Acquah Nana Yeboah

Daily

To issue prepaid cards to its clients, MFS Africa is acquiring U.S based GTP for $34M

Pan-African digital payments company MFS Africa has announced plans to acquire U.S.-based Global Technology Partners (GTP) in a cash-and-shares deal worth $34 million. This deal, which is a very rare incident of an African company buying a U.S one will help MFS Africa consolidate on its next

Funding

Nigerian Startup, ShopEX snaps $400,000 Pre-seed from HAVAIC

Nigeria based multi-channel retail startup, ShopEX, has raised a pre-seed funding of $400,000 from Cape Town venture capital firm, HAVAÍC. The investment forms part of a US$635,000 convertible notes round alongside existing angel investors. This brings the total investment raised by the startup to $885,000, with

venture capital

Constant Ventures launches $100M fund to invest in West African Startups

Constant Ventures, a part of the Constant Group is raising a $100 million venture capital fund to invest across a range of technology start-ups with a focus on financial inclusion, education and healthcare.  Investee companies will initially be located across Nigeria and Ghana, with the fund set to target the

Daily

Maisha Meds Hits 1,000 Active Facilities, Expands to Nigeria

Kenyan-based digital pharmacy network, Maisha Meds, has reached 1,000 active facilities, making it one of the largest digital pharmacy networks in Sub-Saharan Africa. Founded in 2017 with operations across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia and more recently Nigeria, Maisha Meds provides a business management software and reimbursement programs for pharmacies,

Daily

2 months after going public, SWVL lays off 32% of its workforce

Egypt born but Dubai based mobility startup SWVL has announced plans to reduce its workforce by 32 percent. The company said the process is part of a portfolio optimization program that will enhance efficiency and reduce central costs to accelerate its path to profitability to turn cash flow positive in

Crypto

Swiss-based Crypto Valley VC launches Fund for African Blockchain Startups

Crypto Valley Venture Capital (CVVC), a Switzerland-based VC firm has launched an Africa-focused early-stage fund to back blockchain startups in the continent. This was disclosed by the investor on Monday at the Blockchain Hub adjacent to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. CV VC is an early-stage venture capital

Daily

Eversend seeks funding for expansion after growing transaction volumes by 46-fold

Pan-African money transfer startup, Eversend has disclosed plans to raise additional capital in the coming weeks after growing transaction volumes 46-fold last year to $232 million. The jump in transaction volumes results from the company switching its focus from Africans remitting money home to cross-border businesses and cryptocurrency traders, said

Business

Mastercard and OPay announce strategic partnership to boost digital inclusion

Mastercard and fintech giant OPay has announced a strategic partnership that will open up digital commerce to millions of people across the Middle East and Africa. This partnership which marks a significant boost for wider financial inclusion and economic prosperity will see OPay consumers and merchants in the region – including

Acquisition

Autochek acquires Morocco's Kifal Auto as it expands to North Africa

In a play that will see it expand to North Africa, digital automotive commerce company Autochek has acquired Morocco’s KIFAL Auto for an undisclosed amount. KIFAL was founded in 2019 by Nizar Abdalaoui Maane. The company is among the leading auto marketplaces in Morocco, one of Africa’s largest

e-commerce

Kenya based Twiga embarks on commercial farming with the launch of Twiga Fresh

In sub-Saharan Africa, 90% of retail is informal, highly inefficient and characterised by layers of intermediaries. To curb this, Twiga, a B2B ecommerce startup is launching Twiga Fresh, a new subsidiary, through which it will farm and distribute its own agricultural produce to traders. The Kenyan startup says it has

Funding

Nigerian KYC startup, Identitypass, closes $2.8 million seed round

Nigerian identity verification startup, Identitypass, has announced the close of a $2.8 million seed round led by MaC Venture Capital. This is coming months after the startup graduated from Y Combinator. Other investors include Soma Capital, True Capital Fund and Sherwani Capital. Combined with the $360,000 raised in

Funding

Interswitch Secures $110 Million in Investment from LeapFrog and Tana Africa Capital

Africa’s payment company, Interswitch, has raised $110 million in investment from LeapFrog Investments and Tana Africa Capital. The investment will boost Interswitch’s plans to expand the digital payments ecosystem across sub-Saharan Africa. A portion of the investment has been acquired from existing shareholders, with Ignite Holdco Limited, made

