, 2023
Stitch evolves into full payments services provider with new products
South African fintech Stitch has announced the addition of card and debit order pay-ins, as well as a payments management system PayOS, for payments orchestration and reconciliation.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 26, 2023
Why Whatsapp chatbots are rising in popularity in southern Africa
The rise in popularity of ChatGPT, OpenAI’s artificial intelligence-powered conversational chatbot, has brought much attention to the capabilities of chatbots. Previously relegated to assistants on business websites, ChatGPT has shown that chatbots can do much more. One area which is showing the huge potential of chatbots is WhatsApp.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 26, 2023
Amazon deepens its presence in Africa with new fintech accelerator
By focusing on training and providing digital infrastructure and services, Amazon is pointing to where it sees value in the African market. Amazon Web Services (AWS), the cloud computing division of the global e-commerce giant, Amazon, has launched a business accelerator for financial technology companies in Africa. The new program is a sign of Amazon’s growing ambitions on the continent and the direction of this ambition.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 24, 2023
54gene cuts 25% of its already lean workforce amid a fresh change in management
54gene, the Washington-based Nigerian genomic company, has carried out another round of layoffs. This time, according to two sources close to the event, about 10 employees were affected, representing 25% of its already lean workforce. Per our source, the company now has less than 30 people working across its functions.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 24, 2023
Ivorian Mstudio wants to build a strong francophone ecosystem, one venture at a time
On March 7, hundreds of people gathered at Ivoire Trade Center (ITC), a landmarking office and recreational campus located in Cocody, Abidjan, for the launch of Mstudio, an Ivorian firm with the ambition to build multiple sustainable companies across the francophone region. The studio occupies two floors—aesthetically designed for entrepreneurs and visitors to feel at home—in the ITC campus, which also hosts the PWC’s Ivorian office and other top companies.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 23, 2023
Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures announces $43m venture fund for pan-African startups
Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures (VKAV) has announced the first close of a $43 million pan-African venture fund. According to the firm, the fund will invest in tech-powered startups that have raised revenue and are addressing some of the continent’s pressing challenges with scalable solutions.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 23, 2023
Meet the South African school using extended reality to facilitate learning
Richard Varha Technical High School in South Africa has officially opened its doors to a new era of education technology with the unveiling of the first South African Extended Reality (XR) public school classroom.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 22, 2023
Factor[e] Ventures launches Africa-focused venture studio
Factor[e] Ventures, a team of venture builders that invests in early-stage companies in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, has launched a new venture studio specifically for African startups. The new venture studio, Delta40, will invest $100,000 to $600,000 in African energy, agriculture, and mobility startups.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 21, 2023
Liquid Intelligent Technologies expands into Egypt
Liquid Intelligent Technologies has acquired a Cairo-based cloud and cyber security provider, Cysiv MEA. Cysiv MEA has been in business since 2008 and specialises in providing enterprise cloud and cyber security services to some of Egypt’s leading companies, particularly in the financial services and telecom sectors.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 21, 2023
Zumi shuts down again, letting go of 150 employees
B2B e-commerce startup Zumi is shutting down due to its inability to raise the funding necessary to sustain its operations. This close will see the company lay off its team of 150 people who have previous work experience from companies like SpaceX, Amazon, Twiga, and Jumia.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 20, 2023
South African neobank Fin acquires Thuthukani to expand finance offerings
South African neobank Fin has announced its acquisition of Thuthukani, a Pretoria-based fintech startup as part of its expansion efforts.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 17, 2023
African venture capital firms with funds in SVB weigh maintaining the relationship
The firm banked half of US startups, a third of UK startups and numerous startups in China, India and Latin America. Investors say they are open to keeping a portion of their deposits with the bridge bank created to replace Silicon Valley Bank.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 17, 2023
Onepipe closes $4.8 million deal with TLG Capital to offer embedded finance services
Onepipe, a startup that powers digital financial services, has closed a $4.8 million (₦ 2.25 billion) credit line from pan-African investment firm, TLG Capital. The deal, which had been in the works since the third quarter of last year, will power the startup’s inventory finance solution for small businesses.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 17, 2023
OnePipe lays off employees as leadership team takes salary cuts
OnePipe, the embedded finance startup that lets organisations integrate financial services, has laid off at least ten employees, people close to the situation told TechCabal.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 16, 2023
Silvergate collapse: African fintechs search for new partners as some banking services pause
Silvergate, the American bank famed for bridging the gap between the banking system and the crypto world, wound up last week after recording historic losses. Before its collapse, the bank provided several African fintechs with solutions that powered international banking and dollar-denominated remittances. Now, these startups are searching for new partners as their customers remain waiting.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 15, 2023
Chipper Cash is reportedly considering a sale
According to a report from Bloomberg published today, Chipper Cash, one of Africa’s more prominent fintech companies and unicorns, is reportedly considering selling the company or seeking new investors.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 13, 2023
PayShap, South Africa’s real-time digital payments service, launches
PayShap, an interbank, and real-time digital payments service built as a collaborative effort between Bankserv, a clearing house owned by South African commercial banks, and the South Africa Reserve Bank ,will launch for the general public on Monday, March 13.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 12, 2023
Silicon Valley Bank’s closure will affect African startups
Yesterday, news broke that Silicon Valley Bank, the bank of choice for most startups and venture capitalists, was shut down by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). The closure was triggered by a bank run that began after the bank announced that it lost $1.8 billion in the sale of treasuries and securities. Without clear communication, many customers took those losses as a sign to take their money out of the bank.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 10, 2023
Andela acquires Qualified, a global platform for assessing technical talents
