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Blessed Frank

Exploring Africa's Tech Frontier | Unearthing Startup Gold 💰 | Decoding Crypto & Web3 | Your Guide to Emerging Markets #TechJournalist

Pan-African Fund Manager, Amethis Sets to Launch its $490M, Amethis Fund III

Pan-African Fund Manager, Amethis Sets to Launch its $490M, Amethis Fund III

Amethis, an African-focused investment fund manager, is gearing up to launch its third pan-African fund, Amethis Fund III, with a target size of $490 million. This latest fund will be the largest of the three funds launched by the investment firm so far, and will follow the success of its

Flutterwave Announces Nairobi as its Eastern African Regional HTQ

Flutterwave Announces Nairobi as its Eastern African Regional HTQ

Flutterwave, Africa’s leading payments technology company, has announced that it will establish its East African regional headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, as part of its expansion plan in the region. The move comes just a month after the African unicorn acquired two additional licenses to broaden its operations in Rwanda.

Autochek Acquires AutoTager to Expand into Egypt

Autochek Acquires AutoTager to Expand into Egypt

Autochek, a Pan-African automotive tech startup, has acquired a majority stake in AutoTager, an Egyptian automotive technology firm to deepen its presence in North Africa and support its ongoing expansion. AutoTager removes friction from Egypt’s car buying and selling process, providing easier access to vetted vehicles and financing for

What You Should Know as CloudClinic Launches in Lagos to Provide Virtual Healthcare Solutions to Nigerians

What You Should Know as CloudClinic Launches in Lagos to Provide Virtual Healthcare Solutions to Nigerians

CloudClinic Limited (CCL), a digital healthcare service company, on Monday 17 April 2023 launched its cloud-based healthcare solution called CloudClinic, aimed at facilitating virtual consultations between patients and licensed medical practitioners. The platform is designed to provide affordable healthcare to every Nigerian by connecting healthcare seekers to healthcare providers such

Leveraging Tech to Tackle Youth Unemployment in Nigeria: Spotlight on Selected Edtechs

Leveraging Tech to Tackle Youth Unemployment in Nigeria: Spotlight on Selected Edtechs

Unemployment has long been a problem in Nigeria, particularly among young people. According to the National Bureau of Statistics 2022 youth unemployment rates report, the country’s youth unemployment rate was approximately 53.40%. This is further exacerbated by the fact that one out of every five people looking for

What You Should Know as African Crypto Payment Startup, Lazerpay Shuts Down

What You Should Know as African Crypto Payment Startup, Lazerpay Shuts Down

The shutdown of Lazerpay, an African crypto payments platform has brought to the fore the precarious state of African crypto startups. Lazerpay, a payment gateway startup that was touted as the ‘African Stripe’, has shut down its operations due to its inability to complete a successful funding round. The founders

Ivorypay, Africa’s Crypto Payment Startup Selected for CVVC Batch 5 Accelerator

Crypto Valley VC

Ivorypay, Africa’s Crypto Payment Startup Selected for CVVC Batch 5 Accelerator

The Pan-African crypto payment startup, Ivorypay has been announced among the nine innovative projects selected for Crypto Valley VC (CV VC), a venture capital firm focused on funding crypto startups through its accelerator program, the 5th global blockchain startup accelerator. The CVVC batch 5 accelerator consists of innovative projects from

African Tech Innovation Center, CcHUB Launches Operations in Tanzania in its Quest to Expand across Africa

African Tech Innovation Center, CcHUB Launches Operations in Tanzania in its Quest to Expand across Africa

Co-creation Hub (CcHUB), Africa’s leading technology innovation hub, has announced the expansion of its operations to Tanzania as part of its expansion drive to other African countries, according to a tweet from its official Twitter handle. CcHUB which said it had touched down and established its footprint further south

Ghanaian-based Agritech Startup, Farmerline Expands to Francophone African Countries

Ghanaian-based Agritech Startup, Farmerline Expands to Francophone African Countries

Ghanaian agri-tech firm, Farmerline has announced the launch of operations in the Ivory Coast as part of its expansion into the Francophone African countries. Founded in 2011 by Alloysius Attah and Emmanuel Owusu Addai, and has since collaborated with more than 3,000 partners in 48 countries to deliver daily

VC4A Invites Application for its VC4A Venture Showcase Africa 2023

VC4A Invites Application for its VC4A Venture Showcase Africa 2023

VC4A, an ecosystem builder that operates an online platform with the world’s largest database of startups in Africa and Latin America and connects entrepreneurs to resources, has announced the call for applications to the VC4A Venture Showcase Africa – 2023, the annual, accelerator program that highlights high-growth, high-impact ventures driving

Kenya’s Victory Farms Secures $35M to Expand Across East Africa

Kenya’s Victory Farms Secures $35M to Expand Across East Africa

Victory Farms, a Kenyan-based aquaculture startup, has today announced the completion of a successful $35 million Series B funding round to expand its operations in Kenya and Rwanda and potentially enter Ethiopia, Uganda, and Tanzania. The funding round was led by Creadev, a global venture capital, with participation from Acumen

Bolt Food in Ghana Increases Delivery Riders' Pay by 10% to Bring an End to the Trade Dispute

Bolt Food in Ghana Increases Delivery Riders' Pay by 10% to Bring an End to the Trade Dispute

Bolt Food in Ghana has increased its delivery riders’ pay by at least 10 percent following a series of protests and three-day strike action embarked on by the riders. The trade dispute began in October 2022 when Bolt Food reduced riders’ pay from 10 Cedis to 9 Cedis for short