Daily

Tradedepot appoints Chidi Akubuiro as Managing Director for West Africa (Anglophone)

B2B eCommerce and embedded finance platform in Africa, TradeDepot, has appointed former Coca Cola HBC Nigeria Executive, Chidi Akubuiro as its Managing Director for Anglophone West Africa. Effective from May 1st 2022, Akubuiro will lead further expansion of TradeDepot’s services across more key cities in Nigeria and Ghana, and

Funding

Egypt: Fintech startup, Paymob raises $50 Million in Series B Funding

Egypt-based fintech Paymob has raised $50 million in Series B funding, led by Kora Capital, PayPal Ventures, and Clay Point. Other investors in the round include Helios Digital Ventures, British International Investment, and Nclude. All existing investors, including A15, FMO, and Global Ventures also participated. The funding will be used

Funding

rali_cap launches $30M fintech fund for startups in emerging markets

Emerging markets focused early-stage venture capital firm, Rali_cap, has launched a $30 million fund. Last month, the firm, formerly known as Rally Cap Ventures, reached its first close of $20 million (its initial target) before increasing the fund size, signalling a strong LP appetite. The fund which first started

Hello Tractor, Heifer International launch Pay-As-You-Go Tractor funding for Nigerian Agripreneurs

Hello Tractor, a Nigerian tractor-booking platform, has secured $1 million in funding from Heifer International to provide loans for tractor purchases. Farmers will repay with revenue earned by leasing the tractors to local farmers. “We developed the PAYG program to make tractor ownership—and the reliable income these machines can

Daily

Nigeria’s Eden Life expands to Kenya, acquires Lynk

Eden Life, Africa’s first home concierge services scheduling platform has acquired Lynk, a Kenyan gig marketplace in a move that will see Eden Life expand into Kenya. The strategic acquisition, brokered by Enza Capital will allow Eden Life leverage Lynk’s successful platform that connects informal workers with end-users

Fintech

Techstars Accelerator comes to Lagos

Techstars, one of the most influential accelerators in Africa has announced the ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator for early-stage fintech and proptech startups across the continent. The ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator will receive applications this June through August. Up to 12 startups will be selected on an annual basis

Business

Solar company, 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 reports from TechCabal. This deal is the largest across all categories—including venture funding, grant, or M&A—in the

Blockchain

Nigerian Afriex Raises $10 Million For Its Blockchain Money Transfer Platform

Nigeria-based fintech startup, Afriex has announced the close of a $10 million Series A round to expand its blockchain money transfer platform. This funding round was led by Sequoia Capital China and Dragonfly Capital with participation from Goldentree, Stellar Foundation, and Exceptional Capital, among others. Founded in 2019 by Tope

Elon Musk

Elon Musk acquires Twitter for $44 bn.

Global social networking company, Twitter, has on Monday announced that it has agreed to be acquired by Elon Musk, for $54.20 per share in cash in a transaction valued at approximately $44 billion. Upon completion of the transaction, Twitter will become a privately held company. Under the terms of

Wave

Wave gets e-money license to operate in 8 francophone countries

Senegal based fintech unicorn, Wave Digital Finance, has acquired an e-money license from the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO). This licence will allow Wave to provide its financial services to 8 Francophone West African countries—Benin, Guinea Bissau, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo—

Google

Google launches first product development center in Nairobi

Global tech giant, Google has announced the launch of a product development center in Nairobi, its first in the continent. The company said it set up the centre to build “transformative” products and services for the African market and the world. Suzanne Frey, Google VP for products disclosed that the

Members only

Features

6 startups bridging the tech talent gap in Africa

A joint report by Google and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in 2020 disclosed that there are only 700,000 professional developers in Africa.

Funding

Etap closes $1.5 million pre-seed round to drive car insurance penetration in Africa

Etap, a Nigeria-based insurtech startup that makes it easier to buy and claim insurance, has raised $1.5 million in pre-seed funding to grow its team and drive the adoption of much-needed car insurance across Africa. Starting in Nigeria, the new funding will support the roll-out of ETAP’s game-changing