Andela has acquired a 100% stake in Qualified, an assessment platform that certifies top engineering talents. The deal, which was finalised at an undisclosed sum, will add about 3.6 million engineering talents to Andela’s global community. These talents were previously users of Codewars, an online community run by Qualified that enables technical talents to compete among themselves and develop practical coding skills through gamified challenges.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 9, 2023
Nigeria becomes first African country to have open banking regulation
Nigeria has become the first country in Africa to adopt open banking regulations [pdf], which will encourage innovation in the country’s banking industry. The regulations and guidelines for open banking were approved by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in a circular dated March 7, 2023. The operational guidelines provide rules for how banks and third-party financial institutions interact with customer data.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 4, 2023
Africa’s edtech startups remain bullish despite funding decline
Edtech startups in Africa raised $24.6 million or 0.7% of Africa’s total funding in 2022, according to data from Disrupt Africa. It represented a 69.6% decline from 2021’s highs. This decline in funding to digital learning underscores one aspect of the challenge of delivering education with technology even as digitalisation spreads its wings across Africa.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 4, 2023
Fresh off a marketing blitz, Payday is looking to raise funding
Payday, the app that lets Africans abroad send money back home, is reportedly raising a seed round in the middle of a good publicity run for the app, according to people familiar with the matter. According to documents seen by TechCabal, Payday is looking to raise $1.5 million to grow its product and engineering team, expand its operations and get the required licences for those expansions. The app has enjoyed a run of decent publicity in the last few months, making the most of being named one of Starlink’s payment partners for the Nigerian market.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Mar 1, 2023
Bola Tinubu and his plans for Nigeria’s tech ecosystem
In October 2022, the former two-time governor of Lagos State released an 80-page manifesto. His manifesto, which was presented by Future Africa founder Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, at a business summit in Lagos, has a dedicated section on the tech ecosystem titled The Digital Economy: Taking Advantage of The Fourth Industrial Revolution [pdf]. It also focuses on seven areas such as service provision and outsourcing, manufacturing, e-commerce, and blockchain.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Feb 28, 2023
Sasol launches venture capital fund for greentech startups
South African chemicals and energy company Sasol has announced that it has established Sasol Ventures to advance its decarbonisation and 2050 net zero ambitions through venture capital.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Feb 25, 2023
JP Morgan opens Kenya office, now operational in Africa’s big four tech hubs
JP Morgan, America’s and the world’s largest bank by market capitalization which is headquartered in New York, now has a regional office in Nairobi, Kenya.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Feb 23, 2023
Presto Eat wants to be Libya’s introduction into Africa’s growing startup space
Barely three years old, Presto Eat has grown to become Libya’s leading startup. But venture investors seem to be steering away from investing in the logistics startup and the country.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Feb 20, 2023
Mapping the growth trajectory of South Africa’s data centre industry
In the last couple of years, South Africa has attracted data centre infrastructure investments from big tech companies like Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Oracle, as well as other data centre infrastructure companies like Teraco, Africa Data Centers, and Convergence partners.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Feb 17, 2023
Jumia’s board appoints Francis Dufay as CEO
The supervisory board of the ecommerce company, Jumia, has now appointed Francis Dufay as the company’s CEO. Dufay was announced as the acting CEO after the exit of Jeremy Hodara and Sacha Poginonnec as Co-CEOs. The exit of both CEOs came after a decade where Jumia was pressed to move towards profitability and was unable to. In the statement announcing their removal last year, Jumia’s board alluded to run the company from the continent.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Feb 16, 2023
African Development Bank opens second digital centre of excellence in Kenya
The African Development Bank has opened a second Information and Communications Technology Centre of Excellence at the United States International University-Africa in Nairobi as part of its Coding for Employment program.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Feb 15, 2023
Wasoko’s 2023 predicitons for Africa’s $850bn informal retail sector
According to Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Africa’s informal retail sector accounts for more than 70% of food, beverage, and personal care products provided to consumers across the continent. However, despite their importance, local informal shops in Africa have been consistently held back for decades by a host of major challenges including frequent stockouts, limited access to capital and difficulty receiving goods from suppliers.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Feb 14, 2023
Ethiopia wants to sell 45% of state-owned telecom operator
Since 2021 Ethiopia’s government has wanted to sell 40% of its stake in state-owned Ethio-Telecom, then the sole operator in the East African nation. The government hopes increasing how much it is willing to let go of will convince buyers.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Feb 10, 2023
Untapped Global launches Climate Action Initiative to accelerate adoption of electric vehicles across Africa
Untapped Global, an investment company focused on emerging markets, today announced the launch of its Climate Action Initiative with the support of a growing consortium of partners.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Feb 7, 2023
Nigeria’s logistic market claims another startup as Hytch shuts down
On February 2, Hytch, a Nigerian logistics startup, announced that it has shut down all its operations.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Feb 3, 2023
MoMo’s “system glitch” cost MTN Nigeria ₦10 billion in 2022
Last year, MTN invested ₦16 billion in MoMo. Despite this, the mobile money operator lost ₦10 billion in 2022 to unauthorised transactions which were caused by a system glitch.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Feb 2, 2023
After silent layoffs in November, Gokada lays off 54 employees this week
A few days after we reported that Gokada was looking to raise $100,000 through crowdfunding, TechCabal can now exclusively report that Gokada has laid off at least 54 members of staff. Four present and former Gokada employees who spoke to TechCabal said the email announcing the layoffs was sent on Tuesday night. A copy of the email which TechCabal saw reads, “I regret to inform you that you have been affected by the reduction in our team effective Tuesday, January 31, 2023. We will not be making any further payments in respect of this change in your status with us. However, we will ensure that your salary for the month of January is processed before the end of the day.”
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Feb 1, 2023
Will Flutterwave move ahead with its IPO plans this year?
The million-dollar question in the African tech ecosystem is whether the fintech giant, Flutterwave, will move ahead with its plans to float an initial public offering (IPO) this year. Flutterwave has long been one of the shining lights of the African startup space. But a combination of a bearish public market and a series of scandals means that an IPO no longer feels like a surefire thing. Will Flutterwave move ahead with its IPO plans this year?