What to Expect as African Tech Startups Experienced Record Funding Decline in Q1 2023

Africa startup funding

What to Expect as African Tech Startups Experienced Record Funding Decline in Q1 2023

African tech startup ecosystem defied the odds and continued its impressive VC funding run, raising a total of $6.5 billion in 2022, according to Partech data, representing an 8% increase over the 2021 funding record. As a result, the continent became the only region in the world to end

Climate Tech VC Firm, Equator Receives First Round of $40M to Support African Climate Tech Startups

Clean Energy Tech

Climate Tech VC Firm, Equator Receives First Round of $40M to Support African Climate Tech Startups

Equator, a climate tech venture capital firm, has announced the initial close of its first fund with $40 million in commitments. The company, which focuses on sub-Saharan Africa, has received support from various limited partners, including BII, GEAPP, the Shell Foundation, and DOEN Participaties. The fund will back seed and

Ethiopian EthSwitch Partners With Mastercard to Deepen Digital Payments to Attain a Cash-lite Economy

Digital Payments

Ethiopian EthSwitch Partners With Mastercard to Deepen Digital Payments to Attain a Cash-lite Economy

EthSwitch, Ethiopia’s national payment switch has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Mastercard to enable financial institutions across the East African nation to accelerate the adoption and usage of digital payments to de-emphasize cash payments across the country. Through this all-important partnership, EthSwitch will leverage Mastercard Send,

FCCPC Approves 173 Digital Lending Platforms to Curb the Activities of Illegal Loan Apps in Nigeria

digital lending platforms

FCCPC Approves 173 Digital Lending Platforms to Curb the Activities of Illegal Loan Apps in Nigeria

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has taken a major step towards curbing the activities of illegal loan apps in Nigeria by approving 173 digital lending platforms to operate in the country. Of the approved apps, 119 have full approval, while 54 have conditional approval. The registration and

IFC Invests $77M in Risk-sharing Facility for the BOA to Boost SMEs Financing in Africa

Bank of Africa Group

IFC Invests $77M in Risk-sharing Facility for the BOA to Boost SMEs Financing in Africa

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has announced its investment in a risk-sharing facility for the Bank of Africa Group (BOA). This is aimed at easing access to finance for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across 10 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The move is expected to bolster economic activities and job

Electric Vehicles, What the Sub-Saharan African Countries can Learn from Kenya

Electric Vehicles, What the Sub-Saharan African Countries can Learn from Kenya

In recent years, Kenya has emerged as a force to be reckoned with in terms of technologically driven solutions to local problems on the African continent. After successfully establishing itself as the home of mobile payment, with M-Pesa leading the pack, Kenya is now leading the rest of the continent

How the Nigerian Gov't is Deepening Internet Penetration with its $52M Worth Broadband Internet Access

broadband internet access

How the Nigerian Gov't is Deepening Internet Penetration with its $52M Worth Broadband Internet Access

The Nigerian government’s decision to invest $52 million (N24.20 billion) in providing free broadband internet access in 75 public locations across the country is a significant step towards deepening internet penetration in Nigeria. This move has been welcomed by many Nigerians who see it as a much-needed intervention

Microsoft is Laying off a Number of Key Staff in its ADC, Nairobi

African Development Center

Microsoft is Laying off a Number of Key Staff in its ADC, Nairobi

Microsoft Kenya is reportedly laying off several employees, particularly at its Africa Development Centre in Nairobi. Although the exact number of employees affected is unknown, TechWeez reported that at least 20 product managers and several developers will be laid off. This appears to be a continuation of gradual layoffs that

Payday Gets Boost to Continue Revolutionizing Borderless Payments in Africa as Moniepoint, Others Inject $3M

Payday Gets Boost to Continue Revolutionizing Borderless Payments in Africa as Moniepoint, Others Inject $3M

Payday, a Rwandan-born Pan-African neobank issuing global payments accounts denominated in USD, EUR, and GBP to Africans, has announced a $3 million seed round to drive its “future of work” initiative by revolutionizing borderless payment alternatives in major currencies. Moniepoint Inc, led the oversubscribed seed round, with participation from HoaQ,

Yellow Card Becomes Africa’s Largest Centralized Exchanger as it Facilitates $1.75B in Transactions

Yellow Card Becomes Africa’s Largest Centralized Exchanger as it Facilitates $1.75B in Transactions

Yellow Card, a Pan-African cryptocurrency exchange founded by Chris Maurice and Justin Poiroux, has become the largest centralized exchange in Africa, having facilitated $1.75 billion in transactions since its launch in 2019. The platform currently boasts 1.4 million users and enables users to purchase cryptocurrencies using fiat currencies

Blessmi Marks 1st Anniversary with $217M Milestone

Blessmi Marks 1st Anniversary with $217M Milestone

Blessmi, a Nigerian tech-for-good startup, and innovative fundraising platform designed to help individuals and organizations raise funds for good causes and personal needs has announced a significant milestone of $217 million (100 million Naira) raised on its platform since its launch in March 2022. The Blessmi fundraising platform represents a

Why the Kenyan Thriving Agri-Tech Startup Sector is Yet to Translate into Food Security

Why the Kenyan Thriving Agri-Tech Startup Sector is Yet to Translate into Food Security

Agriculture is the mainstay of the Kenyan economy, accounting for more than 20 percent of the GDP and employing over 40 percent of the total population according to a report by the Central Bank of Kenya. Kenya’s food security challenges, combined with the country’s burgeoning digital transformation, have