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jan 31, 2023
Convergence Partners secures $296 million to invest in digital infrastructure in Africa
South Africa private equity firm Convergence Partners has announced that it has closed its Convergence Partners Digital Infrastructure Fund (CPDIF) at $296 million, surpassing its initial target by over 18%.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jan 28, 2023
Backing the next Wizkid: tech platforms want you to invest in the next Afrobeats star
Nigeria’s films were once regarded as the country’s most significant cultural export. But ask anyone these days, and they’ll tell you it’s Afrobeats. It has birthed global stars from Nigeria and one Netflix documentary. The genre is gaining global appeal, with a Grammy award win for Burna Boy and the Grammy awards considering an Afrobeats category. So there’s a ton of money to be made if you find and fund the next big Afrobeats star. That argument has led to many failed record labels. Still, some argue that the real problem is that record labels are restrictive. They believe that a newer, more democratic way of funding artists is a workable model.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jan 28, 2023
Google employees in Africa are anxious about the recent layoffs
Following Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai’s announcement on January 20 that the company would reduce its workforce by approximately 12,000 roles, non-US employees who are yet to know the status of their employment have been thrown into panic as they worry about the safety of their jobs.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jan 27, 2023
Nigeria’s newest telecom operator, Mcom, launches its 5G network
Nigeria’s newest telecom operator, MAFAB Communications, has launched its 5G network services for Nigerians. The launch ceremony took place in Abuja on Tuesday January 24 and in Lagos on Thursday January 26, 2023. This announcement comes five months after MTN launched its 5G network in August 2022 and MAFAB was given a five-month extension for its 5G network rollout by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jan 26, 2023
Google employees in Africa are anxious about the recent layoffs
Following Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai’s announcement on January 20 that the company would reduce its workforce by approximately 12,000 roles, non-US employees who are yet to know the status of their employment have been thrown into panic as they worry about the safety of their jobs.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jan 25, 2023
This Senegalese farm is training the next generation of African data engineers
EcoFarm, an eco-friendly farm in Fimela, a Senegalese village located about 150 km southeast of Dakar, the country’s capital, has started training the next generation of data engineers in Africa. The farm plays host to a six-month-long data training residency where 30 data engineers from across Africa will strive to advance their skills in machine learning and AI, cloud computing, coding, DevOps, and more. The project aims to create between 30,000 to 35,000 direct and indirect jobs by 2030. TechCabal visited the farm last December to understand what’s behind the lofty ambition coming from this remote village.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jan 24, 2023
With low prices and trust, what’s next for African crypto startups and creators?
Two years after crypto excitement hit Africa, there has been a painful return to earth. Prices and trust are low, and the promise that crypto would help Africans escape poverty now needs re-examination.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jan 21, 2023
Can Kenya’s new data centre spur Africa’s digital economy charge?
Despite a rocky 2022, Africa is still poised to grow its digital economy. In recent times, the continent has seen steady and deliberate efforts from both the private and public sectors to actualise this charge. These efforts, however, have been limited to consumer-facing products and have neglected the infrastructure that powers them.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jan 20, 2023
The US, Zambia and the DRC to partner up in enhancing the electric vehicle battery value chain
The US Department of State has announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to enhance the countries’ electric vehicle battery value chains.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jan 19, 2023
Can African fintech startups build global solutions?
Financial technology companies in Africa are the centrepiece of the continent’s startup ecosystem. They continually receive the largest chunk of the funding inflow and have churned out more than half of the continent’s unicorns. Building on the precedents of banks, these relatively new players are filling the gaps which banks have failed to do, with solutions that target all Africans, however under-resourced they may be.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jan 19, 2023
How DER became a one-stop shop for startups in Senegal
The Senegalese tech ecosystem has come a long way. In 2017, Senegalese startups raised close to $11 million; five years later the west African country boasts of attracting 10 times that amount—including producing francophone Africa’s first unicorn Wave in 2021.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jan 17, 2023
Egyptian Esports platform GBarena acquires Tunisian gaming startup Galactech
Egyptian e-sports platform GBarena announced on Monday that it has acquired the Tunisian gaming startup, Galactech. The acquisition, according to Forbes Middle East, is a share swap deal worth around $15 million.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jan 17, 2023
Digital shake-up: Kenyan banks take on an African mobile money behemoth
“If you can’t beat them, join them” is the approach traditional banks in Kenya are adopting as they seek a greater slice of the mobile money market dominated by Safaricom’s M-PESA service.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jan 13, 2023
TeamApt sheds its name, rebrands as Moniepoint
TeamApt, a Nigerian fintech company, has shed its name and adopted the name of its flagship product—Moniepoint. According to the company, the move is a testament to the success of Moniepoint and a desire to bring the company closer to its customers.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jan 12, 2023
Telkom announces termination of merger talks with Rain
On Wednesday, South African mobile network operator Telkom announced that it has terminated merger talks with data-only network operator Rain. In a statement on the Joburg Stock Exchange News Service (SENS), Telkom announced that the two parties ended the discussions after a mutual agreement that a suitable transaction would not be possible at this time. Telkom’s share price jumped by 11% after the announcement.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jan 11, 2023
Did the Maghreb region hit the road in 2022?
It’s the beginning of a new year and different authorities have started releasing report cards of how African startups fared in 2022. In terms of venture funding, which unsurprisingly is still the major metric of ecosystem growth in Africa, the Maghreb region in North Africa—Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania—got a bumper. Compared to previous years, 2022 validated the region as a force to reckon with in the startup world. Startups in the region raised over $260 million in 2022 alone—an over-280% increase from what it had raised from 2019 to 2021. For context, the entire region raised $20.1 million across 19 deals in 2020 and then $72 million in 2021.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jan 11, 2023
African founders must not shy away from growth in 2023
If 2022 shook the African tech ecosystem out of its slumber, 2023 will be a splash of cold water on the face. Everyone is talking about how 2023 will be a tough year amidst the shrivelling up of venture capital (VCs) and deepening recession.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jan 10, 2023
Ghanaian e-logistics platform, Jetstream, raises $13 million pre-Series A
Jetstream Africa, a Ghanaian technology company operating in the logistics sector, has raised $13 million in equity and debt-funded pre-Series A. The equity round saw participation from French development institution PROPARCO through the Digital Africa Bridge Fund; ASC VC, a venture fund founded by executives of the supply chain visibility platform Project44; Nigerian venture capital fund Octerra; Senegal’s Wuri Ventures; Seed9, a syndicate founded by Google alumni; the MBA Fund; the W Fund; and family offices.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jan 10, 2023
How a South African hacker group stole millions in resources from cloud platforms to fund crypto mining
According to a report by cybersecurity firm Unit 42, South Africa based hacker group “Automated Libra” is behind an elaborate crypto mining scheme referred to as “ PurpleUrchin”, which has cost major cloud providers, including Microsoft and Salesforce, millions of dollars in resources and unpaid bills.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jan 9, 2023
3 organisations that grant startup funding to budding founders in Africa
The capital a business owner or startup founder uses at the outset of operations is known as startup funding or, simply, beginning capital. The funds can be raised through several methods and then spent on startup necessities including salaries, rent, inventory, and advertising. Therefore you may want to know ways or organisations that undertake startup funding in Africa.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Dec 30, 2022
22 things that happened for the first time in 2022 in the African tech scene
2022 was a different year for the African tech ecosystem as the effects of the economic downturn shook the ecosystem. The year was filled with stories of triumph, failures, and progress. Here’s a list of 22 things that happened for the first time in the African tech ecosystem this year.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Dec 26, 2022
2022: Venture capital in Africa
How would you describe Africa’s 2022 from a venture capital lens?
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Dec 22, 2022
Africa eyes more broadband networks in 2023
African countries are looking to roll out more broadband networks in 2023 as mobile and internet service providers expand their investment in undersea and land-based cables and internet services originating in space become a financially viable option for some consumers.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Dec 22, 2022
Techstars’ latest cohort show the accelerator’s strategic approach to investment in Africa
Within the past decade, Africa and its growing technology ecosystem have attracted significant global attention, leading to a year-on-year (YoY) increase in investments and partnerships with top global brands, investors, and accelerators. Last year, the continent peaked its funding inflow at $5 billion and minted four unicorns in the process—Flutterwave, Chipper Cash, Opay, and Wave.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Dec 17, 2022
US-Africa Leaders Summit: US strikes a conciliatory tone
8 years after former US President Obama had African leaders come over to the US capital, President Biden, then Vice President of the US, has replicated the gesture of his former principal. This week more than 40 African heads of state were in Washington D.C for the second US-Africa Leaders Summit.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Dec 16, 2022
Digital cyber threats in Africa’s e-commerce and payment sectors
Africa’s digital transformation has come with a dark side: the rise of digital fraud. Cybersecurity is a major concern across the continent. A recent report by Global Cybersecurity Index showed that only 29 of 54 African countries assessed have introduced cybersecurity legislation. An IDC report titled ‘The Impact of Cyber Extortion on Africa’ stated that Africa is losing $4 billion annually to cybercrime, but this is slowly changing as countries like Kenya and Zambia implement new cybersecurity laws.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Dec 15, 2022
MTN South Africa announces landing of 2Africa subsea cable
MTN South Africa has announced that it has landed the 45,000 km 2Africa subsea cable in partnership with MTNGlobalConnect, MTN Group’s digital wholesale and infrastructure services company, and the 2Africa Consortium.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Dec 14, 2022
Why African entrepreneurs need to focus on storytelling in 2023
Noel K. Tshiani is the founder of Congo Business Network. He has worked with entrepreneurs from various African countries since October 2018, advising them on their marketing, branding, communication, and visibility strategies through social media, magazines, online newspapers, television, radio, and website presence. He holds three university degrees in marketing, finance, and political science from the University of Maryland in the United States of America.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Dec 14, 2022
Equinix announces $160 million data center in South Africa
US data center company, Equinix, is planning to invest $160 million in building its first data center in South Africa to accelerate the firm’s expansion into Africa. It expects to service large enterprises such as banks, content and media companies, as well as hyper-scalers operating in the country.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Dec 14, 2022
Female-led Klasha breaks a barrier to gender inclusion in Nigeria with new menstrual leave policy
Klasha, a cross-border commerce technology company, has joined the relative handful of such atypical businesses. The technology firm, with offices in San Francisco and Lagos, has actioned a new menstrual leave policy for its female employees. For a technology business operating in Nigeria, this is a first. In addition to the statutory annual and sick leaves to which Klasha employees are already entitled, the policy provides five menstrual leave days for female employees. According to Klasha, as the year goes on, it will evaluate the policy’s effectiveness and modify the number of leave days.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Dec 13, 2022
NALA expands into Europe to enable cross border payments
NALA, a Tanzanian fintech company, has expanded its services into the European market. This expansion will allow the fintech to operate in 19 European countries and enable remittances from them to African countries.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Dec 12, 2022
Madica Ventures wants to bridge the financial gap in Africa’s technology ecosystem
Funding in Africa’s tech industry has its favourite destinations. The Big 4—Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, and Kenya—accounted for more than 70% of the $5.2 billion raised by startups in Africa last year, according to Partech’s 2021 report. The remaining 50 countries on the continent raised $1.4 billion, a paltry sum, but still a 382% improvement from the previous year.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Dec 9, 2022
Acumen: Over two decades of changing the way Africa and the world tackle poverty
Twenty-one years ago, the idea befuddled donors and people in the nonprofit sector. Jacqueline Novogratz, a former banker at Chase Manhattan and manager of special projects at the Rockefeller Foundation proposed a venture, Acumen, that looked like a philanthropic venture capital fund.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Dec 9, 2022
Inside Global Alliance Africa’s quest to spark innovation in SA townships
According to data by Ande Global, there are currently more than 500 townships across South Africa, and together, these communities make up 40% of the country’s total population.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Dec 8, 2022
Mobility for Africa secures $2 million to deploy electric vehicles in rural Zimbabwe
Zimbabwean investment company, InfraCo Africa, has announced that it has signed a US$2 million (Z$723.8 billion) deal with mobility startup, Mobility for Africa, to deploy 400 electric vehicles to rural areas in the country. The vehicles, called “hambas” (which means “go ahead” in the local Ndebele language), are solar-powered and assembled in the capital Harare.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Dec 7, 2022
Smaller African countries are industrializing faster than their larger peers
Smaller African countries are punching beyond their weight to diversify their economies from agricultural dependence, a new report shows. A new report shows that value-add factories and public-private partnership are helping small African countries industrialize much faster than their larger peers.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Dec 7, 2022
Why Future Africa and TLG Capital just created a $25 million debt financing programme
In 2021, 37 African tech startups raised a total of $767 million in 43 debt rounds, indicating the rise of the debt funding class and increasing global lender confidence in African tech, per Partech’s report on venture capital funding in Africa.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Dec 6, 2022
Digital platforms are helping African women become financially independent
Digital platforms gained popularity during the 2020 global lockdown, providing new opportunities for underrepresented professionals looking to diversify their income sources. These platforms, accessible via mobile devices, enable next-generation entrepreneurs to connect with an exciting new audience: internet and social media users.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Dec 5, 2022
Adesuwa Okunbo Rhodes becomes youngest solo GP to close $20 million Fund I
Aruwa Capital, a female-founded early-stage growth equity fund has announced the successful close of its first institutional fund which exceeded its $20 million target. This makes the 32-year-old founder, Adesuwa Okunbo Rhodes, the youngest solo general partner (GP) to successfully raise a $20 million fund in Nigeria. The leading investors for this fund include Visa Foundation and Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund, among others.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Dec 2, 2022
Angola & AfDB announce ICT initiative for remote monitoring of development projects
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has rolled out its Remote Appraisal, Supervision, Monitoring and Evaluation (RASME) project in Angola, following a three-day training session in the capital, Luanda.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Dec 2, 2022
The Democratic Republic of Congo means business with its new Startup Act
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is one of the most resource-rich countries in the world, with an abundance of gold, tantalum, copper, and tin—minerals used in the production of electronics such as batteries, phones and laptops—yet the country trails behind others in terms of development.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Dec 2, 2022
Shoprite pilots electric trucks
South African retail group, Shoprite, has launched a heavy-duty electric truck as part of its delivery fleet. The vehicle, a Scania Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV), is 100% electric, therefore has no reliance on fossil fuels and emits no carbon dioxide.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Dec 2, 2022
MTN victorious in $4 billion bribery lawsuit brought by Turkish telco
South African telecommunications company MTN has won a longstanding $4 billion lawsuit brought against it by Turkish telecommunications group, Turkcell.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Dec 1, 2022
Newly listed Nigerian company Purple wants to create a ₦100 billion digital real estate marketplace
Last week, Purple, a Nigerian real estate company, announced its initial public offer (IPO). The company plans to sell two billion ordinary shares to the market to raise ₦‎10 billion ($13.3 million) at a pre-money valuation of about ₦‎20 billion ($26.6 million) and post-money valuation of ₦30 billion ($40 million).
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Dec 1, 2022
Milken Institute and Motsepe Foundation announce $2 million green energy competition
The Milken Institute and the Motsepe Foundation have launched the Milken-Motsepe Prize in Green Energy, a $2 million prize competition to reward entrepreneurs and innovators working to address access to green and renewable energy in Africa.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 30, 2022
Will the economic downturn affect investment in African health-tech startups?
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world was primed for a substantial increase in health and biotech spending and investment. Governments and the private sector alike promised to dedicate funding so that they would be adequately prepared for the next pandemic if or when it came.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 29, 2022
Startups in Kinshasa will succeed by building world-class talent
Noel K. Tshiani is the founder of Congo Business Network. The organization was created in New York in October 2018 to identify and mobilize entrepreneurs in the diaspora and in the Democratic Republic of Congo with the goal to promote entrepreneurship based on top expertise. The network has organized delegations of government officials and startups to participate in major business events in France, the United States, Ethiopia, Egypt, and South Africa aimed at finding investors, searching for business partners, and gaining visibility in the media.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 28, 2022
MTN Zambia launches the country’s first 5G network
MTN Zambia has launched a 5G network, becoming the first mobile operator in Zambia to offer 5G services commercially, after successfully running trials over the past 11 months.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 28, 2022
How will Amazon win the hearts and wallets of African consumers?
Packing suitcases full of Amazon products on every trip to the continent. Working with Somali companies in Kenya to import Amazon products on a pay-per-kg basis. Buying and selling second-hand products on online marketplaces and informal markets. Wondering if Jumia or Jiji is going to deliver what they promised this time. Waiting in traffic or long lines at supermarkets like Carrefour. This is the reality for many middle- and high-income consumers in Africa.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 26, 2022
A mixed bag: Ghana’s fintechs face a souring local market
Despite a weak local economy, a currency in free-fall, and tight market conditions globally, Bamboo, a Nigerian-born retail trading app retains optimism about its new Ghana operations. But it’s not the same story for everyone—non-payment fintechs with individual and SMEs clients have been hit hard.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 25, 2022
South African crypto exchange VALR launches in Zambia
South African crypto exchange VALR has announced the launch of its operations in Zambia this week. The exchange will allow Zambians to buy and sell Bitcoin (BTC) and USD Coin (USDC), as well as 60+ other cryptocurrencies directly using the Zambian Kwacha.
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1
TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 25, 2022
Revio raises $1.1 million to “radically reduce failed payments and churn”
Cape Town-based Revio, a payments API company, has raised $1.1 million in an oversubscribed seed funding round to solve payment failures in emerging markets.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 24, 2022
Nigerian crypto exchange Quidax lays off 20% of its workforce
Nigerian crypto startup Quidax has laid off 20% or 20 of its just over 100-strong staff, according to a company statement shared with TechCabal today. The startup’s confirmed to TechCabal that this layoff is unrelated to the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX and instead a response to unfavourable macroeconomic conditions.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 23, 2022
Digital marketing in Africa: The window of opportunity is now
In the last five years, the share of Africans who choose to buy goods and services online has more than doubled; that’s about 10 percent of the entire population on the continent. And while this shift has resulted mainly from the pandemic, it’s becoming clear that even as economies return to a semblance of ‘normal,’ online sales are here to stay.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 22, 2022
Startup acquisitions in African tech grew by 41% in Q3 2022
The African tech industry is facing a funding drought and this comes after years of increased investment to startup companies across the continent. The taps are beginning to slow down.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 20, 2022
Africa’s tech ecosystem’s success lies in the hands of its governments
Digital technology has an undeniable economic impact in Africa. From connecting the continent to the world and creating an avenue for it to tell its own stories, to placing wealth in the hands of young Africans, knitting far-flung diasporas African families together while making the transfer of wealth easier, digital technology has helped the continent leapfrog decades of development.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 19, 2022
Fintech Unicorn Chipper Cash set to buy Zambia fintech pioneer Zoona
Pan-African cross-border payment app Chipper Cash is set to acquire Zambian fintech company Zoona Transactions International, according to a statement shared with TechCabal.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 18, 2022
Employees are resigning at Future Africa as the VC transitions into a venture studio
TechCabal has gathered that there is an ongoing wave of resignations and layoffs at Future Africa*, an Africa-focused VC firm backing early-stage startups. This information was given to this publication by two employees of the company who wished to not be named.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 17, 2022
This SA school is offering students a crypto course
Over the last few months, South African regulators have become more accepting of cryptocurrencies. The country’s financial sector regulator, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), recently declared crypto assets as financial products, allowing them to be regulated. The country’s central bank also issued a directive to commercial banks, encouraging them to work with crypto assets service providers.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 17, 2022
Can African offices of giant tech companies survive this downturn?
When millions were stuck at home during the 2020 COVID lockdown they were forced to increasingly rely on tech for communication, information, education, entertainment and commerce, which translated to skyrocketing revenue and user base for tech companies, who in turn hired more employees and expanded to new territories to keep up with this unprecedented growth in demand.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 15, 2022
Orange announces opening of digital center in Botswana
Pan-African mobile network operator Orange has announced the opening of a digital center in Botswana. This is Orange’s 12th digital center in Africa and the Middle-East.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 10, 2022
A new way to create sustainable African businesses
Africa’s digital economy is the new frontier for businesspeople from home and abroad. This frontier offers cautious hope to create more than simple economic gain—if entrepreneurs, innovators and policymakers can look beyond filling their pockets.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 9, 2022
After laying off 30% of its workforce, Sendy receives funding from Japanese VC MOL PLUS
Kenyan-based fulfillment and logistics startup Sendy has announced that it has received undisclosed funding from MOL PLUS, the venture capital arm of Japanese transport company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL).
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 8, 2022
African tech talents are leaving in droves but these ones are staying to build
In October 2021, when the Sudanese government shut down the internet for a month, Ahmed Mujtaba, the CEO of healthtech startup Doctorbase, was disconnected from 14 engineering and operations team members working in the country.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 8, 2022
MTN SA records 800,000 subscriber growth in 2022
South Africa’s second-largest mobile network operator, MTN increased its subscriber base by 800,000 in the first 9 months of 2022, according to its Q3 financial results released on Friday. This brings its total subscriber count to 35.9 million.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 7, 2022
Egypt to launch first satellite for climate monitoring
After years of research, the Africa Development Satellite Initiative, AfDev-Sat, will display its prototype satellite at COP 27 in Sharm El-Sheikh through the Egyptian Space Agency.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 5, 2022
Twitter lays off employees, newly-formed Africa team affected
Social media company Twitter has laid off many employees today, according to multiple social media posts by former employees. Earlier today, Twitter employees woke up to find that they had been logged out of their work emails, and could not turn on their work laptops or access their work tools. TechCabal can confirm that several members of the 20-person Twitter team in Africa have been laid off; a source says this figure could be as high as half the team.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 4, 2022
How the informal market is driving growth and innovation in African commerce
“Informal markets are huge and emerging, and also account for over 65% of our country’s GDP,” said Tosin Eniolorunda, TeamApt’s CEO in his keynote speech at the recent Future of Commerce (FOC) conference hosted by TechCabal. His address, titled “Psychology of the Informal Market: Lessons from 400,000 Entrepreneurs” highlighted key lessons he has learnt in his journey of building a business banking solution for offline and informal businesses.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 3, 2022
Luno and FoodForward SA team up to allow South Africans to make bitcoin charity donations
Cryptocurrency platform Luno and food distribution non-profit organization FoodForward SA have partnered up to enable South Africans make charitable donations using bitcoin.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 2, 2022
Satgana closes €30 million fund to support African climate tech startups
Satgana, a European venture capital (VC) firm headquartered in Luxembourg, has closed a €30 million fund to fund startups that tackle climate change problems in Africa. The fund will do so by investing up to €500K in the pre-seed and seed stages of startups across Europe and Africa.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Nov 1, 2022
Purple Elephant wants to modernise Africa’s tourism industry
Venture studios are few and far in between in Africa. Instead, there is a myriad of venture capitalists (VCs) and accelerators that operate by giving founders access to funding and a much-needed support network. A venture studio and a VC share some similarities. They both offer funding and support to founders and companies, but they differ in the manner in which they offer this support.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Oct 31, 2022
The Merge will drive financial inclusion in Web3
On September 15th, the Ethereum network transitioned from proof-of-work (PoW) into proof-of-stake (PoS) in a process that was labeled ‘The Merge’. PoW requires competitive use of intensive computing power to create blocks on the chain and receive rewards; but a PoS system requires a ‘stake’ or currency holding to participate in the chain as a validating node and earn ETH (the Ethereum standard token) rewards.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Oct 30, 2022
Kenyan Uber and Bolt drivers protest slow implementation of new ride-hailing law
Bolt and Uber drivers in Kenya are protesting the slow implementation of Digital Taxi Hailing Regulation, a new ride-hailing law in the country. The disgruntled drivers down tooled and took to the streets of Nairobi to air their grievances, leaving thousands of passengers stranded and forced to pay higher fees as prices surged due to ride scarcity.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Oct 27, 2022
Crypto platform Luno and rugby team Vodacom Bulls ink sponsorship deal
Pretoria-based rugby franchise, Vodacom Bulls, have announced a three-year sponsorship deal with cryptocurrency investment platform Luno. The deal will see Bulls players receive performance incentives in crypto.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Oct 25, 2022
MTN,Telkom and Rain love triangle: What will happen next?
On October 19, Telkom announced that MTN had walked away from acquisition talks the two mobile network operators had been involved in since mid-July. MTN has also confirmed its withdrawal from the negotiations.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Oct 21, 2022
Crypto assets are now considered financial products in South Africa
South Africa’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), through the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services (FAIS) Act, has declared that cryptocurrency assets are classified as financial products, allowing them to be regulated.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Oct 20, 2022
Meta’s recent event in Lagos highlights the role of African creators in building the Metaverse
On October 6, I visited the Kofar Mata Dye pits located in Kano, Nigeria—the oldest and last of its kind in Africa. Some of the pits were filled with indigo dye made from locally sourced ingredients. I watched as the dyers pounded the fabrics in the pits to make sure they were immersed in the dye. Afterwards, beautiful native attires were made out of fabrics.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Oct 19, 2022
50 African tech founders launch Pando DAO to drive development across Africa
In recent times, the African tech ecosystem has been on a steady upward trajectory. This year, venture funding on the continent is projected to cross the 7 billion mark with almost a thousand deals, establishing the continent as an outlier in the current global downturn in funding.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Oct 17, 2022
Lagos state government to launch a venture capital fund
On October 11, while speaking to African reporters on the sideline of the just-concluded GITEX 2020 in Dubai, the special advisor to the Lagos state governor on innovation and technology, Olatunbosun Alake, said that the government is planning to launch its own venture capital fund that would “write bigger equity cheques for Nigerian startups than most privately-owned VC.”
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Oct 17, 2022
NALA enables Apple Pay payments from the UK and US into Africa
Last week, TechCabal reported that NALA, a Tanzanian-born fintech startup with a growing dominance in East Africa, made a pioneering move in Africa’s fintech space by enabling its African diaspora users to make local payments directly. Now, the fintech has announced another breakthrough for its customers: They can now make payments from the UK and US via Apple Pay.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Oct 14, 2022
Herconomy expands into a fintech startup with new offerings for African women
Herconomy’s pre-seed raise is one for the history books. Last year, the startup shocked the tech ecosystem with its funding story. Within 24 hours of an Instagram post by its founder, Ife Durosimi-Etti, the community-based startup raised $600,000 in funding to scale its SaaS product that offered women continued access to career opportunities and discounts from selected brands. Now, Herconomy is taking another big step: pivoting to a fintech company and discontinuing its former product and model.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Oct 14, 2022
How to buy cryptocurrency in Nigeria
or a couple of years, cryptocurrency has been a hot topic in Nigeria. Even if you’ve not been keeping up with trends, you’ve most likely heard someone talking about it. If you’re considering investing in cryptocurrency in Nigeria, here’s a complete step-by-step guide on how to buy cryptocurrency in Nigeria.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Oct 13, 2022
Google partners with Coinbase to accept crypto payments
Following its announcement to establish a Google Cloud region in South Africa, Google has teamed up with Coinbase to facilitate payment with cryptocurrencies for its cloud services.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Oct 12, 2022
Kenyans in the diaspora can now pay bills on M-PESA with NALA Money
NALA, a fintech startup that powers quick remittances from the UK and US to Africa, has launched a new feature that allows the Kenyan diaspora to pay local bills in their home country. This feature combines mobile payments and international remittances, which are traditionally separated, into one solution, thereby opening a new perspective to the interplay of financial technology services in Africa.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Oct 12, 2022
Mobile money is surging in Africa as more disruption occur
At TechCabal’s Future of Commerce event, held on 23rd September, a panel session was put together to discuss the impact of mobile money on payments and commerce in Africa.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Oct 11, 2022
Participating in major business events in Europe contributes to the growth of African startup founders
From October 4–6, I was in Paris to participate in two major business events organised by the French government. The first event was called Ambition Africa, which was organised by Business France, a government organisation that assists French companies to export to international markets. It also has the responsibility to attract foreign investors to France, the third largest economy in Europe after Germany and Britain.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Oct 10, 2022
How Bitcoin communities in Africa are fostering Bitcoin adoption
Anita Posch is a digital nomad who currently resides in Zambia. She was a web designer for about 20 years before stumbling upon Bitcoin in 2017 and now works as a Bitcoin educator.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Oct 7, 2022
Safaricom Ethiopia goes live, secures mobile money license
As Kenya’s Safaricom officially launched its Ethiopian network on Thursday—becoming the first private operator in one of Africa’s largest telecoms markets—Ethiopia’s government welcomed M-Pesa.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Oct 5, 2022
Google shares progress report on its 5-year $1 billion investment in Africa
Today, Google announced its plan to establish its first-ever cloud region in Africa in South Africa. The announcement was made at the 2022 Google for Africa event as an example of how Google is delivering on the $1 bilion investment commitment made last year by the company’s CEO, Sundar Pichai.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Oct 4, 2022
Banks take the fight to the disruptors
As Africa’s new crop of digital-savvy businesses dazzles foreign investors, banks in Nigeria and South Africa want to reinvent themselves and take on their biggest disruptors—fintechs and telcos.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Sep 27, 2022
What’s behind Nigeria’s fintech and banking earthquake?
This year, 42 million Nigerians were estimated to be living in areas without access to basic banking services. Yet, at the same time, Nigeria’s fintech and neobanking sectors are outperforming those of every other African nation. Connecting these two facts in a few snapshots helps to understand how reform has come together with private-sector ambition to close this gap in the most populous nation in Africa.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Sep 27, 2022
Women in boots: Nigeria female founders share their bootstrapping experience
African women are at the bottom of the food chain in the global tech funding ecosystem. In the 108 months stretching from 2013 to 2021, $1.7 billion in angel investments and Series A investments were made into early-stage startups.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Sep 26, 2022
The search for Africa’s tech nursery intensifies
African tech leaders want a combination African Delaware and Silicon Valley. But finding the perfect startup nursery is complicated.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Sep 16, 2022
Why Adobe’s $20 billion Figma acquisition is unsettling African designers
Yesterday, American multinational computer software Adobe announced that it will acquire the design startup Figma for $20 billion, taking out one of its biggest rivals in the digital design space.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Sep 16, 2022
Adaverse is backing a diverse range of Web3 startups across Africa
These days almost everyone is talking about Web3, the third iteration of the internet that’s primarily built on blockchain technology, birthing an army of web3 enthusiasts and startups.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Sep 9, 2022
The Creator Economy, Virtual Communities and The Future Of African Arts
In 2016, weeks after charting on the Billboard 100 alongside Drake with “One Dance”, Wizkid was unable to make his set at Wireless Festival due to immigration issues. Back then, Afropop as we know it was only just taking off. Nobody talks about those years anymore. Rema, who is currently touring the world, has been recently spotted with Hollywood mega popstars Selena Gomez and Madonna.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Sep 6, 2022
The leading African tech moves from August 2022
August brought the lowest funding announcements of the year so far for African startups. Last month, Kenya and South Africa also took significant moves to institute coding as a subject to be taught in schools.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Sep 2, 2022
Flutterwave receives new payment license and plans IPO amidst regulatory challenges
Nigerian payment unicorn, Flutterwave, has secured a Switching and Processing Licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), according to a statement seen by TechCabal. This high profile licence will allow it to facilitate transactions between financial service providers, merchants, customers and other stakeholders without intermediaries.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Aug 30, 2022
After 10 years, Jumia is more than an eCommerce company
Over the past decade, the tribulations of MallforAfrica, Konga, or Payporte have served as a reminder that companies can and do disappear. The thriving companies of today are not the same as those of yesterday.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Aug 26, 2022
The land of mergers and acquisitions: how South Africa continues to strike gold with tech exits
2022 began with Volaris Group’s $88 million acquisition of software and IT firm Adapt IT in January. Other acquisitions have followed: Principa’s acquisition by Hyperclear, inq.’ acquisition of Syrex, Gumtree’s acquisition by Impresa Capital, Teraco’s acquisition by Digital Realty, TymeBank’s acquisition of Retail Capital, and more.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Aug 25, 2022
Podcasting in Africa is on the rise. Why is it not profitable yet?
The 2014 FIFA world cup was a disappointing one for the Ghanaian national team but also the inspiration behind Ghana’s largest podcast network. First, there was some drama around the Ghanaian government sending $3 million cash by chartered plane to Brazil to pay the appearance fees owed to the national team. Then, the national team was eliminated a few days later at the group stage, a worse performance than its impressive quarter-finals appearance at the 2010 world cup.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Aug 18, 2022
Bolt scales down its operations in Tanzania as Uber leaves market
Bolt, the ride-sharing business valued at $8.4 billion, almost witnessed a crushing fate to its operations in Tanzania due to regulations from the country’s authorities. For many tech companies in Africa, harsh regulations mark the abrupt end of businesses. To prevent this, Bolt has restricted their business activities to corporate clients only.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Aug 12, 2022
Ghanaian Float acquires Nigerian Accounteer to provide accounting services to small businesses
Float, a Ghanaian cash flow and spend management platform, has completed a full acquisition of Accounteer, a Nigerian subscription-based cloud-based accounting service that combines bookkeeping, tax prep, and financial advisory services all in one platform for African businesses, for an undisclosed amount.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Aug 10, 2022
South African accelerator Grindstone announces 2022/23 cohorts
Cape Town-based accelerator Grindstone has announced the 25 companies who will embark on its year-long programme which assists high-growth, innovation-driven tech start-ups to become more investable, sustainable and exit-ready.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jul 30, 2022
Techstars CEO Maëlle Gavet on the accelerator’s renewed interest in Africa
In the summer of 2021, when Techstars global CEO Maëlle Gavet and her team at the global accelerator Techstars were finalising their plans to expand internationally, Africa was top on their list. Despite running acceleration programmes in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, Techstars didn’t have a physical presence in Africa.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jul 2, 2022
Binance partners with TikTok star Khaby Lame to drive crypto and Web3 adoption
Binance, the world’s biggest crypto exchange company, has partnered with 22-year-old Senegalese TikTok sensation, Khaby Lame, to drive global crypto and Web3 adoption. Responding to questions about this development, the founder and CEO of the crypto giant, Changpeng Zhao, tweeted: “Well, he’s the most followed creator on TikTok. And he’s good at explaining things in a simple way. Perfect for crypto adoption.”
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jul 1, 2022
Spotlighting 7 African startups that just graduated from Techstars Toronto
Yesterday, 7 African startups selected for the Techstars Toronto accelerator spring cohort programme graduated alongside 4 other companies across Canada, Pakistan, and India, according to information shared with TechCabal by Techstars Toronto managing director, Sunil Sharma.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jun 20, 2022
Afropolitan raises $2.1 million to build a digital nation
Afropolitan wants to solve the problem of scarcity that black people face globally, which manifests in an inability to access institutions, money, jobs, and quality living by creating a digital nation that can enable black people worldwide to build abundant lives.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jun 18, 2022
Meet Abena, Africa's first voice assistant, the latest effort to preserve the continent's languages. 💥💥💥
Ghartey credits his grandmother's needs during his adolescence, as well as his early exposure to computers through his mother's profession, as the inspiration and catalyst for the artificial intelligence products he created, initially to assist his grandmother, Kofi, and later for the general public, Abena. They are the first voice assistants available in Fante and Twi.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jun 15, 2022
Gozem secures $10m from IFC to finance 6,000 vehicles in Togo and Benin
12 million. That’s the estimated number of motor vehicle drivers that Gozem, a Francophone Africa-focused super app, says operate in informal markets across West and Central Africa. But there’s a problem: these drivers do not have access to traditional banks or micro-finance institutions to finance their vehicles. Instead, they rely on money lenders that charge ridiculous interest rates—some are as high as 70% annually.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Jun 2, 2022
Foundamate raises $ 2 million to build a school on WhatsApp💲💲🎓📚
FoundaMate, a South African edtech business that democratizes education using WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, just raised $2 million in seed funding to expand its team and deliver education to more students around the world. LocalGlobe, Emerge Education, FirstCheck Africa, Future Africa, and LoftyInc lead the financing round.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
May 28, 2022
Elon Musk’s Starlink receives approval to provide internet service in Nigeria and Mozambique
On Friday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced on Twitter that Starlink, the satellite internet service launched by SpaceX, his space exploration company, has been approved in Nigeria and Mozambique.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
May 27, 2022
🚖 🚖 Uber completes one billion rides in Africa. 🎉🙌🏾
🎉Uber's food delivery service in South Africa debuted six years ago with only 1,000 restaurants. It now serves over 8,000 restaurants in Nairobi, Kenya, as well as a few South African cities. 🚖 Uber recently announced that it has completed 1 billion rides and travelled over 10 billion kilometers in Africa.🚕🚕
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TechCabal
TechCabal
May 27, 2022
💥💥Nigeria is developing a digital marketplace to assist creators in the sale of their intellectual property rights.
Nigeria's government has signed a three-year agreement with the Developing Africa Group (DAG) to establish a marketplace where Nigerians can sell their intellectual property rights and receive royalties. Nigerian creators will be able to commercialize their registered intellectual property rights and sell or exchange them internationally through the platform.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
May 18, 2022
Disney+ launches in South Africa. Here’s how much it costs
Earlier in January, the Walt Disney Company confirmed the expansion of its streaming service, Disney+, to 42 new countries, including 6 African countries—Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, and South Africa.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
May 13, 2022
Interswitch, Africa’s second unicorn, raises $110 million
Interswitch has received $110 million in joint investment from LeapFrog investments and Tiana Africa Capital, according to a statement released by the two private investment companies on Wednesday.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
May 8, 2022
Africa is losing $4 billion annually to cybercrime. Can conversations at Cyber Africa Forum help?
As African businesses grow in number and reach, the importance of cybersecurity in Africa must be reiterated. More Africans are coming online, increasing the continent’s contribution to the global economy, and everyone from businesses to governments and individuals must learn to protect their data and digital sovereignty.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
May 3, 2022
The biggest African tech moves from April
Several important moves were made across Africa’s tech ecosystem in April. From MTN’s PSB license approval and Airtel’s super-agent license in Nigeria, to Sun King’s $260 million raise in Kenya, and CAR’s crypto adoption, here are the top 10 biggest tech moves in April.
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TechCabal
TechCabal
Apr 27, 2022
Bboxx reportedly acquires Ghana’s PEG Africa for $200 million
Bboxx, a London-headquartered cleantech startup that provides clean energy in Africa, has reportedly acquired PEG Africa, another cleantech startup based in Accra, in a deal worth $200 million, according to 2 insiders close to the story.
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